Interesting article on a different bee hive system.

[Michelle]

http://keepingbackyardbees.com/the-slovenian-beehive-arrives-in-the-us/

[hamptor]

Now that's a really interesting way to keep bees!   Avoiding the heavy lifting is a real benefit!  Thanks for sharing!
Wonder if these are available in the US?

[LazyBkpr]

I stole the Slovenian Cebelnjak idea some time ago, and built something similar to put bees into up Maine...  bears cant get in and the building insulates against wind..  5 foot wide, 14 foot long. Langstroth boxes sit on the plywood baseboard and the entrances are permanently attached to that base board. Ten hives wide, and the landing boards flip up so a hive or an entrance can be closed.  It sits on 4x4 skids and can be pulled onto a trailer to be moved.  Solar panels charge a deep cycle battery for the fence charger to keep bears from trying to rip the door off, and the battery also powers 12 volt lights inside the building. At the far end/bottom of the building there is a barred draft door. At the door end of the building there is another barred draft door set high. In the summer both doors are opened and as the heat rises it creates a draft, pulling in the cooler air near the ground as the warmer air exits the top.
   It has worked so well for them, that I am hoping I can build them here for my own outyards/bees.

   Open one of the hives, and the bees dont even try to go for you.. they aim straight for the open door, or the lights if the doors are closed...  With this system, there is NO upper ventilation so the bees retain more heat..  condensation does not seem to be a problem with only the pink foam on the top of the solid inner cover.  Perhaps, because the rate of heating and cooling is slowed by being inside?
   I will be taking pictures when I start building...

[Retroguy]

I've read a bit about these over the past few months.  I have an old chicken coop I could convert (stationary) and I have a couple of old wagons that the beds have rotted off and was wondering if I could build one of these on the running gear.  I know they do something along that line in the "Old Country".

[pistolpete]

I've been keeping bees "indoors" since I started.  I keep standard Lang gear inside sheds, with a landing board on the outside.  I feel that a tree trunk naturally provides a tonne more insulation than a 3/4" plank.  Cutting off the peaks of the daytime highs and lows seems better for the bees.  They are slower to get going in the morning, because no sun directly warms the hive, but they make up for it the rest of the day.  Inspections are calmer, because there are no foragers buzzing around my head.   Also I have less to worry about in the winter.   Here are some pictures of my hives in a community garden.  The lattice makes them fly up out of human space.

[LazyBkpr]

I like that setup.  Nice addition of the louvered vent covers on the bottom of the door!  It also saves ypou time as far as painting your woodenware.. less rotting of corners, no water worries, no critter worries..  Re paint the shed every four or five years, then let the grandkids (if I ever have any) go crazy with paint brushes and wild colors....