Trainee Beekeepers & Beehive Options

by Richard Johnson
(Devon, England)

You should point out that there is an alternative to the traditional hive with heavy supers. The Top Bar Hive only requires a single bar with honey comb attached to be lifted, which weighs only a few pounds.

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Hi Richard,

You make a good point. The traditional Langstroth hive is not the only type of bee hive available to today's beekeepers.

All of my experience is with Langstroth hives, so that's primarily what I've written about to this point. I do plan to explore other bee hive options on this website, but just haven't gotten to it yet.

I know that the Top Bar hive you mention is becoming quite popular, as is the Warre hive.

Regarding your specific point, though, I should point out that if a beekeeper doesn't want to lift a full Langstroth super, he or she could certainly remove the frames one at a time, just as with a Top Bar hive.

But thanks for pointing out an oversight which I will eventually address more fully!