Styrofoam Hives & other materials

[Skepticus]

Hi all,

Just wondering if anybody has heard of beeks using Styrofoam boxes to keep bees in. What other materials have been tried? I am about to try clinching a free supply of cladding offcuts of the kind they use on re-locatable (transportable) homes. It's quite thin but almost as dense as hardwood. I will have to put rails in to support the top bar ends, and I think perhaps cut peices of Styrofoam to pad out the inside walls. I'm looking for cheap alternatives, any ideas?

Regards Steve.

[Moonshae]

From what I understand (no personal experience), bees have a tendency to chew regular styrofoam apart. You might be better off putting the foam on the outside.

There are high-density styrofoam hives manufactured, I think they are under the brand BeeMax.

[Beaches Bee-Haven Apiary]

I've used BeeMax (styrafoam) hives. They do help ventilation during the summer and insulate the colony during the winter months. They're also a lot lighter than wood! I haven't found a source of dense styrafoam to make my own boxes out of though. Recently I've been switching over to Rossman's Cyprus, so If anyone wants to buy some of my left over BeeMax PM me. Or visit ( http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php/topic,15748.0.html )

-Nathanael 8-)

[Skepticus]

Thanks for the info Moonshae.

Nathanael, just curious how the styro boxes help with ventilation and if you can buy them pre-made (I assume they are molded), why would you want to make your own. wouldn't you have to join them? Wouldn't that make them weaker? Aren't they much cheaper than wood anyhow, so wouldn't making them be false economy? Sorry if I sound like an English transcript of the Spanish inquisition, but I an very curious about all this. :)

And yes, I would like your unwanted Beemax boxes. When the tide is going out and the current is running towards Australia just push them out to sea please.  :-D

[Beaches Bee-Haven Apiary]

Thanks for the info Moonshae.

Nathanael, just curious how the styro boxes help with ventilation and if you can buy them pre-made (I assume they are molded), why would you want to make your own. wouldn't you have to join them? Wouldn't that make them weaker? Aren't they much cheaper than wood anyhow, so wouldn't making them be false economy? Sorry if I sound like an English transcript of the Spanish inquisition, but I an very curious about all this. :)

And yes, I would like your unwanted Beemax boxes. When the tide is going out and the current is running towards Australia just push them out to sea please.  :-D

I may end up doing that anyway if I can't find a buyer! ;)

Yes, I buy them pre-molded, but no, they're not much cheaper, if any, then woodenware. I don't even think I save on shipping. BeeMax is making a killing off of them because they're the only ones holding the patent right now. If I could make my own I could probably cut my costs in half, and make them the way I'd like them. Right now I can get superior cyprus woodenware for $3.10 less than the polystyrene supers.

-Nathanael 8-)

[Bee-Bop]

You might want to check these BeeMax out.
Boris has a lot of intereasting thingson here.
www.beebehavior.com

Bee-Bop

[Michael Bush]

I doubt there is anything that hasn't been used for a beehive.  Luckily bee hives are a size that is easily built of scraps.  I'd hit the construction sites.

[Skepticus]

OK then. If styro works so well, I don't see why I can't adapt broccoli boxes. I'm not worried about making them to standard size anyhow. The one I am measuring up, would take about 14 or 15 frames 7 1/2'' deep by 12'', not bad for a brood chamber. The price I have on these is about $3.50 (AUD - almost the same in USD) each, if I buy 48.

Two smaller boxes with the same sized frame could go side by side on top with say, six frames each. That size would make a more comfortable honey super for lifting. It would also be easier to find scrap building materials at those shorter dimensions too. The same size could serve as a nuke.

The broccoli box has a closed bottom of course, so I could either cut an entrance in one end and do away with the need for a bottom board, or cut the bottom out if there were some good reason to do so.

Bee-Bop, that beebehavior.com is an interesting site, thanks.

[eivindm]

In Norway, styrofoam has more os less taken over the market and has been in use for at least 15 years in broad scale.   We need insulated hives here, and thus the wooden boxes with insulation and wood on both sides are quite heavy.  The styrofoam are rock hard (not anything like the styrefoam you see as protection to electrical appliances and such).  Compared to the wooden boxes they are much lighter, but still have the same insulating capabilities.  I didn't even consider using anything else.  They are produced in one whole box, not as a building set as I saw on one of the links above.