Beehives

We stock National and commercial bee hives made from cedar, polystyrene or pine .

Polystyrene Hives

OUR POLYSTYRENES HIVES AND HIVE PARTS ARE UP TO 3 TIMES STRONGER THAN POLYSTYRENE USED IN PACKAGING. WHEN PAINTED WITH SMOOTH MASONRY PAINT THESE POLYSTYRENE HIVES WILL LAST FOR 30+ YEARS.

They are lightweight, cheaper and durable and has excellent insulation properties to help keep the bees warm through winter.

Brood chamber and supers come supplied flat packed with screws for assembling . if you want to glue them we recommend Copydex. They come shrink wrapped and can be bought individually or as a complete hive.

They are compatible with all our wooden National hive parts but you cannot use a wooden roof with the polystyrene.

Cedar Hives

Cedar is the ideal wood for beehives. The natural oils make it less prone to warping, less susceptible to insect infiltration and less likely to rot than other wood. It does not need to be painted but a protective application of linseed oil can help maintain the wood’s natural colour.

Dingle beekeeping supplies offer both national and commercial bee hives available in either cedar, deal or polystyrene.

Each hive is made up from the following parts

Roof- This has a metal cover and varies in depth between 4 and 8 inches . The 8 inch roof offers better protection in exposed and windy conditions.

Crown board – The crown board sits just below the roof and can be fitted with porter bee escapes or used to feed bees through during the winter.

Super – this is where the bees store the honey. Additional supers can be added to the hive as needed.

Queen excluder – This is a perforated barrier thats placed between the brood chamber and the honey super that prevents the queen from entering the super and laying eggs.

Brood chamber – this is where the queen lays eggs and the brood is raised.

Varroa mesh floor – This is the floor of the hive and is fitted with a sheet of wire mesh, varroa mites that fall from the bees through this are unable to return.