While modern beekeepers keep bees in many styles of bee hive equipment, the most commonly used is the Langstroth hive. Some of the other styles of note are the Top Bar hive, the Warre hive, the Rose hive, and the Quinby-Dadant hive. Here at D and J Apiary, we operate our Apiary using Langstroth hive equipment and our storefront also sells Langstroth equipment in 10, 8, and 5 frames sizes. We do not sell the other styles at this time.
The Langstroth hive was created by Reverend Lorenzo Lorraine Langstroth 1810–1895, a native of Philadelphia after he had noticed in his hives, in 1851, that honey bees would not drawn comb or propolis in areas of the hive that measured three 3/8 – 1/4 inch, 6-9mm. This spacing is called Bee Space. L.L. Langstroth created his new hive using this spacing and originally patented his invention in 1852. The original Langstroth configuration was manufactured until 1920, modern Langstroth dimension and configuration now differ from the original deign however still account for Bee Space.
Langstroth hives are now found in many differing sizes, the most commonly used sizes are 10 frame, 8 frame, and 5 frame. Though 2 frame and mini frame configurations are now becoming popular for use as mating nucleus colonies.
The Langstroth hive consists of the following components:
Screened Bottom Board or Solid Bottom Board
Hive Body
Medium Super AKA: Illinois
Shallow Super
Cut Comb Super
Inner Cover
Telescoping Lid or Migratory Lib
Some Optional Langstroth sized equipment
Queen Excluder
Migratory Pallet
Snelgrove Board AKA: Double Screen Board
Slatted Rack
Imirie Shim*
* – Violates Bee Space