>myself and an associate (Phil Sammut) are about to embark large scale into
metal hives at about one third the capital cost and considerable cost
savings in maintenance and repairs

I've seen Phil's metal hives, and was quite impressed!  Especially by his
6-frame "gang hive units" that he uses for pollination.  He's got a great
point--if a grower is paying for only six frames of bees, why give him a box
that holds more?  However, the reality is that bee pollination is largely a
function of pollen collection for most crops.  The amount of pollen
collection is dependent upon the colony having a place to store it.  A
colony out of storage space stops collecting pollen, and may swarm.  But
Phil is able to supply the grower with what they ask for, at minimal
investment on his part.  Phil is one of the most innovative beekeepers I've
met, and a great businessman (a trait in which I am totally lacking).


> >Boxes treated with copper naphthenate over 20 years ago are still in
> service.


A point not always made clear in this discussion is whether the hot-dipped
or copper-treated are then painted. Old research from Forest Products
Laboratory demonstrated that painted pine wood lasts many years longer if
treated with a water-repellent preservative (WRP) prior to painting.  Simple
paint over raw pine has a very short life, especially over the end grain.
Rot generally starts there.

  My own boxes aren't painted, and I happily redip them every 10 years or so
(some sooner, some later) just to clean out the wax and propolis, and to
sterilize. The unpainted boxes redip without any problems with paint
peeling.  My boxes all weather to the dark gray of weathered wood, which
allows them to blend into the background.  My bee yards are often near
habitations, so out of sight is out of mind.

I'm often asked about whether the dark boxes cause overheating of the
colonies during summer.  I run much of my operation in the blazing sun at
4000 ft in the hot Nevada desert during the summer (irrigated alfalfa), and
the hives sit on light colored sand.  Cooling water is plentiful from
irrigation ditches.  The bees do fine.

In fact, when we first got tracheal mite, which is heat sensitive, I
wondered if the summer "cooking" helped in its control.  Ditto for varroa
(also heat sensitive).  During winter, small clusters generally move to the
sun-warmed sides of the dark boxes.

I have not compared colony performance in white-painted vs dark boxes side
by side.  Has anyone on the List?

Randy Oliver

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