We at Nectar Honey provide safe and durable homes for our bees in the form of reinforced concrete hives, instead of the traditional Longstroth wooden hives. The first version of our hive comprised of a concrete brood box and super, mixed with an insulating agent, Pratley Pearl, and lined with pressed wood to house the frames. The lid of the hive is also well isolated. Empty, this hive weighs 200kg. It has a custom made locking mechanism at the top which keeps the different components together. It also keeps our bees safe and prevents opening of the hive, even if turned on its side.

The weight of this version of our concrete hive proved to be disadvantageous in providing pollination services. These hives needed to be disassembled before relocation which meant that the bees had to be transferred into a wooden hive to allow for the concrete hive to be transported in pieces.

Version 2 of our concrete hive functions much the same as the first. The difference being that the second version contains a wooden Longstroth hive inside the reinforced concrete shell. This design provides more insulation and may be relocated with minimal disturbance to the bees. It also facilitates pollination services as the wooden hive is removed and transported for duration of the pollination and the heavy concrete hive remains at its original location.

These reinforced concrete hives afford us the peace of mind to leave our bees in remote locations without the fear of theft or vandalism. It has proven to provide much more protection against the harsh African climate. The hives are also resistant to veld fires – not only do the hives remain unscathed but the bees survive fires due to the durability and protection of our concrete hives.

We are continuously looking to expand our repopulation project. If you would like to get involved and have a suitable location for bee hives, please reach out to us. We provide the hives, bees and the professional service of the hives. In return, we bottle and supply to the host a percentage of all honey harvested at the apiary.