Bee Hive Parts

There are many different types of beehives and hive configurations that beekeepers use.  I’m going to talk about the most common type of hive, which is called the 10 frame Langstroth beehive. There are four basic components to a beehive.  They are the bottom board, the supers, the frames and the inner cover.  Within those hive components there are many different options to choose from.  A common configuration is made using deep supers for the brood chambers and the medium supers or shallow supers for the honey.

There are two basic bottom boards that beekeeper’s use. There are solid bottom boards and the screened bottom boards. The screened bottom board simply has a screen on the bottom. The solid bottom is comprised of just a solid floor.

Deep super is a large size hive box.  Each super holds 10 frames inside it that the bees build wax onto. Some people use an 8 frame hive box which would require 8 frames per super. Super Frames (with foundation), these are the heart of the hive.  They are made from wood or plastic and usually have foundation in the middle. Foundation is made from wax, wax with wire, plastic or a combination.  The bees use the foundation as a model to build their own wax onto.  Some beekeepers may choose not to use foundation at all, but this requires a slightly different frame setup not described here.  Each super in a 10 frame hive needs 10 frames with or without foundation.

Queen Excluder, this is a flat rack made of metal or plastic, with holes large enough to allow the worker bees to get through and small enough to exclude the bigger queen bee. This is a handy piece of equipment to have. The most common use is to prevent the queen from laying eggs inside the honey super.

Inner Cover, this is a wooden cover that goes on top of the uppermost super. It has an entrance hole to the outside and a hole in the middle. It also has two sides one for the winter and one for the rest of the year. The inner cover is vital for proper hive manipulation.

Outer Cover or Hive top, there are several different outer cover types. Most covers seen are telescoping outer cover.  That means it fits over the inner cover with sides that hang down over the top super.(BEES)

Bibliography

BEES, BEVERLY. http://www.beverlybees.com/parts-beehive-beginner-beekeeper/. n.d.