Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Fig 7.
A stainless-steel mesh floor
wooden rails or simple wooden stands that hold one hive. In the main it is far better to
improvise than to buy a stand from a beekeeping supply company (it is better in that it
is cheaper and just as effective).
Floors
On the hive stand sits the floor and, essentially, a hive sits on this hive 'floor', which is
a simple stainless-steel mesh in a wooden frame with a ridge around the edge of three
of its sides (see Figure 7). The brood box sits on this floor. Try to ensure that it has a
stainless-steel mesh floor - many don't.
Many beekeepers recoil at the idea of an open floor, believing that this will cause
draughts and cold in the beehive, thus chilling the delicate brood or even making the
bees feel cold! This is, of course, nonsense for the most part. Bees keep the brood at the
