All about Bee Hives

Claire Waring continues looking at how bee hives developed.

- Claire Waring

The discovery of the bee space by Revd LL Langstroth was the turning point in the development of bee hives and of beekeeping management practices. It enabled beekeepers to look inside their hives easily and observe the behaviour of their bees. It also opened up the possibility of colony management, for instance to look for disease or prevent swarming.

THE WOODBURY HIVE

Thomas White Woodbury was the first to develop a movable frame hive in the UK around 1860. Naturally, it was based on Langstroth's ideas. Ten hanging frames were suspended in a frame at the top of the hive, held apart by suitably spaced notches. There was a 9.5 mm gap between the bottom bars and the floor. In order that bees could be observed without disturbance, Woodbury placed small glass windows in the sides of the hive.

Living in the UK, Woodbury was conscious of the British weather and a later development was to make the hive out of woven straw panels for winter insulation. The next modification was to make the sides out of double-glazed panels and to use a glass crown board. Beekeepers could then observe their colonies year-round.

CHARLES DADANT - A LARGE HIVE

Over in the USA, Charles Dadant was experimenting eagerly with hives both small and large. A Frenchman who moved to Illinois in 1863, he was one of many beekeepers coming up with their own hive design and in fact over 500 patents for hives were issued in the USA over the next 20 years.