Beekeeping 101

Last February, my daughter & I attended bee school

in order to prepare for keeping bees.

The hives have since arrived and we are somewhat anxiously awaiting the bees.

We painted the hives in order to differentiate them and

  to help protect them from the elements.

Mine is mint green.

The first component is the base with a sloped "front porch"

and a mesh screen on the bottom which allows debris to fall out and aids in ventilation.

Next, the brood box.

This is where the bees live, the eggs are laid,

 and larvae are fed, grow & hatch.

The gap between the brood box the the base is the entrance for the bees.

Inside the brood box are 8 frames which hang from a ledge inside the brood box.

The frames are wooden rectangles which hold a wax coated foundation sheet.

The foundation is embossed with the six-sided pattern of beeswax cells,

which gets the bees started with the honeycomb.

The black background helps in spotting the eggs at the bottom of the cells.

On top of the brood box is the queen excluder,

which has a grid small enough for the worker bees

 to pass through, but not for the queen.

This keeps the eggs & developing larvae out of the honey box.

Next comes the "super", the box which holds the honey.

It too, has 8 frames, but is not as deep as the brood box

(honey weighs a lot).

We used white foundation in order to see the golden honey color.

 As the hive grows, I may have to add more brood boxes and supers,

but for now I'll start with these two boxes.

Next, a cover which is the ceiling of your hive.

The cover provides a buffer from the hot hive top and helps regulate airflow.

The oblong hole in the top is also an escape route for the bees.

Finally the roof, to protect from elements and scavenging animals. 

I decided my hive needed some color,

so I painted a few flowers and bugs on the hive just for fun.

I'm not much of an artist, but I don't think the bees will mind.