The most beehives used now days in the world were designed in last century or 2. For example: The Dadant Hive (Charles Dadant 1817-1902). Langstroth hive (Lorenzo Lorraine Langstroth 1810-1895), The Warre hive (Emille Warre 1867-1951), etc. In the time when those hives were designed, the problem with Varoa mites didn’t existed. (Varoa mites first appeared in the hive in the middle of 20th century). The new time is bringing new challenges for all of us and need new approach.
Aditionaly, few beekeepers question whether their systems of bee breeding and colony management adversely affect the normal biological processes of honey bees. And even fewer consider assuring that the environment within the hive is “natural” – as close as possible to that which is optimal for honey bee survival.
That’s why we decided to combine everything we learned in the past 30 years of beekeeping experience with the scientific studies which are done about the life of the bees and nature and in same time to make our work easier. To create an environment and the practices which supports bee's natural defensive behavior toward the intruders.
“New beehive Elle Hive™ and sustainable beekeeping methods – reduce the expenses for 70%.
The most important characteristics of the Elle Hive™ are its dimensions and the innovative use of it. The advantage of the hive is that it can be easily expanded and transformed to suit the beekeepers and bees needs. Of course, if the beekeeper intervenes at the right time, the bees will not be left without enough space, nor with too much empty space. It should be noted that the external appearance of the hive does not affect the bee in any way.
Being beekeeper for a long period of time, I could see up close, how the bees and their behavior are changing. In order to help the bees with their life cycle, I kept modifying the hives. I finished that five years ago and decided to build my own hive with everything I had learned over the previous thirty years. I installed these hives next to the classic hives. I can safely say that a happy bee really does exist! The Elle Hive™ mimics a natural hive; no unnatural materials are used. The bees experience less stress as a result. The yields became much higher and the bees also became stronger. So, after hundred of Elle Hive™ that I tested, I decided to completely change my methods. I wonder why I did not do it before. But it is also true that one does not so easily decide to change the techniques of which one has already been taught.
Of course, financial reasons also play a big role, but the hive is so simple to operate, tuned to the beekeeper, fast for work that will quickly compensate for the investment even of a beekeeper who works alone like me, who takes care of a large number of hives.
In the book I wrote for Elle Hive™ you can find detail explanation of the techniques and small tricks that I use. Personally, when I test a method I do it on at least 100 hives and over several seasons.