My 3 Apimaye hives, etc.		 Welcome to
www.PaulMikkelsen.com/Personal/Bees
Beekeeping Resources
for Honey Bees
Hopefully helpful...     surely not comprehensive.
Contact:
Honey, drone & worker brood
Web
Pages:
  • My personal list of Web Bookmarks
  • Types of Beehives - I list over 40 types!
  • Educational videos from Perfect Bee
  • Calendar - for Florida (USA) Beekeeping
  • Literature - Publications, Blogs, etc.
  • Terminology and Acronyms
  • HOW to buy a Queen Bee
  • HOW to choose a hive TYPE
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  • Jamie Ellis' "Field Guide to Beekeeping"
  • YouTube channels plus films & documentaries
  • FaceBook's Groups on Beekeeping
  • Honey Labels, Facts, and Laws
  • My Hive Removals & Swarm Captures
  • Bee College - Agendas, Notes & Teacher Presentations - 2020
  • My Personal Library of Books and Literature
  • Beginning Beekeepers - check-in here!
    		•

    How to Choose a Bee Hive

     This page is presently a DRAFT...     it is very much "under construction".
    Last updated (but not much) April 2022 (Florida, USA)
    On another page, I provide a list of a multitude (over 40!) of types of bee hives, old and new, with links for each of them.
    This page is NOT intended to discuss and differentiate all types of beehives...   just a few in common useage.
    This page IS intended to help beginner beekeepers decide which type of hive is best for them.

    Considerations: Ease and price of getting the hive and hive parts; your location... do you need an insulated hive for cold winters or excessive summer heat? what size frames should you use... how much weight can you lift? Do you want to expand your hive upward or sideways?

    Langstroth Hive
    First, will you choose a 10-frame or 8-frame Langstroth hive? The more frames per box, the heavier the box will be when occupied by bees and resources. One must decide how much weight you want to lift. The honey supers can become very heavy, with each full frame of honey possibly weighing about 8 lbs. Thus, the full 10-frame Langstroth super can weigh 80 lbs, and the 8-frame version can go to about 65 lbs. This type of hive is expanded upward, adding boxes on top of boxes. For inspections, depending on height, one may then have to lift several brood bozes.
    Horizontal Hive
    With this hive, also called a Long Hive, you'll put it in place and never move it or even multiple frames at a time. Depending on design type, this hive can accept standard Langstroth frames. The advantage is that the colony grows outward rather than upward as in the vertial Langstroth configuration. One needs only to lift and move a single frame at a time to pull honey frames or expand the hive. Expansion of the hive, by adding frames, is outward from existing frames, and always at the same initial level of the hive.
    Top Bar Hive
    Layens Hive

  • Beekeeping - Which Bee Hive Is Best For 2021? Langstroth, Warre, Top Bar, Flow Hive??
  • Choosing Your Hive: A Closer Look at Langstroth, Warre and Top Bar Hives
  • FABQs: Where Should I Place My Hives?
  • Top Bar Beehives vs Langstroth Beehives
  • Which Hive? - Discusses the National, WBC, Langstroth, Commercial, Smith, and Modified Dadant Hives.


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