Components of the Honey Bee Hive

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Honey Bee Hive

The Basic Components of the Honey Bee Hive

The honey bee hive consists of several boxes that are named after their colony use versus simply the size.

The most common naming convention among beginning beekeepers is simply a brood box and a super. The brood box is the box where the queen lays her eggs (the “brood”) and the super box is where the remaining worker bees place the honey stores. So, you may also hear them called honey supers.

The more experience beekeepers tend to use the size and function in their names, so you may a “deep box” or “deep brood box”, which refers to the box as before where the queen lays her eggs.

Super boxes for the Langstroth hive come in 3 sizes:

  • shallow ask known as
  • medium also known as an Illinois Super
  • or the no longer commonly use Wisconsin Super

Then we have top and bottom boards that also come in different variations:

Top boards with inner and outer covers, used mostly up north and Migratory Top boards more commonly used in Florida since we don’t have a huge temperature differential that causes condensation inside the hive.

Bottom boards can be solid or screened. The screened bottom board is known to be used in the control of the varroa destructor mite.

Then we have frames and sometimes we have foundation.


Keeping Bees Alive: Sustainable Beekeeping Essentials Book | Author: Dr Larry Connor

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Keeping Bees Alive: Sustainable Beekeeping Essentials Book | Author: Dr Larry Connor
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Delivery/Shipping/PickUp Method: Farm Pick Up, Curbside

Lawrence Connor was born in Kalamazoo Michigan and earned his doctorate in honey-bee pollination of crops at Michigan State University. He has worked as Extension Bee Specialist at The Ohio State University, President of Genetic Systems, Inc. (which produced tens of thousands of instrumentally inseminated queens honey bees as well as the Starline and Midnite breeding stock), and now owns and operates Wicwas Press, specializing in publication of quality bee books. He relocated (from Connecticut) back to Michigan in April 2007 to continue growth of his publishing and writing activities. He has edited and published over two dozen books and recently written: Increase Essentials (2006), Bee Sex Essentials (2008), Queen Rearing Essentials, Bee-sentials: A Field Guide, Swarm Essentials (with Steve Repasky), Honey Bee Biology and Beekeeping (with Dewey Caron), Increase Essentials Second Edition and Mating Biology of honey bees (with G. and N. Koeniger and J. Ellis). In 2018 he helped his son Andrew Connor write BeeCabulary Essentials. He's newest book is Keeping Bees Alive. Connor was a frequent contributor to The American Bee Journal and to Bee Culture Magazine. He travels extensively and lectures on a wide range of subjects concerning honey bees, bee breeding, pollination and colony management

A book for all beekeepers and those thinking of starting a bee hive. How to obtain information about bees, what to avoid and which hive type to obtain. Review locating an apiary and what bee stock to use. Reviews sustainable bee biology and bee management. Ends with a detailed review of the advantages and disadvantages of biodynamic beekeeping

In five decades entomologist Dr. Larry Connor has been a university professor, run a bee-breeding program, and become established as a key voice in the beekeeping world. He has written dozens of articles for bee journals and a number of books, including Increase Essentials, Bee Sex Essentials, Queen Rearing Essentials, Bee-sentials: A Field Guide, Swarm Essentials (with Steve Repasky), and Honey Bee Biology & Beekeeping (with Dewey Caron). In his newest book, Connor discusses sustainable beekeeping, looking at the causes of colony loss and detailing how to keep colony numbers stable and growing. He also reviews concepts of biodynamic beekeeping.


Product details

  • Publisher ā€ : ā€Ž Wicwas Press (July 1, 2019)
  • Language ā€ : ā€Ž English
  • Paperback ā€ : ā€Ž 226 pages
  • ISBN-10 ā€ : ā€Ž 1878075586
  • ISBN-13 ā€ : ā€Ž 978-1878075581
  • Item Weight ā€ : ā€Ž 14.6 ounces
  • Dimensions ā€ : ā€Ž 5.98 x 0.61 x 9.02 inches

About the Author

Kalamazoo, Michigan native Lawrence John Connor completed his Ph.D. dissertation on strawberry pollination before assuming the position of extension apicultural entomologist at The Ohio State University Columbus. There, his program attracted the attention of investors interested in moving the Dadant Starline and Midnite Hybrid queen programs to Florida to establish the world s first mass production facility for instrumentally inseminated honey bee queens. He later moved to Connecticut where he established the Beekeeping Educational Service, offering educational programs for beekeepers. He purchased Wicwas Press from Dr. Roger and Mary Lou Morse. Today, he operates from his hometown of Kalamazoo. He has written and edited a number of beekeeping books and is in demand at beekeeping meetings as speaker and workshop presenter.


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