One of the first and very important questions that every beekeeper should ask himself before starting any beekeeping is: “What is the best type of hive for my needs?” Getting to know the basic concepts and equipment that you need to engage in this activity is of great importance and can sometimes be a crucial factor for a healthy bee colony.
There are a lot of types of hives in our country, which can sometimes give young beekeepers big headaches, discourage them or confuse them. In this post, we wanted to present you some basic types of hives, but we recommend that you adapt them yourself according to your needs.
The Dadan-Blatova (DB) hives with one body, 31 cm high that serves as a brooding body and two 15 cm semi-extensions that serve to accommodate excess honey are one of the most popular types of hives among beekeepers in our area. Standard DB hives have 10 frames, but there are also types with 12 frames that are now increasingly used. The biggest advantage of this hive is the deep frame which leaves a lot of space for developing the litter and depositing pollen powder and honey and is ideal for wintering. This type of hives are idealfor beginners.
The Langstroth-Ruth (LR) hive is standard in beekeeping and over 75% of the hives in the world are of this type. It is also one of the types with over 90 subtypes. It consists of 3 equal extensions 24 cm high and a frame 23 cm high and 48 cm long. With 3 extensions that you can use, or only two – this type gives the largest honey production.
The Farar’s hive is a type of hive with equal extensions that can be brood or medial. The number of frames varies (from 10 to 12) with extensions 15 to 20 cm high and a fruiting body of two parts between which there is a whole extension of hourglass bases or an empty honeycomb – to prevent swarming. A big plus of this hive compared to some other types is the possession of a shallower extension, and bees can occupy additional extensions faster.
The pološka hive is the type that is most often found in Vojvodina. The brood and the medulla are located next to each other and are separated by a parent lattice. They contain between 18 and 20 deep frames measuring 42×47 to 30×40 cm, sometimes larger. This type of hive is suitable for keeping two or more colony that can join before grazing and is recommended for beginners and beekeepers in older years. Although the honeycomb is easier to pull out in them, the main limiting factor is the volume and the possibility of working only with a single frame.
The Alberti-Žnideršič hive system was created by modifying the Alberti hive. This type is most often used in mobile or stationary beekeeping pavilions and is suitable for moving. There are two subtypes: AZ lightning and AZ standard. The brood and medial part is separated by a parent lattice and the number of frames ranges from 10 to 11 per hive. The volume of these hives is limited, so bees in these conditions get the urge to swarm naturally and a lower yield can occur.
No matter what type of hive you choose, it is very important that all the hives in one apiary are the same type! Make sure that they make a good home for bees and that they are constructed so that you can perform various operations required by modern beekeeping.
