Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
One hive that does fit the description and that works well, however, is the WBC
- named after its designer, William Broughton Carr, in England. This hive is in fact a
series of packing boxes of English National size just like any other hive, but with outer
covers that go over the plain boxes and a gabled roof. It is these outer boxes and roof
that look nice. This type of hive looks good at the bottom of the garden under the apple
trees, and many hobbyists use them.
Going for practicality not appearance
If I wanted just a few hives to indulge my hobby, I would use WBCs and, in fact, I
started off with a couple. They are brilliant and the bees in them will produce just
as much honey as those in the National hive of the same size. They are, however,
unwieldy: you need to remove the outer boxes, which then lie on the ground around
you while you are manipulating the bees. These boxes get in the way, so you trip over
them usually while holding a frame with the queen on it. They are also very difficult
to load up and move because of the plethora of boxes and covers, which fall about and
come apart, and you can't stack them due to the gabled roof. So if you just want a few
hives at the bottom of the garden and you don't intend to move them to other crops,
and beekeeping is just a delightful hobby for you, these are the hives to buy - because
they look good. If you think you may be a little more ambitious and may want to take
bees to the heather or to other crops to maximize your honey production or to pollinate
crops, then don't even think about the WBC. Get Langstroths or Dadants or the most
used and sold local equivalent.
I personally would go for a Langstroth. The difference between this hive and a Dadant
hive lies in the size of the brood box (i.e. the box in which the queen is confined and
where she lays her eggs). The Dadant brood box is larger, and so you usually need only
one. The Langstroth box is smaller and so you may need two (more work, more to lift,
etc.). Also, using two boxes may be too much for the bees in the winter when the queen
is not laying whereas, if you take one box off, it may be too small. Because the Dadant
brood box is larger, it may be more efficient for these circumstances. I was once in a
remote area of Spain and needed some frames and wax. I was directed to a bar. The bar
owner not only sold fine beers but also Langstroth hive equipment and wax sheets. I
would have been stuck if I had had any other hive.
