Hello Carmenie,
     I have two D.E. Hives and I think they are great. During the hottest
days of last summer when My ten other hives had huge beards on the front, My
D.E. Hives had none, this is due to the great ventilation those hives
feature. I also have two conversion kit hives, which use standard Langstroth
hive bodies and supers but have the ventilation box and ventilated outer
cover that work so well. The Langstroth bodies are also "sideways" to the
way We ordinarily sit hive bodies, this makes the entrance very wide for
ease of ventilation and also that is the way bees build comb in the wild.
Also, the unique way that plastic frame spacers are used prevents the bees
from reaching the ends of the top bars, therefore they cannot propolize
them. I do not need any tools to lift the frames just My fingers.
The year I got My first D.E. Hive I compared honey production compared to My
other hives and the D.E. did a lot better. But even if it produces the same
amount of honey the other features make it outstanding. Everyone that I show
this hive to is impressed with the ventilation.
Garry Libby
Attleboro, MA  USA
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