Hi All I was recently given a number of hives by an old beekeepers wife. Her husband died and she asked if I would look after the hives. She said I could take one home as well as I was interested in the bees (she lives at the coast and the bees there are more aggressive than mine which are further inland). This beekeeper built hive lids that were made with a thin wooden frame that fitted onto the edge of the hive rim. Accross this frame he had nailed floor boards with tongue and groove joints. This had then been creosoted and apparently left in the sun for a month. Then he put the lids on the hives and that was that. These lids are at least twenty years old as that is when he last made equipment, and his bees work extremely well. The space above the frames is about 4cm (2 inches'ish) and on hot days the bees pile into this space. They never build burr comb on top of the bars either, which is nice. it appears they don't because of the creosote. They forage really well and are aggressive as hell (this is their nature though). I took this lid and put it on another hive and it actually helped them, and they worked harder almost immmediatly. I am not sure why this is, but I believe it may be to do with the lid not having any hiding places for hive beatles which trash the brood. Anyhow the whole thick black layer of creosote over wood thing with bees there scares me, but this guy produced honey for forty odd years using the system, and some of his equipment looks like it must have been with him from the beginning! Keep well Garth --- Garth Cambray Kamdini Apiaries 15 Park Road Apis melifera capensis Grahamstown 800ml annual precipitation 6139 Eastern Cape South Africa Phone 27-0461-311663 3rd year Biochemistry/Microbiology Rhodes University In general, generalisations are bad. Interests: Flii's and Bees.