Most Effective Insulation Ever Made

Winner! 2023
American Beekeeping
Federation
— Innovation Award —

Hive Hugger® Set

Winterize your hives with our two component system: Crown Top Panel & Winter Wrap.
Everything you need to improve winter mortality.

“Hives not only survive, they thrive.”

Specs & Features

R-value 32

The Crown

High-tech vacuum insulation panels meet the bee industry! Our top panel utilizes the most effective & efficient insulation ever made. This 0.8 inch panel is equivalent to over 6 inches of foam board.

The high R-value (R-value = resistance to heat loss) Crown panel is the key to creating a condensing hive. It keeps the top of the hive above dew point, allowing condensation to occur instead on the cooler sides. Your bees stay warm & dry.

Plus the majority of heat loss is from the top the hive, so providing high R-value top insulation is critical in ensuring overwintering success.

[Patent Pending]

Product Details

In a vacuum, no air molecules exist and without air molecules, heat transfer is greatly minimized. Think Thermos technology. Vacuum insulation panels are used in industries where extreme insulation is achieved in small spaces, for example, Yeti uses vacuum insulation panels in their coolers.

To maintain the integrity of the vacuum seal, our panel is protected with 3M aluminum cladding for optimal puncture resistance. In the unlikely event that the panel gets accidentally punctured, it will become easily bendable. Contact us for a free replacement.

R Value 7

The Winter Wrap

This outer winter wrap is designed for tough, frigid weather. These 1½ inch custom cut, high density foam boards wrap securely around your hive to protect it from harsh winter weather. The foil faced insulation panels feature interlocking box cuts for ease of assembly and storage. Winterizing your hives has never been so simple.

In field research, hives winterized with the Crown & the Wrap ran 20–35º degrees warmer & consumed ~50% less honey.

Survival was over 90%.

Colonies came through the winter stronger and the queen started laying earlier in the spring.

★★★★★ Beekeeper Reviews

  • "The Hive Hugger is a great design that provides an easy-to-apply outer sleeve and has the added advantage of a vacuum-sealed insulated top that provides lots of resistance to heat loss. The combination of high-tech top insulation and a thick wrap-around sleeve got my bees through the winter without a problem and is one of my strongest hives"

    Bill Hesbach

  • “In the past, my strongest hives have been the hardest to get through the winter because of honey demand. I am convinced that the Hive Hugger helped get my hives through the winter by reducing energy needed over the long Minnesota winter.”

    Tim Argo

  • “I have been beekeeping for five years and have never had a more robust spring hive inspection than I did after using the Hive Hugger! It looked like a strong colony in August full of honey and brood. Not only did the Hive Hugger keep the bees warm, but here was plenty of honey left over to keep them strong through the spring. The system was easy to install as well.”

    Marc Ballbach

  • “As a first year beekeeper in 2022, I was researching methods to overwinter my bees and came across the Hive Hugger on Facebook. This spring, my 8-frame hive with Hive Hugger came out stronger than I ever dreamed of. I also gave a 10 -frame Hive Hugger to my beekeeping instructor and he used it on a weak hive which also survived one of the coldest and longest winters we’ve ever had. We are both believers in the Hive Hugger system and I am about to order 3 more!”

    Dawn Moore

  • “I performed my first winter cutout from a building this January. I placed the girls into a single deep hive box and wrapped them in a Hive Hugger and they came out rockin’ in April.”

    Rob Couchman

  • “Thoughtful, data driven design to protect your hives. The Hive Hugger has proven effective in our harsh Minnesota winters. I could not be happier with the results.”

    Melissa Hohertz Foat

  • “I did a side by side comparison with Hive Hugger to Bee Cozy here in western Wisconsin this past winter. The Hive Hugger was much easier to use and I observed a larger number of bees surviving. In the spring, the Hive Hugger seemed to be way ahead in bee build up. Great product, highly recommended.”

    Steve Ashley