The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network. Before using your hive, we recommend using an insect friendly wood preserver and weather outside for a week prior to use.

Place a queen excluder on top of the National brood box, then a small eke (say 25 mm high) with an entrance. There may be an additional carriage charge for some heavy and bulky items to Northern Ireland, the Scottish Highlands and islands, Isle of Man and off-shore islands. Each component is one piece moulded so there are no weak joints and very minimal assembly needed before you add your bees. It might take a few days for the bees to get the message that we want the queen to lay in the 14 x 12's but after a week or so there should be eggs and small larvae in the 14 x 12 frames. Top bars are 7/8 wide, Hoffman self spacing sidebars are 1 3/8 wide at top tapering to 1 1/16 at the bottom.We work very closing with the NBU (National Bee Unit) and APHA (Animal and Plant Agency) to guarantee you disease free bees that are a pleasure to handle. It's not uncommon around here to run brood and a half, but I can't help feeling that's the most awkward of all possible options. I have tried to force the colony to work upstairs straight away by putting the queen on foundation only above the excluder. The 14 x 12 eke is a simple device which fits on top of a National brood box to provide space for 12″ high frames (see below). These are a great size especially if you have a WBC and are looking for more brood space than the British Standard National allows.

All the miscellaneous kit that I own is mostly from ABELO too, and I’ve never had an issue with anything. This is 20% higher in density than competitor’s boxes, therefore offering higher durability and improved thermal properties. All parts of the frame have been machine tooled to our usual exacting standards and just the top bars may have these slight cosmetic flaws which will not be noticed by the bees and will in no way affect their function. Please do not expect 100% blemish free from a product of this nature, whilst we strive to give you the highest quality product available to achieve 100% perfect product in EPS would mean high wastage. Two 14 x 12 frames full of brood is nearly equivalent to three nationals or when I make up splits I take three 14 x 12 frames of brood which gives you a really strong start to your new colony.Our new 6 frame nuc doubles up as a 2-way mating nuc, the feeder has also been designed to be suitable for liquid sugar and solid fondant. If you are not satisfied with purchase or if you have any other problems with the frames you receive, please hesitate to contact us and we will try our best to rectify the problem as soon as possible. I’ve had a few courier issues with damaged items - yet Abelo have always sorted them promptly and to my satisfaction every time.