# Difference between cedar and Araucaria hives **URL:** \ **Category:** Purchasing, Shipping, Orders\ **Created:** [May 22, 2018, 5:45am UTC](https://forum.honeyflow.com/t/difference-between-cedar-and-araucaria-hives/15062 "2018-05-22T05:45:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![rubybacken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5daacb/32.png) [@rubybacken](https://forum.honeyflow.com/u/rubybacken)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2018, 5:45am UTC](https://forum.honeyflow.com/t/difference-between-cedar-and-araucaria-hives/15062/1 "2018-05-22T05:45:04Z")
I am looking to buy a flow hive and was wondering what the difference would be between a western red cedar and Araucaria hive. ---
**Author:** ![SnowflakeHoney](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.honeyflow.com/snowflakehoney/32/7036_2.png) [@SnowflakeHoney](https://forum.honeyflow.com/u/SnowflakeHoney)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2018, 6:35am UTC](https://forum.honeyflow.com/t/difference-between-cedar-and-araucaria-hives/15062/2 "2018-05-22T06:35:05Z")
They are made from different woods, but otherwise the same function. What particular differences were you interested in? ---
**Author:** ![Dan2](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.honeyflow.com/dan2/32/10463_2.png) [@Dan2](https://forum.honeyflow.com/u/Dan2)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2018, 8:34am UTC](https://forum.honeyflow.com/t/difference-between-cedar-and-araucaria-hives/15062/3 "2018-05-22T08:34:47Z")
Cedar is probably more insulative. edit; [http://www.timbeck.com.au/specie-properties/western-red-cedar/properties](http://www.timbeck.com.au/specie-properties/western-red-cedar/properties) see info under “thermal conductivity” ---
**Author:** ![Dawn\_SD](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.honeyflow.com/dawn_sd/32/15954_2.png) [@Dawn\_SD](https://forum.honeyflow.com/u/Dawn_SD)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2018, 8:35am UTC](https://forum.honeyflow.com/t/difference-between-cedar-and-araucaria-hives/15062/4 "2018-05-22T08:35:35Z")
> [@rubybacken](#): > > what the difference would be between a western red cedar and Araucaria hive. Western Red Cedar (WRC) 1. Very light to lift (around 2/3 weight of pine) 2. Nice reddish color if sealed 3. Doesn’t need sealing 4. Insect resistant naturally 5. Expensive wood Araucaria Pine 1. Heavier than WRC 2. Pale in colour, typical of pine 3. Needs sealing or painting 4. Not naturally insect-resistant 5. Much cheaper wood Both wood types are sustainably sourced by Flow, but WRC is not grown as widely as various types of pine, so it will always be more expensive. I go for WRC whenever possible, as I find it much easier to lift. My nucleus boxes are all pine though. ---
**Author:** ![Webclan](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.honeyflow.com/webclan/32/11252_2.png) [@Webclan](https://forum.honeyflow.com/u/Webclan)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2018, 9:34am UTC](https://forum.honeyflow.com/t/difference-between-cedar-and-araucaria-hives/15062/5 "2018-05-22T09:34:17Z")
After gaining experience with both, I absolutely now only want WRC hives. The lesser weight is a huge bonus, but I observed that the cedar hives never get mould on the timber, inside of the roof, whereas mould seems to easily grow on the pine. The bees seem to thrive better in the cedars. The cedar smells better in my opinion, merging nicely with the colonies’ fragrance. I only have 3 araucaria hives, the rest is cedar, but I wish they were all cedar. I’ll never get pine hives again. And I like the fact that cedar doesn’t need any sealing with paint. Perhaps that’s why the pine ones can’t breathe. I just put house paint on the top of the cedar roof, so all the cracks are sealed and no rain can seep in. And occasionally tung oiling the cedar always makes them look as new, like treasured furniture. ---
**Author:** ![Peter48](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.honeyflow.com/peter48/32/14625_2.png) [@Peter48](https://forum.honeyflow.com/u/Peter48)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2018, 10:32am UTC](https://forum.honeyflow.com/t/difference-between-cedar-and-araucaria-hives/15062/6 "2018-05-22T10:32:25Z")
> [@rubybacken](#): > > Araucaria Araucaria is a pine wood and heavier than Cedar, it is plantation grown and grows faster than Cedar. So for environment reasons I have bought the Araucaria hives but they are for all intents and purposes the same Flow Hives, just made of different timber. Regards ---
**Author:** ![rubybacken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5daacb/32.png) [@rubybacken](https://forum.honeyflow.com/u/rubybacken)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2018, 12:56am UTC](https://forum.honeyflow.com/t/difference-between-cedar-and-araucaria-hives/15062/7 "2018-05-23T00:56:45Z")
Thanks everyone for the replies! I was looking into the difference to see if it was worth spending more on cedar. I am definitly leaning towards cedar now. 🙂