The environment inside a log hive meets many of the bees' natural needs. Long term scientific research demonstrates that bees choosing to live in tree cavities is no coincidence. The environment promotes health, disease resistance and longevity compared to some standard beekeepers' hive designs.

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1. Being high up in a tree keeps the bees away from ground predators such as badgers, mice, rats and wasps who hunt at ground level.

2. Being off the ground keeps the hive dry and away from mould and damp.

3. The rough wooden interior has shown to provide many benefits. Absorption of excess moisture, homes for beneficial insects which have ancient symbiotic relationships with bees and a place for bees to trap parasites.

4. A circular shaped hive interior prevents 'cold-bridges' and cool spots in corners and allows the bees to more easily control humidity and temperature.

5. The tall column space inside allows the bees to regulate the temperature for the different levels in the hive making sure their larvae are warm and safe at the top of the cavity.

6. The thick walls of the loghive insulate well and make sure the bees are kept warm in winter and cool in summer.

7. The more energy the bees have to expend controlling temperature the less they have for all of the other tasks they need to perform to survive.

8. In an insulated, natural hive where they are allowed to keep and live off their own honey supplies bees require up to 80% less food to survive the winter.

9. Smaller hives which aren't expanded for honey production give a more natural, stable environment for bees to inhabit.

10. One of the main ways Bees communicate is with pheromones, so opening a bee hive from the top releases all the warm air and disturbs the delicate atmosphere in the hive cavity which takes the bees 48hrs to restore. Inspecting the loghive from the bottom prevents this disturbance.

11. Bees also communicate using vibrations and sound. The free hanging comb structure in an open cavity allows these signals to pass more freely around the hive than when Bees make their comb in the rigid frames used by Bee keepers.

12. Left alone in this warm, safe environment, with minimal human interference and allowed to keep their honey for themselves, free to swarm, behave naturally and protect the interior with extremely beneficial propolis bees have been shown to be better able to resist disease, live longer and breed stronger, survivor colonies.

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