I am getting back into bees after 15 years and now that I am a lot older (60 - shudder), I have researched different styles of hives and decided since I live in a Northern Cold Country part of the year to go with the ease of use of an insulated Top Bar hive. My husband and I built a Layens Hive following Dr. Leo's directions (very precise) and even insulated it with wool. I am loving the setup and my girls are doing great. I have very quiet Carnolians that have been raised close to where I live for the past 50 years or more. The family brought them from Germany when they moved and have gone thru 3 generations without buying bees. Unfortunately, they were never able to keep the Varroa Mite out of their hives through no fault of their own, so I will need to monitor for them myself.
I am inviting any Layen Hive users to send me messages. This is a new hive for me and I wish to learn all I can.
I wish everyone a honey-ful year!