At 01:09 PM 9/8/99 -0400, you wrote: >Andrew Dubas questions the durability of plastic hives. I have had the chance to see some long term plastic hives on the West Coast of the U.S. Four problems: 1. Under conditions of high humidity, water ran down the inside of the hives (wood breathes) 2. If you want to paint them another color, the paint wouldn't hold. 3. The ones that I saw were heavy compared to wood. 4. Difficult to repair Jerry J. Bromenshenk, Ph.D. Director, DOE/EPSCoR & Montana Organization for Research in Energy The University of Montana-Missoula Missoula, MT 59812-1002 E-Mail: [log in to unmask] Tel: 406-243-5648 Fax: 406-243-4184 http://www.umt.edu/biology/more http://www.umt.edu/biology/bees