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dunnybees

Our new Noochii Hive has arrived!!!!

Updated: Jul 4

New to DunnyBees for 2024 is our brand new Noochii Hive, this hive is very different to our tradition national hives as it is horizontal, also know as a long hive or topbar.



The Noochii Hive was only designed and established in 2023 our hive is hive number 8.


The name Noochii is derived from the word “Nyuchi”, the Shona word meaning honeybee, Mark Meadows who builds the hives grew up in Zimbabwe and was fluent in Shona


A less common approach is the horizontal hive. Again, there are some variations on this arrangement, like the top bar and long hive, however the core principles are the same. Instead of stacking boxes, these hives consist of a large space extending horizontally, with either frames or top bars for the bees to build their combs from. And the space can easily be reduced in winter when the colony naturally shrinks.


The Noochi Hive is one of the most sustainable hives in the world due to the Accoya wood it is made from.



What is Accoya?

If you had a blank sheet of paper to design the perfect material to make beehives from, Accoya would be it. Genuinely.


Accoya outperforms Western Red Cedar on all measures: hardness, thermal properties, service life.


Accoya is a softwood that has undergone a process called acetylation. Without getting too technical, the timber is effectively pickled - a bit like a gherkin! - in an acid called acetyl anhydride. The resulting timber is a softwood that performs more like a hardwood which repels water.


Here are the benefits of Accoya:


  • Extremely durable: Guaranteed for 50 years above ground and 25 years in the ground or in fresh water, and that is without any preservatives or paint! And it’ll last a lot longer with a little care… who will you leave your Noochii Hive to?!

  • Dimensionally stable: Accoya is unaffected by water. It doesn’t twist, splinter, shrink, swell or warp.

  • Rot-resistant: As Accoya absorbs almost no water it does not rot.

  • Improved thermal insulation: Accoya is 8% better than softwoods, like Western Red Cedar, and up to 30% better than hardwoods. The bees will use less energy keeping the hive at the right temperature.

  • Non-toxic: Actually, Accoya is food-safe. You can eat your dinner off of it! There is a very small amount of acid left over after the treatment which is a similar level to the acid found naturally in some hardwoods.

  • Insect resistant: Termites and other wood-boring insects turn their noses up at Accoya - they obviously don’t appreciate pickles in their sandwiches!

  • Improved hardness and compression strength: Accoya is approved by the German Institute for Building Technology for load bearing structural applications that other softwoods are not.

  • Sustainability: The big one. Everything and everyone everywhere is claiming to be more sustainable. Green-washing is real and I’m really conscious of not jumping on that bandwagon! And neither are Accsys, the company behind Accoya. They have been audited by numerous third party organisations. Their claims have been scrutinized and verified, and they have been awarded a smorgasbord of accreditations!



We are so excited to get started with our new Noochii Hive this season we will keep you updated in our blogs.




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