Living The Hive Life

How EPS Has Beekeeping Industry Buzzing: honey bees—wild and domestic—perform about 80 percent of all pollination worldwide. A single bee colony can pollinate 300 million flowers each day. Grains are primarily pollinated by the wind, but fruits, nuts and vegetables are pollinated by bees. 70 out of the top 100 human food crops—which supply about 90 percent of the world’s nutrition—are pollinated by bees.

The world’s bee population is under serious threat yet its contribution to our ecosystem is as crucial as ever. So, any way in which we or science can help bees survive is a welcome bonus for this hard-working pollinator of our crops and flowers.  

After centuries of using traditional wooden hives, many beekeepers are turning to a new, superior material for their bee homes, expanded polystyrene (EPS).  The same expanded polystyrene used in construction to build and insulate residential and commercial buildings or in packaging to protect human blood samples, new computers, and large refrigerators; its strength, durability and thermal insulation qualities have been recognized as a perfect combination for beehive ware.

Advantages of Expanded Polystyrene Bee Hive Ware

• Insulation – better temperature control (R8 insulation value) creates a more productive environment:
  • Fewer bees are required to regulate the hive temperature, thus more bees are foraging nectar and pollen.
  • Less energy is expended in the winter and less need for wrap, thus higher probability of surviving winter months and transition from spring to summer.
• Ease of assembly. -- no staples. No screws. No nails. No jigs or clamps. You will need quality wood glue and a couple layers of good exterior latex.
• Durability -- no repairing wooden hive bodies. No replacing rotten bottom boards.

Check out Superior Bee, a premier supplier of EPS bee hive ware, to learn more or order.

Please call or email us to learn more.

You can help save bees!  Additional resources:

• http://sos-bees.org/
• http://save-bees.org/