Langstroth Hive
In earlier days, before the advent of the Langstroth hive, people used two methods to extract honey. In the first method, the trees containing the hives were cut down, and then the honey and wax were obtained; in the process, the entire colonies of the bees would get destroyed. In the second method, artificial caps would be placed on tops of the hives for the bees to use it as their storage for honey. When the harvest time would come, the caps would be taken off and the honey would be obtained by squeezing the wax.In 1852, Langstroth hives were made with planks and frames. It was initially invented by Reverend L. L. Langstroth after he closely studied and monitored the bees; with him and his techniques, started the modern era of beekeeping.This hive included a hive stand, slatted rack, bottom board, food chamber, brood chamber, outer cover, inner cover and shallow honey super. If you buy these to make the hive yourself, you must paint the outer surface of the hive to protect it from varied weather conditions, but make sure not to paint the frames, the hive bodies, the cover or the feeder.The Langstroth hive is also called the ‘movable frame hive’ – a rectangular wooden frame that holds the combs. There are usually nine or ten frames per ‘super’ – a topless and bottomless box where the frames hang in. In the honey super, a queen excluder is put under the frames to prevent the queen from entering that super from the brood body below, lay eggs and make a mess in the honey combs.Keeping in mind that the queen lays her eggs anywhere and anytime, the worker bees put the honey in a nearby cell. So in an unsupervised Langstroth hive, the brood cells and the honey cells would be side by side or in groups; they would be scattered randomly throughout the combs.As the beekeeper, you do not want the eggs to mix with the honey. The first one or two supers and the brood body, are usually reserved for the brood combs and are deeper than the supers above. Above that, the rest of the supers in the Langstroth hive are for the honey.Langstroth hive became popular due to the way it preserved the environment and the bees. Also in this system, the hive can be reduced or extended (based on the population and success of the hive) just by adding another super. You can buy a Langstroth hive ready made from the market or construct it – the choice is yours.Around the world, the Langstroth hive is used now; especially in the US where it is very popular.
