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.
Raw Honey and Products from the Hive
Some items are seasonal and as a small farm our quantities are limited.
Here you will find:
- Tropical honey
- Products from the Hive
- Bees Wax
- Pollen
- Propolis (seasonal)
- Royal Jelly (seasonal)
Our honey is all natural, fresh, raw tropical honey from hives on our farm produced locally by our Cape Coral honey bees. Certain seasonal, mono floral varieties may be from neighboring counties.
The honey is packed full of natural vitamins, minerals and enzymes straight from the bees. The benefits of raw honey have been studied and debated over the years. Its use for healing dates back thousands of years in human history. It is said to help allergies, arthritis and act as the healing agent for many other ailments. Our raw honey is gently screened without any heat and never pasteurized to preserve its natural enzymes and pollen content. Our honey is 100 % pure and is never mixed with lower quality honey or corn syrup nor artificial additives.
** It is not recommended to give honey to infants under the age of 1, because they do not have fully developed immune systems **
Herbal honey still has the herbs in the bottle, whereas Herbal Infused Honey has the herbs screened out. Infused honey is gently warmed (below 110F) in small batches to maintain the enzymes that make honey so beneficial.
Other options:
Learn more: How to Select a Bee Smoker
