Langstroth migratory super with 10 frames

01 · THE BATTENS

Three jobs in two rails

The rails that stand proud top and bottom do three things at once. The top one of one box locates into the bottom one of the next, so stacked supers do not shift with the shaking of a lorry or a dirt track. They give the straps and the fixing hooks something to bite on. And they act as a grip for lifting the box with both hands when it is loaded, which is when it really matters.

02 · THE TIMBER

Finger-jointed pine and finger-jointed corners

The board is finger-jointed pine — glued end to end — dimensionally steadier than a single piece: it copes better with the jump from the heat of a lorry to the night damp of the field without warping. The four corners are finger-jointed, so the mechanical interlock carries the weight and the nails only close it. The finish is a single coat of linseed oil, not varnish: it protects without sealing the grain and can be gone over years later without stripping anything.

03 · THE FRAMES

Ten Hoffman, wired and fitted

It arrives with its ten frames already in. Hoffman frames carry the spacer built into the side bar, so the distance between combs is fixed without a loose castellated strip and the frames go back into place at every inspection without you fighting the parts. All you have to add is the foundation, and there you choose origin and thickness, which in a large apiary is cost and is disease control.

04 · THE COMPATIBILITY

Langstroth, and only Langstroth

It stacks on any Langstroth floor, brood box, crown board or roof, screened and plastic floors included. It is not compatible with Dadant Blatt or with Layens: those are other box and frame sizes. A full super takes 18 to 25 kg depending on the flow, so on migration it pays to carry one or two spares per hive: the nectar comes when it comes, and that is no moment to be counting supers.

05 · BEFORE YOU BUY

The battens steady the stack, but they do not tie it to the floor. For the road you need ratchet straps, fixing hooks or a hive net, and those go separately.