Off the Urban Grid

Inside a Bee Hive

Knowing the basics of beekeeping is essential, but you also need a hive that your bees can call home. Some hives look similar to houses while others look like a miniature dressers with drawers. Depending on your experience with beekeeping, you might want to choose a simple design that is easier to use, but first you should familiarize yourself with the hive’s design.

Bee Hive Components

• The stand is what keeps the hive off of the ground, but it has to be sturdy enough to hold the weight of the honey.
• The floor is the entrance, and it protects the bottom of the hive.
• The Varroa screen is a mesh screen between the brood box and the floor, which allows the Varroa mite (a bee parasite) to fall to the floor and die.
• The frames contain a wax foundation, which is meant to encourage the bees to make the comb.
• The foundation is sturdier when wired, and it has wax molds of hexagons on both sides.
• The brood box is where the queen and most of the colony live. This section might hold between 10 and 14 frames, and it should be kept at 95 degrees Fahrenheit.
• The queen excluder prevents the queen from moving from the brood box to the super box. However, worker bees can pass through easily.
• The supers are boxes above the brood box, which hold shallow frames with the foundation. The bees will store honey here so this is where you will harvest it from.
• The crown board fits over the brood and supers, and its main purpose is to keep heat in. This part is often made of wood.
• The roof of the hive is similar to the roof of a house. It protects the bees from the elements and is sometimes covered with a thin sheet of metal.

Tags: bee hives, beekeeping, types of hives