The "Princess" is the Layens built to grow upwards. The Layens hive wins on simplicity: horizontal management, very portable and a lower upfront cost — which is why it's so widespread in Spain. Its long-standing drawback is that brood and honey share the same box. This version fixes that: the body is rebated to take a super, so you gain the option to keep the honey separate up top without giving up Layens simplicity. And it arrives complete —10-frame body, a special super and all frames fitted—, ready to populate.
The body comes with a factory rebate and ships with a matching special super. You start working horizontally —easy, no heavy boxes to lift— and when the colony fills out or you want a cleaner harvest, you add the super and keep the honey apart from the brood nest. On a standard Layens that isn't the norm; here it's ready from day one.
Made of 22 mm pine, with galvanised steel corner reinforcements and a ventilated metal roof that shrug off sun, rain and knocks season after season. The metal catch locks the roof down for transport — a real plus on a hive that, being light and easy to handle, travels well for migratory beekeeping.
It includes all the frames for the brood box and the super, already assembled, so there's nothing to buy separately. The adjustable twin metal entrance lets you control the entrance, ventilate in summer and shut mice out in winter. Just add Layens wax foundation and your bees —nucleus or swarm— and away you go.
It's Layens format: it takes Layens frames and foundation, which aren't interchangeable with Dadant or Langstroth. For advanced techniques —queen rearing, splits, large runs of monofloral honey— a vertical hive gives you more room to manoeuvre; the Layens' strength is simplicity, transport and easy handling, ideal for the hobbyist and semi-pro, especially in warm climates.
| Model | Layens "Princess" hive, 10 frames with super |
|---|---|
| Material | Pine wood (22 mm) |
| Reinforcements | Galvanised steel corners + ventilated metal roof |
| Entrance | Adjustable twin metal entrance |
| Includes | 10-frame rebated body · special super · all frames fitted |
| Frame format | Layens |
| Approx. weight | 30 kg |
Data sheet