We take the Langstroth hive as an example to explain the internal structure of the beehive.
The Langstroth hive is the most widely used hive in the United States, and it's gaining popularity worldwide.
A hive stand isn't necessary, but you may find one useful because it elevates the hive off the wet ground, which improves air circulation and results in less bending over when you are inspecting your hives. In addition, grass growing in front of the hive's entrance can slow the bees' ability to get in and out. The stand alleviates that problem by raising the hive above the grass.
A bottom board is the floor of the beehive. There are two types of bottom board, a solid bottom board and a screened bottom board.Screened bottom board improves ventilation and is helpful when controlling and monitoring the colony's population of varroa mites.
An entrance reducer is a cleat that limits bee access to the hive and controls ventilation and temperature during cooler months. You don’t nail the entrance reducer into place but rather place it loosely at the hive’s entrance so that you can introduce it or remove it as needed. The small notch reduces the entrance of the hive to the width of a finger. The large notch opens the entrance to about four finger widths. Removing the entrance reducer completely opens the entrance to the max.
The deep hive bodies are essentially boxes that contain frames of comb. For a Langstroth hive, you typically build two deep hive bodies to stack on top of each other, like a two-story condo. The bees use the lower deep as the nursery or brood chamber, to raise thousands of baby bees. They use the upper deep as the pantry or food chamber, where they store most of the honey and pollen for their use.
Beekeepers use honey supers to collect surplus honey. That’s your honey — the honey that you can harvest from your bees. The honey that’s in the deep hive body must be left for the bees.
The hives use removable frames. The bees build their honeycomb onto the frames. Because the frames are removable from the hive, you can easily inspect, manipulate, and manage the colony.
- Inner cover & Outer cover
The inner and outer cover protects the bees from the elements.
