Your Primal Bee hive is designed to work with minimal intervention, and most "structural" questions turn out to be design choices rather than defects. This article covers frame configuration, when and how to use a queen excluder, how hive scales can transform your monitoring, and the engineering rationale behind features like the off-center feeding hole and the screen bottom board geometry.

Important: If frames are missing, bees will draw comb directly on the hive walls, which becomes very difficult to manage.

For more on the follower board, see Follower board and foundation fit.

Most Primal Bee users skip excluders. The brood chamber's continuous laying space (≈3 Langstroth deeps) means the queen very rarely moves up into the supers. On rare occasions during peak colony strength, she may lay a few eggs in the central super frames — minor and easily managed. If you prefer an excluder, one fits the built-in ledge.

If you prefer to use one:

Note: Primal Bee doesn't sell a hive-specific excluder, but any standard plastic excluder trimmed to size works well.

Check the middle frames of the super periodically. If the queen is laying in the supers, focus on the central frames — the surrounding frames will typically still be used for honey storage.

A hive scale provides continuous, non-invasive monitoring of your colony's weight — the single most informative data point available without opening the hive. Weight tells you:

Tip: For most hobby beekeepers, a BroodMinder-W or similar Bluetooth scale paired with a smartphone app is the best value — it logs data automatically without requiring manual readings.

Important: A colony consuming more than 10–15 lb (4.5–6.8 kg) per month in winter should be watched carefully. If the hive is below 40 lb (18 kg) total (hive + bees + stores) in January, it's at serious starvation risk — install a candy board immediately.

The Primal Bee hive kit includes entrance plugs in different colors — orange (or red) and white — to help you identify configurations at a glance. Each color corresponds to a different opening size: fully open, partially open, or fully sealed. If you're unsure which plug is which or need replacements, contact support.

The feeding hole is intentionally placed off-center for two reasons:

The screen bottom board is designed with significantly more headspace between the bottom of the frames and the mite board (Varroa monitoring tray) than typical wooden hives — roughly 4–5× more distance. This extra space, combined with the inner wall geometry, provides a cushion of thermal and humidity convection currents — part of how Pillar 3 (adiabatic sealing) works in practice.

This design was tested across climates ranging from Alaska and the Swiss/Italian Alps to Florida and the Negev Desert. Because humidity kills brood faster than cold, this airflow management matters — it ensures condensation forms on the inner walls (where bees can collect it) and ventilates downward, rather than pooling on the bottom.

Note: The fit and gap you may notice on the mite board are intentional — not a defect.

Yes. The EPS insert can be removed from the follower board frame, converting it into a functional 8th nest frame once the colony is fully grown and needs the additional space.

Yes — always keep all 8 frame positions filled (7 frames with foundation plus the follower board, or all 8 frames once the follower board insert is removed). If frames are missing, bees will draw comb directly on the hive walls, which becomes very difficult to manage.

Most Primal Bee users skip excluders. The brood chamber's continuous laying space (≈3 Langstroth deep boxes) means the queen very rarely moves up into the supers — she has plenty of room to lay below. On rare occasions during peak colony strength she may lay a few eggs in the central super frames; that's minor and easily managed. If you prefer to use an excluder, one fits the built-in ledge — it's your call.

Because it's rarely needed in this design. The continuous brood-chamber geometry gives the queen ample laying space, so she instinctively confines herself to the nest box. Skipping the excluder also avoids barriers that can disrupt natural movement and adds unnecessary inspection complexity. If you prefer one anyway, you can install a trimmed plastic excluder.

Check the middle frames of the super periodically. If the queen is laying in the supers, focus on the central frames — the surrounding frames will typically still be used for honey storage. If it becomes a recurring issue, you can install a queen excluder.

Yes. Primal Bee doesn't sell a hive-specific excluder, but you can trim a standard plastic queen excluder to fit. The hive includes a dedicated chamfer — a recessed ledge on the two longer inner sides of the top ring, close to the frames — where the excluder sits so the queen can't climb past it. Avoid metal excluders, as they interfere with thermal regulation and tend to be too thick.

A plastic queen excluder, trimmed to fit the hive's internal dimensions. Avoid metal excluders — they interfere with thermal regulation and are typically too thick for the hive's design.

The Primal Bee hive has a dedicated chamfer — a recessed ledge — on the two longer inner sides of the top ring, close to the frames. Trim a standard plastic excluder to fit the internal dimensions of the top ring, then lower it into the chamfer so it lies flat between the nest and the super above. Make sure there are no gaps around the edges where the queen could slip through. Avoid metal excluders — they're too thick and interfere with the hive's thermal regulation.

A hive scale provides continuous, non-invasive monitoring of your colony's weight — the single most informative data point available without opening the hive. Weight tells you when a nectar flow starts and ends, when a dearth hits, whether your colony is consuming stores too fast, when a swarm has issued (sudden 3–5 lb (1.4–2.3 kg) drop), when robbing is occurring (rapid unexplained loss), and winter food consumption rates and projected reserve life.

Options range from basic platform scales ($50–$100) to Bluetooth scales like the BroodMinder-W ($150–$250), WiFi-connected smart scales ($300–$500), and commercial multi-hive systems ($500+). For most hobby beekeepers, a BroodMinder-W or similar Bluetooth scale paired with a smartphone app is the best value — it logs data automatically without requiring manual readings.

As a general guide: +2–5 lb (0.9–2.3 kg)/day or more indicates an active nectar flow; ±0.5 lb (0.2 kg)/day is normal maintenance; −0.5–1 lb (0.2–0.5 kg)/day is mild consumption worth monitoring; −1–2 lb (0.5–0.9 kg)/day suggests active dearth or heavy cluster and you should consider feeding; a sudden drop of 3–5 lb (1.4–2.3 kg) in a day likely means a swarm departed; and rapid unexplained loss over hours suggests possible robbing — check the entrance immediately. In winter, a colony consuming more than 10–15 lb (4.5–6.8 kg) per month should be watched carefully. If the hive is below 40 lb (18 kg) total in January, it's at serious starvation risk — install a candy board immediately.

Yes. Purpose-built hive scales like the BroodMinder-W4 are designed to sit flat under the hive body and are compatible with anchoring straps. The strap goes over the hive above the scale — it won't interfere with weight measurement as long as it's not pulling the hive down onto the scale platform. Place the scale on a flat, stable surface for accurate readings.

The Primal Bee hive kit includes entrance plugs in different colors — orange (or red) and white — to help you identify configurations at a glance. Each color corresponds to a different opening size: fully open, partially open, or fully sealed. If you're unsure which plug is which or need replacements, contact support.

The feeding hole is intentionally placed off-center for two reasons. First, in winter, bees tend to cluster toward the warmer, sun-facing side of the hive (typically south). As the cluster moves upward consuming honey, the off-center hole aligns better with where the cluster naturally positions itself, improving access to emergency feed. Second, the off-center placement is designed for compatibility with circular feeders that align with the molded circles on the nest lid, plus a larger feeder system in development that will occupy roughly half a medium super — leaving room for accessories like IoT sensors and future hive-management tools.

The fit and gap are intentional. The screen bottom board in the Primal Bee hive is designed with significantly more headspace between the bottom of the frames and the mite board (Varroa monitoring tray) than typical wooden hives — roughly 4–5× more distance. This extra space, combined with the inner wall geometry, provides a cushion of thermal and humidity convection currents — part of how Pillar 3 (adiabatic sealing) works in practice. The design was tested across climates ranging from Alaska and the Swiss/Italian Alps to Florida and the Negev Desert. Because humidity kills brood faster than cold, this airflow management is critical — it ensures condensation forms on the inner walls (where bees can collect it) and ventilates downward, rather than pooling on the bottom.