Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
An obvious bee-space violation is pictured here. The bees had enough room to build comb
and raise brood in the space between the top of this top bar and the bottom of the bot-
tom bar above it.
About Equipment Assembly
I still recommend that all starter equipment should be preassembled: boxes, tops,
bottoms, frames, and everything you purchase. Assembling equipment is as ineffi-
cient now as it was 150 years ago. Only boxes and frames are routinely still sold
unassembled—and the demand for even these continues to decline.
Much of the increased demand for assembled (or painted) equipment can be at-
tributed to the commercial beekeeping industry. Mechanized, high-volume manu-
facturers are producing, assembling, and painting equipment more efficiently and
less expensively than ever.
To get a start in beekeeping, you'll need at least three eight-frame, medium-depth
boxes for each colony. You'll soon need a couple more, but we'll explore those options
later. Frames hang inside each box on a specially cut ledge, called a rabbet. Frames keep
the combs organized inside your hive and allow you to easily and safely inspect your
bees.
All boxes are similar, but there are minor design differences between manufacturers.
The primary difference is how deep the rabbet is cut. Deep cuts allow frames to hang
lower in the box than shallow cuts. When a box of frames is placed on top of anoth-
er box of frames, there should be a sufficient “bee space” ¾ (1 cm) between the two
boxes. If a frame hangs too low or too high when the boxes are combined, there will
be too much or too little bee space between them. Either scenario makes manipulating
the frames, the boxes, and your bees difficult. To avoid this situation, stick with a single
supplier when adding or replacing equipment.
