Langstroth BeeHive complete assembled

01 · WHAT MAKES IT MIGRATORY

One block with nothing sticking out

The brood box is fixed directly to the floor, with no fittings or moving parts between them: less vibration on the road and fewer things to come apart when loading. And there is no landing board projecting, so the hive sits flat against the next one and fits pallets, sack truck or forks without catching. The perimeter timber battens on body and super stand proud just enough to keep supers from shifting on a dirt track, and they give you somewhere to grip without digging a nail into the rebate.

02 · FIRST THING ON ARRIVAL

The oil protects the journey; the paint protects the years

The timber arrives treated with one coat of linseed oil: that keeps damp off it in transit and storage, and lets the wood breathe. It is not the final finish. Before it goes out to the apiary, paint the outside — one coat of exterior water-based paint is enough — and from then on it takes season after season without water getting into the joints. That is the difference between the two experiences most often reported with this hive. And the frames arrive wired but untensioned and without foundation: tension the wire, fit the sheet and embed it, with whatever wax thickness and origin you prefer.

03 · WHAT IT HAS AND WHAT IT DOES NOT

Ten and ten, two entrances below and one above

It includes 10 wired Hoffman frames in the brood box and 10 in the super, a timber roof clad in galvanised sheet and a migratory crown board, which insulates better on long runs and in heat. The floor has two metal entrances, and the super a third, useful for a pollen trap or for ventilation in a heavy flow. It has no side handles and no latches between super and brood box: if you are loading a lorry, those fasteners are bought separately. And it comes with neither paint nor foundation.

04 · BEFORE YOU BUY

It measures 508 × 424 mm outside and 464 × 380 mm inside — the figures to check if you are mixing it with equipment you already own. With a fixed floor you cannot swap the floor or inspect from below, and it is not the hive for double brood box management. A version with a sanitary base and removable tray is available.