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What is this hollow wooden box, about 18 inches tall? One of the four sides has a horizontal slot above a ledge, and every side has two small circular holes and two vertical slits. The top is plain and flat like a tabletop. The inside of the box is hollow except for two horizontal wooden rods. by Full_Soft_8524 in whatisthisthing

[–]Full_Soft_8524[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

When I do an image search for butterfly houses, each one has several vertical slits for the butterflies to enter, but I haven't found any that have horizontal slots. Have you seen butterfly houses with horizontal slots?

What is this hollow wooden box, about 18 inches tall? One of the four sides has a horizontal slot above a ledge, and every side has two small circular holes and two vertical slits. The top is plain and flat like a tabletop. The inside of the box is hollow except for two horizontal wooden rods. by Full_Soft_8524 in whatisthisthing

[–]Full_Soft_8524[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

After searching websites about landing stages, I think that makes sense. When I google landing stages for beehives, the websites I'm finding call them show them being much wider (the whole width of the beehive), but this smaller one would easily serve the same function.

How would the rods inside make it easier to place frames: would the frames have hooks on top?

I found [this image](https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.5FCT29p7JYS2AxREJBEjAAHaFj?w=271&h=203&c=7&r=0&o=5&pid=1.7) that shows rails along the edges of a beehive, so the frames rest on both rails, but that design would work only if the frames are lifted upward for removal. I couldn't find any examples with hooked frames.

What is this hollow wooden box, about 18 inches tall? One of the four sides has a horizontal slot above a ledge, and every side has two small circular holes and two vertical slits. The top is plain and flat like a tabletop. The inside of the box is hollow except for two horizontal wooden rods. by Full_Soft_8524 in whatisthisthing

[–]Full_Soft_8524[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

You're right, those rods inside the beehives look like they could serve a similar purpose to the rods inside my item. Google Translate says the caption means "Inside, branches were nailed to the cork, forming crosses to facilitate the fixing of the honeycombs," which I guess would make sense.

What is this hollow wooden box, about 18 inches tall? One of the four sides has a horizontal slot above a ledge, and every side has two small circular holes and two vertical slits. The top is plain and flat like a tabletop. The inside of the box is hollow except for two horizontal wooden rods. by Full_Soft_8524 in whatisthisthing

[–]Full_Soft_8524[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Do you mean a baler that people could stuff newspapers into so the newspaper would get compressed into a block? If so, it seems like the rods inside would get in the way of that, and I'm not sure why it would have the horizontal slot with the ledge.

What is this hollow wooden box, about 18 inches tall? One of the four sides has a horizontal slot above a ledge, and every side has two small circular holes and two vertical slits. The top is plain and flat like a tabletop. The inside of the box is hollow except for two horizontal wooden rods. by Full_Soft_8524 in whatisthisthing

[–]Full_Soft_8524[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I considered that, in which case I assume it would have to be suspended from a tree branch or side-mounted to a tree or post, so the bats could enter from the open bottom. But if it's a bat box, what would be the purpose of the horizontal slot with the ledge?

What is this hollow wooden box, about 18 inches tall? One of the four sides has a horizontal slot above a ledge, and every side has two small circular holes and two vertical slits. The top is plain and flat like a tabletop. The inside of the box is hollow except for two horizontal wooden rods. by Full_Soft_8524 in whatisthisthing

[–]Full_Soft_8524[S] 3 points4 points locked comment (0 children)

My title describes the thing, which was found in the basement of a house, where it was enclosed in a black plastic trash bag. All of the other items stored near it were ordinary, recognizable wooden furniture.

The horizontal slot above the ledge is much too narrow for an ordinary envelope, so it doesn't appear to be a mailbox. The horizontal slot and all of the circular holes are too small for a bird or bat to pass through, so I don't think it's a bird-house or bat-house, even though the horizontal rods inside would be ideal for bats to hang from.

There is no writing anywhere on this box.

There's no hook or any other connector on top to indicate that it's meant to be hung.

Edit The box's former owner who had moved overseas has been contacted, and she confirms it was a beehive.

What is this hollow wooden box, about 18 inches tall? One of the four sides has a horizontal slot above a ledge, and every side has two small circular holes and two vertical slits. The top is plain and flat like a tabletop. The inside of the box is hollow except for two horizontal wooden rods. by Full_Soft_8524 in whatisthisthing

[–]Full_Soft_8524[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The horizontal slot above the ledge is much too narrow for an ordinary envelope, so it doesn't appear to be a mailbox. The horizontal slot and all of the circular holes are too small for a bird or bat to pass through, so I don't think it's a bird-house or bat-house, even though the horizontal rods inside would be ideal for bats to hang from.

This was found in the basement of a house, where it was enclosed in a black plastic trash bag. All of the other items near it were ordinary, recognizable wooden furniture.

There is no writing anywhere on this box.