Plastic foil sheet on top super?

Hello everyone,

in about all videos I see with German beekeepers, they have some kind of plastic foil sheet on their uppermost super and then a lid on top while with the flow hives we have the wooden lid.

Does anyone know the reason for the foil sheet and is it something we should have between lid and super too?

 Balu

I think that is a version of a hive mat like @JeffH (vinyl) and the university of Guelph (canvas) beekeepers use but it is made out of foil lined plastic insulation sheets. Like a flexible inner cover, that provides some top insulation against hot and cold.

Just for reference, this is how the foil looks like. You can see it at about 01:50 in this (German) video:

I’ve seen it a lot and I always wondered what the purpose is :slight_smile: