It's a standard national. I am very interested in "Natural Beekeeping", top bar hives etc, but it is challenging learning the ropes, so I am staying more mainstream conventional at the moment, where I can get help from the local association. I will be trying to do things in a bee friendly way - I want to keep bees because (1) I am fascinated by the principle, (2) bees are under threat, and a bit more support wouldn't go amiss, and finally (3) I like honey. (3) is not the priority!
Do you keep bees?
I used to. A combination of other things grabbing my time, a daughter who developed a life-threatening allergy to the stings and the dreaded
varroasis jacobsoni wiping out all my colonies one winter put paid to it. I've still got loads of stuff - hives, honey extractor, overalls, veils, hive tools etc, just no bees.
I used 14*12s, which is national-and-a-half frame size for the brood chamber. Theoretically they are the ideal size as the brood nest, according to some, is best if it's spherical, or as near as possible. 14*12 is the nearest shape to a cube of all the commercially available hives, apparently.
The supers are interchangeable between standard nationals and 14*12.
