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