Among the different beekeeping hives such as the top bar hive or the straw hive, this article will focus on the Langstroth beehive because it seems to be one that is easily obtained in the United States and does not lead a person to have to build one hive common to the United Kingdom, namely the top bar hive. Consequently, if we were to list the parts of Langstroth beekeeping hives, we would have:
- Hive stand
- Inner cover
- Outer cover
- Lower deep or brood chamber
- Upper deep or food chamber
- Bottom board
- Slatted rack
- Queen excluder
- Shallow honey super
A beginner might ask himself/herself about how the components of the Langstroth hive are to be organized. In fact, concerning the base, cypress is a type of wood that appears to be more resistant than others. As it can be imagined, the hive stand permits to separate the body of the hive from the moist of the ground. Moreover, due to the elevation, the entrance and exit point are not likely to be obstructed by the grass.
The entrance reducer that will probably be part of the hive is employed during the colder times to keep the hive warm. This being, such entrance should be used during the warmer month with the beehive’s new colonies.
An important part of the hive is the deep body where the waxed frames are placed. This part of the hive is made of two sections, the upper deep and the lower deep sections. The curation of honey as well as its storage takes place in the lower deep, while, the queen eggs are placed in the upper deep.
Another part of the hive is the queen excluder or a screen stopping the queen to go to the honey supers. The confection of the excluder is such that the size of the queen prevents her from going through. The excluder is to be utilized when honey is actively being produced.
Concerning the choice of whether to have a foundation in plastic or one made with wax, bees can in fact help make the choice. Effectively, because honey bees work faster on a wax foundation, it seems better to provide them with the surface that seems to ease their work. Plus, it is in fact more natural to have a foundation made of wax than one manufactured with plastic.
There is a little bit more details in my guide about beekeeping. However, as you can see, several parts come into play in the formation of a Langstroth beehive such as the base, the hive stand, the entrance reducer, the deep body, the queen excluder. Relatively to the choice of a plastic foundation over one of wax, it appears to me that if one wants to give an environment more in tune with the nature, a foundation of wax might be better.
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