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The Langstroth bee hive is the standard beehive used in many parts of the world for bee keeping. In 1853, the Rev. L.L. Langstroth published a book called "The Hive and the Honey Bee". This book describes the use and dimensions of the modern bee hive as we know it today. Prior to his discovery of the bee space, bees were hived in skeps (conical straw baskets) or "gums" (hollowed out logs that approximated the natural dwellings of bees). Langstroth was an acute observer who noticed something that everyone else had ignored: Bees will not bring the surfaces of two combs closer together than a "bee space" (which is about a quarter of an inch). Not only that, if there is a passageway of that dimension anywhere in the hive, the bees will not build comb in it or obstruct it in any other way. Therefore Langstroth constructed his hives so that the frames in which the bees were to make their combs were mechanically separated from all adjacent parts of the hive -- the walls of the hive, the floor of the hive, the cover of the hive, and other frames -- by a quarter of an inch. To extract a frame from such a hive the beekeeper will not need to cut any comb. Usually the maximum trouble a beekeeper encounters in removing a frame (apart from bees who may be cranky because the nectar is not abundant out in the field) is that the bees will generally use propolis to adhere the frames to the brackets they rest on. Being able to remove combs easily makes it possible for a beekeeper with many hives of bees to still be able to inspect all of his hives on a regular basis to check for disease, imminent swarming, an aging queen, etc.
The Langstroth bee hive is made up of:
- Telescoping cover or migratory cover
- Inner Cover
- 1 or more hive bodies or hive supers made of wood, polystyrene, or plastic
- (optional) queen excluder between brood box and honey supers
- 8-10 Frames made of wood or plastic per hive body or hive super
- Foundation made of wax and wires or plastic
- Bottom Board with optional entrance reducer
Telescoping cover
This is a wooden or polystyrene cover that fits on the top of the hive. In the north, where the cover usually telescopes down around the inner cover and an inch or so down over the top super, it is called a telescoping cover. Many commercial beekeepers use what is called a migratory cover, which is a solid cover that does not extend beyond the sides of a hive body. Source: Stahlman Apiaries
Inner cover
The inner cover provides a barrier between the telescoping cover and the bees. In the more temperate climates a plastic foil may be used as an inner cover. In areas with a hot summer a solid inner cover with a communication hole provides dead air space for insulation against heat and cold. It prevents the bees from gluing the top cover to the top bars of the super under it. With an inner cover, the top cover is easy to remove from the hive. When the frame of the solid inner cover and telescoping cover is notched it can serve as a top entrance for the bees. A communication hole in the middle allows bees to reach emergency food if it is required. Granulated sugar can be poured onto the inner cover near the hole and the bees will be able to get to it during even the coldest of days.
Hive body and hive super
Hive bodies and hive supers are box frames with standardized inside dimensions. There are generally four different sizes. Outside box dimensions vary depending on the type of material used. Polystyrene boxes have much larger outside dimensions than boxes made out of wood. Deep and medium hive bodies are used as the brood box. Medium, Shallow and Comb honey supers are used for honey stores and to harvest the honey. The inside width is 14 11/16 inches and the inside length is 18 5/16 inches. The frames rest on a rabbeted side along the width on opposite sides. The deep hive body is normally used only for brood as it becomes too heavy to manually handle if it is filled with honey. Commercial operations usually use one or two deeps for brood and additional shallows for honey supers. Most hobbyist prefer to standardize on all mediums. Shallow supers are not ideal for the brood chamber of the hive because the bees need to form a single compact sphere during the cold winter months -- a sphere that can expand and contract without being divided by a horizontal plane in the middle caused by the gaps between combs in multiple hive bodies.
- Deep body: 9 9/16 inches depth
- Medium (Illinois) super: 6 5/8 inches depth
- Shallow super: 5 3/4 inches depth
- Comb super: 4 3/4 inches depth
The hive body or hive super holds 8-10 frames that are standardized in length 19 inches and mostly 1 1/8 inches wide. The depth of the frames depends on the type of body or super it will be used in. There are 9 1/8 inches frames for deeps, 6 1/4 inches for mediums, and 5 3/8 inches for shallow supers. The frames hold the foundation and the honeycomb that is built on it.
Bottom board
The bottom board supports the hive. It must be strong to hold the weight of a hive that is filled with honey. The hive weight may exceed 300 pounds. The bottom board is the floor of the hive with a 3/4 inch rim around three sides to allow the bees to enter the hive on one side. It also extends 2 inches in front of the boxes to provide a landing board for the bees. Because it is close to moisture in the soil, it is the first to show any sign of decay or rot and it is advisable to use cedar wood. When the hive body sits on the bottom board the provided opening is 14 11/16 by 3/4 inches. This opening may be adequate for a strong bee hive in the summer but it also may be reduced with a hive entrance reducer. A reduced opening allows a weaker hive to defend itself and prevents mice and cold winds from entering the hive. Many bee keepers have screened bottom boards instead of solid bottom boards to aid in hive hygiene, air circulation and to screen for diseases of the honeybee. Some beekeepers add a slatted rack between the bottom board and the hive body. A slatted rack helps the queen in establishing brood comb up to the entrance of the hive.