Kirchhain Mating Hive,
also known as a Keiler, Segeberger or Warnholz Mating Hive

This type of polystyrene hive was originally crafted in wood and has inwardly sloping sides to reduce, or eliminate, the attachment of combs. The angle of the sides is 76°

Various manufacturers, at different times, have made these mating hives in expanded polystyrene foam. as far as I am aware the components are compatible with each other, at least as far as interchangeability of frames is concerned. In addition to the types mentioned in the title there is a type that has the legend "Friedrich Wienold" under the lid... I believe that this was the first polystyrene version of this type of mating hive that was produced.

A feeder sits in the space at the rear that is not occupied by combs, the food in this feeder is commonly candy or fondant... The reasons for this are discussed on the page Feeding Candy.

There is a Disc Entrance on the recessed under surface so that they may be stacked one on top of the other.

They can be blown about by wind if they are not secured by the weight of a tile, particularly if the feeder becomes empty. Another method of securing the lid and also attaching the whole nuc to the branch of a tree is to cut large 'rubber bands' from a motor car inner tube.

The cutaway drawing at right, shows plain top bars (175 mm x 23 mm x 8 mm), but there are several different versions actually in use that are detailed on the Kirchhain Frame page.

The entrance in this case is a disc type on the under surface... Another version exists whereby the entrance is a pivoted quadrant that has a tab arranged in a slot, so that entrance adjustment can be achieved without disturbing the nuc due to picking it up.

The drawing at right, depicts the Segeberger version... Also known as a Warnholz mating hive (sometimes miss-spelt as Warnholtz) that is manufactured by Bienen-Voight & Warnholz.

This version incorporates a couple of modifications... The entrance is a smaller disc on the front face and the base is changed to incorporate a sliding panel that enables the nuc to be filled with bees by throwing a suitable quantity into an upturned box. This is a similar feature to that used in the Apidea type of mating hive.

This plywood divider came from a Friedrich Wienold type and although the thickness is only 5 mm the slot that it fits in is almost 7 mm wide so that 6.35 mm (1/4") could be used for replacement

This drawing is a composite that shows the dimensions of a Kirchhain frame and the space that it occupies.

Three different types of top bar are shown as coloured outlines and the dimensions that are of the same colour refer to them.