If triple-deep Langstroth hives are so good, why are they not more popular? This is a really good question with several possible answers. All of the answers I’ve listed below are valid, but each and every one has to do with the needs of the beekeeper, not the needs of the bees. Most hives are […] Read more
I received this list of questions from a beekeeper in the UK. Since others might have similar questions, I’m posting the answers here. 1. Does pyramiding just help the queen put brood upstairs, or does it give an improvement in comb building in supers above the excluder? Pyramiding encourages the queen to expand her nest […] Read more
Warped boxes are irritating. The boxes in the photo are only about two years old. They were painted and assembled when I first got them, but they still managed to warp. As you can see, the middle portions shrunk away from each other until a space large enough for bee passage appeared between them. Will […] Read more
After making some Langstroth brood boxes with nine frames and two follower boards (in positions one and eleven) I began to think that it would be easier to make a ten-frame Langstroth into an eight-frame Langstroth by putting follower boards in positions one and ten. In this way you could use two standard Langstroth frames […] Read more
Here is one method of making follower boards for a Langstroth hive (also known as dummy boards). I made these for a deep brood box, but you can make them for any size box using the same method. 1. Start by measuring your frames from top to bottom and from side bar to side bar. […] Read more
I don’t think there’s anything more confusing to a beginning beekeeper than the names of all the boxes used in a Langstroth hive. Not only do different people use different names, but they use the boxes for different purposes. You can get tangled up in a hurry. Here’s a summary that may clear things up […] Read more
I was intrigued by a recent article in the American Bee Journal entitled, “The Beekeeper’s Wood Shop: Empowering Women” by T’Lee Sollenberger. Okay, it was a tad sexist, but I enjoyed it because I recognized a kindred spirit. The fact is, working with wood is one of my favorite aspects of beekeeping. To clarify things […] Read more