- Joined
- Mar 15, 2014
- Messages
- 580
- Reaction score
- 2
- Location
- Hampshire
- Hive Type
- National
- Number of Hives
- 10
Mini-plus hive
I have had some of these hives for quite a few seasons and use them mainly for getting queens mated and keeping spare queens in (including overwintering them). I have just bought two more as I think they do the job well, I enjoy working them and like the small footprint they have in my suburban garden. You can put one on a small square paving slab and hide it in a hedge or put it on the roof of a shed.
The hives are made of good quality (in my opinion) polystyrene and are also available in wood. Hive bodies are 300mm square and 165mm high. They can be stacked like most other hives and have top beespace. Each box has a lip at the bottom which fits into a groove of the box below it. It means the small boxes sit on each other securely but has the usual downsides when you put the bodies back together. Bees can get squashed and you have to get the boxes just right when you lower them. Being small they are thankfully not heavy so can be accurately placed and with a bit of luck and some smoke or spray any squashed bees can be limited or avoided. Sadly they have no frame runners so the lugs rest on the flat poly surface. I find a J-type hivetool levered between the sidebar and the hive wall separates the lug from the polystyrene pretty well without harming the frame or the hive.
Frames are available in wood, plastic (that takes foundation) or full plastic including the foundation. I have used plastic and been happy with them, and have also just received my first wooden ones. At just under a Euro for a fully assembled frame including wiring I think they are quite reasonable. The wooden ones are Hoffman-type and the plastic ones I use have two spacers protruding from the side bars that work quite well. I have no experience of the full plastic frames. Frame size is “Half Dadant” which is 251x159mm and that gives a comb area of 200x140mm (Thanks to Itma for that calculation, confirmed by my often inaccurate measuring). Each box takes six frames, with a bit of extra space left over. Choice - if you want to make a dummy board (not for sale as far as I can see), centralise the frames or leave the space at the end. I find the little bit of extra space handy when introducing queencells.
The floor (“OMF” type with a plastic grid), come in two varieties. One has the OM covering most of the bottom, whereas the other has a compartment for feeding fondant or pollen patties towards the back. These compartments can also be purchased separately and added or used as needed. The entrance is integral to the floor, faces ventrally and measures 52x10mm – it appears defendable but can handle a fair amount of traffic as well.
The roof fits snugly on top of the boxes thanks to the lip, and is approximately 29mm thick for the insulation-enthusiasts. Clear coverboards are available, although I have not bought one- something I think I should have done.
Apart from the fondant compartment you can also use a frame-feeder instead of the sixth-frame or a polystyrene Miller-type feeder that fits perfectly between the roof and the top box. I really like the top feeder as you have virtually no drownings and the space between the bee-side and the syrup side is very small so you can check on the feeder without worrying about the bees at all. I never painted the inside of the feeders of my first two , and have to say there is very little difference between them and the feeders I have painted diligently.
Overwintering is done with two boxes, although I am sure you can do it with one. If I need to feed fondant I simply separate the lowest box from the floor, lift the hive and place to the side, place a block of food in the compartment and replace the boxes – both can be handled together, including the roof. The bees take it well and you don’t need to open the top of the hive. They tend to build up very well in Spring.
My main hives are sited between my shed and my hedge, with plenty of trees around, and its is pretty cosy between the hives. Being so sheltered and crowded may or may not be the reason but my queens were getting lost quite frequently (I assumed).
These little hives can be put on top of my shed and I have seen a great improvement in mating rates , with only one queen missing so far. This means I normally have a queen ready in case anything goes wrong in my main hives, so I don’t need to worry about the colony losing momentum if a queen takes a long time to get mated etc etc. I can also introduce queens to a few frames of bees and establish nucs on top of my other hives, ready for uniting in late summer if needed so most hives go into winter with a young queen.
I never expected any honey from these hives, but have been surprised at the amount of frames that get filled. I have had to regularly remove frames of honey and extract just to make room throughout the season. It appears can get queen excluders for them (plastic and metal) although I have never had one. So there must be some folks out there using them for honey.
Downsides to these hives for me are as mentioned the potential squashing of bees due to the way the boxes fit together, the absence of frame runners and the fact that you need to keep an eye on the bees as they could get swarmy very quickly and catch you out (happened once).
More info and some nice pictures can be seen on: http://www.holtermann-shop.de/index.php/cPath/1_157
I have bought mine from German and Scandinavian suppliers and found them quite affordable. Sadly they are not big on Paypal and some not even on credit cards so you have to transfer the money which is hassle and can cost you. I now have an app on my phone that helps me with that so it is much easier to buy equipment etc from there (Dare I mention queens?)
Here are also a few pictures of mine, sorry it is just the new ones as the other are all occupied and I don't really want to disturb the bees.
I have had some of these hives for quite a few seasons and use them mainly for getting queens mated and keeping spare queens in (including overwintering them). I have just bought two more as I think they do the job well, I enjoy working them and like the small footprint they have in my suburban garden. You can put one on a small square paving slab and hide it in a hedge or put it on the roof of a shed.
The hives are made of good quality (in my opinion) polystyrene and are also available in wood. Hive bodies are 300mm square and 165mm high. They can be stacked like most other hives and have top beespace. Each box has a lip at the bottom which fits into a groove of the box below it. It means the small boxes sit on each other securely but has the usual downsides when you put the bodies back together. Bees can get squashed and you have to get the boxes just right when you lower them. Being small they are thankfully not heavy so can be accurately placed and with a bit of luck and some smoke or spray any squashed bees can be limited or avoided. Sadly they have no frame runners so the lugs rest on the flat poly surface. I find a J-type hivetool levered between the sidebar and the hive wall separates the lug from the polystyrene pretty well without harming the frame or the hive.
Frames are available in wood, plastic (that takes foundation) or full plastic including the foundation. I have used plastic and been happy with them, and have also just received my first wooden ones. At just under a Euro for a fully assembled frame including wiring I think they are quite reasonable. The wooden ones are Hoffman-type and the plastic ones I use have two spacers protruding from the side bars that work quite well. I have no experience of the full plastic frames. Frame size is “Half Dadant” which is 251x159mm and that gives a comb area of 200x140mm (Thanks to Itma for that calculation, confirmed by my often inaccurate measuring). Each box takes six frames, with a bit of extra space left over. Choice - if you want to make a dummy board (not for sale as far as I can see), centralise the frames or leave the space at the end. I find the little bit of extra space handy when introducing queencells.
The floor (“OMF” type with a plastic grid), come in two varieties. One has the OM covering most of the bottom, whereas the other has a compartment for feeding fondant or pollen patties towards the back. These compartments can also be purchased separately and added or used as needed. The entrance is integral to the floor, faces ventrally and measures 52x10mm – it appears defendable but can handle a fair amount of traffic as well.
The roof fits snugly on top of the boxes thanks to the lip, and is approximately 29mm thick for the insulation-enthusiasts. Clear coverboards are available, although I have not bought one- something I think I should have done.
Apart from the fondant compartment you can also use a frame-feeder instead of the sixth-frame or a polystyrene Miller-type feeder that fits perfectly between the roof and the top box. I really like the top feeder as you have virtually no drownings and the space between the bee-side and the syrup side is very small so you can check on the feeder without worrying about the bees at all. I never painted the inside of the feeders of my first two , and have to say there is very little difference between them and the feeders I have painted diligently.
Overwintering is done with two boxes, although I am sure you can do it with one. If I need to feed fondant I simply separate the lowest box from the floor, lift the hive and place to the side, place a block of food in the compartment and replace the boxes – both can be handled together, including the roof. The bees take it well and you don’t need to open the top of the hive. They tend to build up very well in Spring.
My main hives are sited between my shed and my hedge, with plenty of trees around, and its is pretty cosy between the hives. Being so sheltered and crowded may or may not be the reason but my queens were getting lost quite frequently (I assumed).
These little hives can be put on top of my shed and I have seen a great improvement in mating rates , with only one queen missing so far. This means I normally have a queen ready in case anything goes wrong in my main hives, so I don’t need to worry about the colony losing momentum if a queen takes a long time to get mated etc etc. I can also introduce queens to a few frames of bees and establish nucs on top of my other hives, ready for uniting in late summer if needed so most hives go into winter with a young queen.
I never expected any honey from these hives, but have been surprised at the amount of frames that get filled. I have had to regularly remove frames of honey and extract just to make room throughout the season. It appears can get queen excluders for them (plastic and metal) although I have never had one. So there must be some folks out there using them for honey.
Downsides to these hives for me are as mentioned the potential squashing of bees due to the way the boxes fit together, the absence of frame runners and the fact that you need to keep an eye on the bees as they could get swarmy very quickly and catch you out (happened once).
More info and some nice pictures can be seen on: http://www.holtermann-shop.de/index.php/cPath/1_157
I have bought mine from German and Scandinavian suppliers and found them quite affordable. Sadly they are not big on Paypal and some not even on credit cards so you have to transfer the money which is hassle and can cost you. I now have an app on my phone that helps me with that so it is much easier to buy equipment etc from there (Dare I mention queens?)
Here are also a few pictures of mine, sorry it is just the new ones as the other are all occupied and I don't really want to disturb the bees.
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