With the exception of Top Bar Hives, most of the hives used
in modern beekeeping are Langstroth hives, designed by Lorenzo Langstroth in 1851.
The Langstroth hive is composed of "supers" which are the outside frame
boxes for the hive and have interior dimensions of 14-11/16 inches wide
and 18-15/16 inches length. These supers come in three depths, the deep
super which is used at the base of a hive for the brood chamber is 9-19/32 inches
deep. Medium supers are 6-5/8 inches tall and shallow supers have a height
of 5-11/16 inches. The medium supers can be used just above the bottom super
or brood chamber,
as an extension for brood, while the shallow supers are primarily used on
the tops of the hives for honey stores.
Each hive unit, of several supers
sits on a bottom board which is often on a metal stand or palette to
keep the hives off the ground. Since fire ants are a problem locally,
some beekeepers place their hives on metal legged stands and set the legs
in coffee cans of water with oil on the surface to deter the
ants from climbing into the hives.
The bottom board
measures 15-3/16 x 22-1/16 inches and forms the floor of the hive. The
hive body, rests above the bottom board on rails around all sides except the
front of the hive. At the front, the bees have a 3/8 inch space to enter
and exit the hive.
Since all of the supers have the same outside dimension, they are easily stacked into what ever configuration suits the bee and the beekeeper. At the top of the hive, the super is fitted with an inner cover usually made of composite board and with an oblong hole in the center for bees to escape from the top of the hive. The outer cover or lid telescopes over the top of the hive and may be covered with galvanized metal to protect the hive from the elements.
The outsides of the hives have notched handles in each side for ease in lifting or moving, and traditionally hives were painted white. It is wise in Central Texas to have light colored hives which radiate the summer sun better than darker colors. Most of the hives in this area are sky blue, faint lavender, soft turquoise, buttermilk yellow, cotton candy pink, and what ever other colors of high gloss or exterior enamel have been mis-mixed at the paint store and are on sale. The inside of the hive is never painted.
The top ends of each hive box have a recessed groove which holds the tops of the frames which fit into the hive. These movable frames are sized to match the different super heights, and when new, hold wax foundation. Foundation is made from beeswax, and the flat sheets are pre-stamped with the hexagonal shapes of the comb cells. This provides the bees with a basis upon which they will deposit wax, and form cells over the entire sheet resulting in comb. Each frame will have comb drawn out from both sides, and since the spacing of the frames in the super is 1-3/8 inch from center to center of each frame, the comb is drawn out to a depth of an inch leaving the 3/8 inch bee space for the bees to move among the frames. Some variation in this comb thickness occurs depending on whether the box contains nine or ten frames. Foundation generally has thin wire embedded in it vertically, as added strength for handling frames that are full of honey.
The foundation is inserted into the four-sided frames and secured at the top by a strip of wood and on the bottom by a groove or split in the bottom of the frame. Additional support can be added by running wires the length of the foundation, and is especially useful when medium or deep frames are used.
Plastic foundation is also available, however we don't have members who have found any advantage to using plastic foundation.
