Equipment Required for Starting a Colony of Honey
Bees
Hive Stand
(A)
Used to keep bottom
board up off the ground, keeping it dry and stopping
it from rotting quickly. You may buy commercial
stands or use concrete blocks, wood 4x4 or 6x6, or
hardwood pallets. A hive stand
also serves as a landing board for returning bees.
Bottom
Board
(B)
Brood chambers are
placed on a bottom board to provide an entrance for
bees to use. This board may be treated with copper
napththenate to help extend its life.
Entrance
Reducer
(C)
Used to control the
size of the hive entrance at various times of the
season.
Brood
Chamber(s)
(D)
This is the area in
which the frames are used by the colony to raise new
bees. These boxes are also called hive bodies.
Frames
(E)
These are rectangular
structures made of wood or plastic and are used to
hold wax foundation embossed with hexagonal worker
cells.
Queen
Excluder
(F)
These
are used between the brood boxes and the honey
supers to prevent the queen from laying eggs in the
supers. Some
beekeepers also call these honey excluders as they
report smaller honey crops. Opinion varies about the
need, but a first year beekeeper will probably want
to use one until you learn management techniques
that allow you to produce honey without an excluder.
Honey
Super(s)
(G)
These
come in three sizes: deep, medium and shallow. All
are great and the difference is in weight. Medium
and shallow supers are much lighter when full than a
deep so if the heaviness of a honey super is a
concern go with medium or shallow. There are also
comb honey supers used to produce comb honey - you
should wait until after your first year before
attempting to produce comb honey.
Inner Cover
(H)
This is a plastic or
wooden board usually used with an oblong hole in its
center. Its purpose is multiple: it keeps the bees
in the hive when the outer roof is removed, may be
used with a bee escape to remove honey, and assists
in feeding bees. Also serves to rid the hive of
excess moisture, particularly in the winter.
Outer Cover
(I)
Made of metal-covered
wood or plastic
and
used to protect the colony from the weather. Each
cover should be secured by a weight (brick or stone
of similar size) to prevent wind from blowing it
off.
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