> Are your hives styrofoam or hard plastic?

I have some expanded polystyrene (styrofoam)  boxes -- both Betterbee and 
Swienty, enough for about ten doubles.  I have written about them from time 
to time here and on my website.

> I used for several years the styro hives then gave to a hobby beekeeper as 
> like you say does not mesh well with wood hives on pallets.

I find they are fine for brood chambers and eliminate the wrapping problem. 
They approximate my single wraps in making it easy to open a hive at any 
time if year.  In that way, for early spring treatments and patty feeding 
they are ideal.

I do not like their floors, though, and I use a pillow or two under the 
lids, which are pretty good, but do need a couple of paving bricks here in 
the windy country.  They fit fine on mu pallets, fortunately.  My pallets 
are non-standard and built for telescoping lids, and have sloping floors.

The boxes are dead-simple to put into service and there is no assembly or 
painting cost.  Some of my neighbours are moving to them.  The elimination 
of wrapping and unwrapping alone compensates for the bulkier size.  I would 
seriously consider switching to them for broods if starting again.  I'd use 
wooden mediums or westerns for supers, or maybe plastic if they are now 
perfected.

Management using the styrofoam boxes is different, though.  They are damper 
inside -- and warmer.  In Europe they paint them dark colours.  I did not, 
and that may cause slower initial spring build-up (compared to wood) that I 
observe.  They do catch up, though.

> What I am speaking of is the new ( last five years) hard plastic hives and 
> equipment. Two makers sell in the bee magazines

I have seen some at conventions in previous years.  I was not too impressed 
by the price or the look of them at that time.  I am sure that they will at 
some point, be perfected and take over.  I wonder how they intermix with 
wood? 

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