Polystyrene National Hives/nucs

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Poly hives: apiguard

Running on Langst poly hives- Modern beekeeping- I was in a quandary as to how to administer apiguard. Just come up with the solution:
turn the roof up-side-down (travelling position) fill in the gaps either end and there you are, a mini eke.
I used a piece of plastic to close the hole, nailed two bits of wood to it with some spacers and it works fine. Same principle as using an entrance reducer.

I guess using apilifevar would have been easier but then again I had the apiguard
 
Having looked at the park beekeeping catalogue, they say that colonies in poly hives develop 3 weeks earlier in the spring than wooden. Sounds pretty bold- anyone care to comment?
 
Skyhook,

They don't actually claim that; you missed out that one tiny phrase of 'up to'.

While I have found my well-insulated Dartingtons appear to get a head start on bees in lessser-insulated Nationals, I would not say 3 weeks necessarily.

That would be well into two brood cycles ahead. I would say one brood cycle might be more realistic, but that is not quite so 'fantastic'/appealing/eye-catching/persuasive as advertising what is likely the 'absolute maximum' (and hoping people will be swayed by the advertising hype without reading it accurately) rather than being given a more honest appraisal of the likely advantage.

Regards, RAB
 
I beleive the bee's actually start brooding earlier in wooden hives,athough those in poly soon catch up.
 
who does Poly Nationals?

Stamfordham? Hives, not nucs?

They say 'extremely high density' and that parts are interchangeable with wood Nationals, but they only hold 10 frames. £124 delivered.

Langs are easily converted to National?

Regards, RAB
 
Bees do indeed start brooding earlier in timber and why is an interesting question. I can suggest some ideas but nothing has been researched that I know of.

However bees in poly of an equal strength will soon overtake a timber box and leave them standing.

As to where to get National Poly at the moment, C. Wynne Jones is the man.

PH
 
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Stanfordham have stoped doing them and recomended trying the three other places mentioned but after the heather honey is sorted brcause they will be bussy
 
I have three of the poly nucs from Park beekeeping. I over wintered the three of them on 14x12 National frames. They are a very good job, the integral feeder is a real plus. I have put a mesh floor on with some simple tinkering, just cut a hole in the slide out floor with a Stanley knife and pinned some mesh over the top. Highly recommended.

done similar, used a "hot" empty Tuna tin to cut 3 neat holes in the floor, then used uplhostery pins to fix a sheet of mesh

much better, as i had a colony abscond in the heat, when i used it before

this years one are denser but no where near as dense as modernbeekeeping hive

i would expect them to last only a few years, but thought of painting the inside with water soluable varnish to stop the bees degrading it
 
Bees do indeed start brooding earlier in timber and why is an interesting question. I can suggest some ideas but nothing has been researched that I know of.

However bees in poly of an equal strength will soon overtake a timber box and leave them standing.

As to where to get National Poly at the moment, C. Wynne Jones is the man.

PH

CWJ has zero poly stock as of this week.
 
CWJ Update - they have some boxes still ( prob not full hives though) and hope to have new stock within month.
 
odd, I spoke to them just 3 days ago and they had squat in, couldnt even tell me if their poly kit was top or bottom bee space - they also said that they have never stocked nucs and had no plans too

just fyi
 
Stick with modernbeekeeping. I took delivery of a nuke last week, no problems with delivery, excellent customer service, good price and it all fits beatifully.
they don't do a top feeder like with their full hives. You have to use a frame feeder.
My only regret using all polys is that it is more difficult to knock up equipment in the shed. wood is easier to work with them polystyrene.

As for converting national to langstroth: use a converter kit. I make my own, quite simple. You'd only would want to convert though it you get a national nuke. Very few sell nukes on langstroth.
 
Jez, think it depends who answers the phone re info - I asked today as was placing a small order. but as I wanted to order some more polyhives and BBs over the winter and having seen your post I asked about lead times and was told they were waiting a response from swienty but they would have stock within a month. Their hive is bottom bee space, it has same external dimensions as national, but seems to take one less frame due to thicker walls.

If you want to look at one pm me.
 
Thanks, I was on a poly national nuc hunt to be honest, but it was a dead end as they dont stock them.

hay ho

Swienty have offered to ship me directly mind.

Going to give lyson.com a shot mind, curious what their kit is like.
 
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Is the swienty nuc a national one or does it need to be modified? I am after a nuc for next year but didnt really want to modify one if I could avoid it. Are there many advantages of a poly nuc over a ply one? Are they similar to poly hive vs wooden one?
 
Are there many advantages of a poly nuc over a ply one?

Not that many advantages. Just should not need extra insulation adding for over-wintering! Having said that I am only trialling Rooftops' jumbo p/nuc converted to 14 x 12 at the moment. For one thing, I think I may make the floor a permanent fixture (screwed!) to the body.

Are they similar to poly hive vs wooden one?

Yes. Remember not all poly hives are compatible, for interchange of parts.

Regards, RAB
 
Langstroth v National poly hive

Having done a couple of courses, as soon as I can get my garden in order (this autumn's job) I'm ready and raring to get a couple of hives. On the courses I've attended I've had hands-on experience of the National hive and seen the Beehaus, but I've never seen a Langstroth.
I've been following this thread with interest because I like the idea of a poly hive (ease of assembly - I can't work with wood and tools, as my efforts with Ikea furniture will demonstrate - and the cost) , but as other posts have said, poly hives are mainly Langstroth. Apart from the dimensions, what's the difference between the National and the Langstroth, and in particular, are they different to work with?
 
They are pretty much the same idea but bigger although the lugs on the ends of the frames are shorter so you have less room to hold but that's no big deal really.

I like my hives from modern beekeeping and it suites me cost wise.
 
It's like having two cars of different makes and different sizes sitting in the drive. You may not want to run one or the other for any one particular type of motoring.

Same with these two hive types. Apart from external box dimensions, frames are different lengths; frames have different depths. No parts are interchangeable, although you could fit the smaller frames in the bigger box (but only for a single tier).

Weight of the frames in a full box is the main difference, although popularity (for parts) is another - there are a lot of Nationals in the UK and all parts are interchangeable (within limits <per eg bee space>). Most poly-systems lock you into their product because they are not quite the same profiles as other polys, so choice is then limited (if that is a problem to some)

I happen to think the 14 x 12 is a fairly ideal size, but moving them is now a bear! Poly is certainly less heavy for the same size box!

Hope this helps.

Regards, RAB
 

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