There is a lot to think about when you first start beekeeping. An important decision that needs to be made is what type of hive to use. This decision usually depends on what kind of beekeeper you want to be and for what purpose you will use your bees. Some hives are best suited for honey production, others are good for pollination, and some are perfect if you want to have easier access inside your hives. The Langstroth, Top Bar, Warré hive, and Flow® Hive will all be discussed to help determine which is right for you.
Alternative Hive Options in Atlantic Canada
Langstroth Hive
Langstroth hive: https://www.almanac.com/beekeeping-101-types-of-beehives
The classic
Langstroth hive, designed and crafted by Lorenzo Lorraine Langstroth in 1852,
is the most common beehive style in Atlantic Canada. This hive can be built
with minor differences but usually consists of a bottom board that provides an
entrance and stability, an inner and outer cover, and middleboxes commonly
called supers. These supers come in three different sizes; deep, medium, and
shallow. By stacking new supers on top of existing ones, you can expand your
hive, giving the colony room to grow. Inside these supers, there are ten
removable frames with foundation on which the bees build comb. The
Langstroth hives allow the keeper to inspect the colony and observe brood,
honey production, and overall hive strength.
Top Bar Hive
The Top Bar hive
has a much different appearance than the Langstroth. Its box is approximately three
feet long and raised from the ground to be at a more comfortable height for
beekeeping. This type of hive gets its name from the bars at the top, which
replace the need for frames. These top bars allow the bees to build their combs
without foundation. This type of hive allows expansion horizontally with the
following board moved as additional space is required by the colony.
Warré hive
The Warré hive is a combination of the Langstroth and Top Bar hives. It was designed by a French monk named Abbé Émile Warré. Warré created his hive to more closely mimic hives that are found in nature. It uses the top bar design to allow the bees to develop their own comb. This system also expands vertically using supers. However, unlike the Langstroth hive, the supers are added to the bottom of the existing hive. By doing this, it encourages the bees to build new combs downward. While adding the new supers to the bottom, the top supers can be removed to filter out the old combs and keep the hive clean. This hive can be low maintenance and collecting honey from the removed top supers is relatively easy.
Flow® Hive
Flow ® Hive: https://www.honeyflow.com/products/flow-hive-2-plus
A
newer hive on the market is the Flow® Hive. It was introduced to Canada in
2015 by Stuart and Cedar Anderson from Australia. It is designed to allow easy
collection of honey. Much like the Langstroth hive, the Flow® Hive
uses supers containing ten frames. However, these frames have mostly completed
cells, made of plastic, already in place for the bees to fill. When it comes
time to harvest your honey, you can drain the honey without entering the hive,
using specific hive tools. As this hive was initially designed for an
Australian climate, its minimal use here in Atlantic Canada has not provided
the opportunity to fully prove its adaptability to our winters!
These four hive styles all create a perfect home for honeybees. The best one for you will depend on
what you plan to do with your hives and your preferences. However, for
beginners, the Langstroth hive may be a good bet. In Atlantic Canada,
Langstroth equipment is widely available, relatively inexpensive, and well
established. This familiarity will provide available support and advice from
mentors and other beekeepers. So,
Langstroth equipment will be easier for new beekeepers while they are learning all
the ins and outs of apiculture. Typically,
your first bees will arrive as a nucleus colony, or nuc, ready to be established
in a Langstroth hive. The Langstroth
hive is also what is used for pollination services. So, if this is a current or future
consideration, this style of beekeeping is recommended.
Written by Rebecca Campbell, ATTTA Summer Research Assistant rcampbell@perennia.ca
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