Defender
Advanced versatile hive
A dedicated apiary solution for every stage of colony development. Defender is a durable, thermo-insulated, multi-colony hive designed for advanced beekeepers - both professional and experienced enthusiasts. It provides reliable control over queen breeding and rearing, colony unification, and the management of genetic selection. The system is equipped with practical features that support colony health and simplify hive management tasks.
Features that change beekeepers' work
Space
Organization
With Defender beehive, challenges are made easy. Special boards divide brood box into compartments (two, three or four) and give the possibility of adjustable scent blending. The hive is equipped with an integrated feeder that allows you feed every colony separately. These features enable full control over advanced colony management.
Ingenious and Practical
Smart Solutions
Frames
Our goal is to make beekeepers’ work more effective. The Defender beehive comes with dedicated dividable frames—two half-size frames for queen rearing that can be joined with a special socket to form a full-size honey frame. This full frame can then be used for other colony management tasks.
Lock
and latches
The main hive elements are secured with the ApiMaye’s lock latch mechanism, which also serves as a carrying handle. This latch system allows multiple hives to be connected for safe and convenient transportation. Featuring a two-level closing system, the latch ensures that accessories like queen excluders do not compromise hive safety during transit.
Constructed from AISI 304 stainless steel a food-grade, corrosion-resistant material that is both durable and easy to clean.
Active
Ventilation
The hive’s ventilation system begins at the screened bottom board and extends to adjustable top cover vents, allowing bees to autonomously regulate airflow based on colony needs. This controlled ventilation prevents drafts, moisture buildup, and mold development inside the hive. Air circulates upward along the hive walls, stabilizing temperature and humidity around the brood cluster to support colony health and protect it from environmental stressors.
Thermal
Insulation
The innovative all-around double-layer insulation ensures optimal thermal conditions inside the hive year-round. In the face of climate change and increasingly unpredictable weather, enhanced thermal insulation is crucial to protect bee colonies from temperature extremes. Maintaining stable temperatures inside the hive during both cold and hot seasons results in healthier colonies after winter, more efficient activity in summer, and continuous protection from harsh conditions—factors that together enhance overall apiary performance.
High End
Materials
ApiMaye manufactures hives built to last, crafted with great care for quality and durability, ensuring sustainability through long-lasting performance.
Our food-contact certified (Food Codex) HDPE is safe for bees and honey. Additionally, hives are easy to clean and durable, thanks to a special formula that provides UV resistance.
Latches are made of AISI 304 stainless steel—acid-proof and food-contact certified.
The insulation material filling the walls and outer cover has a thermal conductivity coefficient of 0.07 W/m·K.
DEFENDER
PRODUCTION
Defender in a basic production hive setup, one dividing board included, two options of supers available.
DEFENDER
SWARM
In a swarm hive setup, the Defender hive can serve as a backup or as a development hive after queen rearing.
QUEEN BREEDING
DEFENDER
Defender in queen breeding setup: 4 divisions, 4 entrances on two sides, 4 small separate feeders, and no bottom tray to prevent scent mixing.
OUR
Awards
Apimaye has been recognized for its innovative approach since the very beginning. Defender hive was the first of our hives that won an Apimondia medal in 2011, and since then many of our products have been honored with gold, silver, and bronze awards. We believe our method, a combination of engineering expertise and close cooperation with beekeepers, is the key to real innovation. Guided by their insights, we continue to refine even the smallest details that make apiary work easier.
