Beehive Plans and Understanding the Bee Hive

Beehive plans and understanding how bee colonies operate are essential to creating a successful beekeeping hobby or business. Certainly bee hives are the most important pieces of equipment related to beekeeping. They have become increasingly sophisticated in order to enhance honey gathering efficiency.

The different types of beehive plans include the movable frame bee hive, or the Langstroth hive. This is the most popular of beehive plans used in the United States at present. It consists of a wooden frame in a rectangular shape, which holds nine or ten combs. Funnily enough, there are only two sides to the frame, so the combs hang free.

The honeycombs consist of a wax foundation and they act as a basis from which the bees can then make their own wax and build the comb. Once this has been done, the worker bees collect nectar and pollen into the honeycomb cells. The reason for the box shape is so that the beekeeper can handle the combs easily to extract the honey using a centrifuge.

African top barhive plans are increasingly used in the United States. As the name suggests, there is no bottom bar. Instead the bees hang their combs from horizontal bars. Unlike Langstroth hives, the top bar type cannot be reused once the honey has been harvested. Less honey is produced in top bar hives, but the honey from the clear yellow combs is excellent and is suitable to be sold in the comb.

Regardless of which of these two beehive plans the beekeeper intends to use, there are several issues which need to be addressed before installing the hives. Prospective beekeepers should find out from the local authorities if there are any restrictions on keeping bees.

In addition, there should be sufficient open space where the hives can be placed. They must be far from homes or public spaces, as some people find them bothersome and others regard bees as plain dangerous. Some people are allergic to bee stings, which can be fatal.

Obviously the hives need to be located fairly nearby plantations, orchards, gardens or wild flower areas so that the bees are close to nectar they can collect. Crop pollination is a huge industry, where bee swarms are kept solely to pollinate agricultural crops.

Also included in beehive plans should be a water source. This can be a river, dam or stream, or it can be supplied by the beekeeper.

When placing a bee hive on a property, a beekeeper also needs to take into account animal thieves and humans vandals. Honey-loving creatures such as bears or skunks may want to break open the hive, and honey-loving humans may want to get hold of free honey.

Keep in mind when drawing up beehive plans that the hives should be well out of the way and yet protected from harsh weather. In addition, they should be easily accessible by the beekeeper all year round because hives require constant management.