Layens Beehive 14 frames

01 · HORIZONTAL

No supers to lift, no stacks to dismantle

On a vertical hive, inspecting the nest means lifting full supers. Here there is nothing to lift: you open the lid and all 14 frames are in front of you, side by side. You inspect frame by frame, without taking the hive apart and without carrying weight. It is the system for anyone who works alone, for anyone whose back has had enough, and for anyone who wants to see the whole nest in one go.

02 · THE TWO ENTRANCES

The lower one is the door; the upper one, the vent

The lower entrance is the colony's normal way in. The upper one answers the question that comes up most: it is a vent. In summer it lets out the hot air that builds under the lid and lowers heat stress; and in transport, with the hive shut, it is what stops the bees suffocating inside. It is a Spanish adaptation of the Layens, made precisely for moving hives.

03 · WHAT COMES WITH IT

Frames included, timber untreated

The 14 wooden frames come already wired — all they need is foundation. The body is Galician pine, 19 mm, with corner brackets on all four corners and a galvanised lid on side hinges with hasp closures, which is what stands up to rain and sun without rusting. And a fact that has to be said: the timber is supplied bare, unpainted and untreated. Before it goes out to the field it needs a protective coat — that is what decides whether it lasts five years or twenty.

04 · IF YOU ARE GOING TO MOVE IT

The compression bar is missing

The Spanish Layens travels with two parts that are not included here: the compression bar that squeezes the frames against one side and the wedges that lock it. Without them, on the road the frames shift and crush bees against the walls. If the hive is going to travel, budget for them; if it is staying put, they are not needed.

05 · WHEN IT GETS TIGHT

There is a Layens half-super

Fourteen frames is a lot of nest, but in a strong spring they can fill before the flow arrives — and a Layens filled to the brim swarms. The answer is not splitting out of necessity: there is a Layens half-super to add height when the width runs out. Having one ready from the start saves the misery of having to split the colony at exactly the wrong moment.

06 · BEFORE YOU BUY

It comes unpainted and untreated and without foundation; the frames are included and wired. The compression bar and wedges for transport are separate.