A beehive is an artificial structure designed to house a colony of honey bees for management purposes. Unlike a natural nest, a constructed hive allows for the systematic inspection and manipulation of the colony. Building a functional hive requires careful attention to specific dimensions, as the space provided directly influences the bees’ behavior and the colony’s long-term success. Constructing a hive yourself can be a rewarding and cost-effective alternative to purchasing ready-made equipment. This process begins with selecting a suitable design and culminates in preparing the finished structure for its future inhabitants.
Choosing Your Hive Design
The decision of which hive to build is foundational, as it dictates the complexity of construction and the future management style of the colony. The two most common choices for a DIY builder are the Langstroth hive and the Top Bar hive, each presenting distinct advantages.
The Langstroth design is the international standard, featuring a vertical, modular system of stackable boxes, known as supers, that allow for easy expansion. This design requires precise, standardized measurements, ensuring parts are interchangeable, which is a significant benefit for long-term beekeeping. Building a Langstroth hive involves complex joinery and numerous parts, including individual frames for each box. While it prioritizes maximizing honey production and enables the use of specialized equipment like extractors, a full honey super can weigh up to 100 pounds, requiring the beekeeper to lift heavy weights during inspection and harvest.
In contrast, the Top Bar hive is a single, horizontal trough-like box, making it significantly simpler to construct and easier for a beginning woodworker to manage. This design does not use frames or foundation, instead relying on simple wooden bars from which the bees hang their comb naturally. Since the hive is a self-contained unit that expands horizontally, there is no need to lift heavy boxes, as only one bar of comb is handled at a time during inspection.
The Top Bar design is favored by those seeking a more natural approach to beekeeping, allowing the bees to determine their own cell size and comb structure. Construction costs are lower because less lumber and no internal frames are required, and specialized harvesting equipment is unnecessary. The primary trade-off is a lower honey yield compared to the Langstroth system. Furthermore, the non-standardized nature of the design means that components are not interchangeable between different Top Bar hives.
Essential Components and Materials
Regardless of the chosen design, construction relies on exterior-grade lumber, with cedar or pine being the most common and durable choices. For a Langstroth hive, foundational components include the bottom board, multiple hive bodies or supers, and frames. Frames consist of four bars and are often equipped with a wax or plastic foundation to guide the bees in building straight comb. The hive is completed with an inner cover for insulation and a telescoping outer cover, which overhangs the sides for weather protection.
The Top Bar hive structure is less complex, consisting primarily of a single, long box, often with sloped sides to prevent the bees from attaching comb to the wall. The movable top bars are the only internal component and must be dimensioned precisely to ensure the bees build only one comb per bar. Both designs require durable fasteners, such as exterior-grade wood screws or galvanized nails, and strong, weather-resistant wood glue. Plywood is often used for the inner cover and the protective roof of the outer cover due to its resistance to temperature and moisture fluctuations.
A dimension that is critical to the success of any movable-comb hive is the “bee space,” a gap that bees will neither fill with propolis nor build excess comb in. This space must be maintained between all internal parts and falls within the narrow range of 1/4 inch and 3/8 inch, with 5/16 inch being the most commonly accepted dimension. If the gap is smaller, the bees will glue it shut with propolis, making inspections difficult. If it is larger, they will fill it with brace comb, which obstructs movement and damages the comb upon removal. All measurements for frame rests, frame spacing, and clearance between stacked boxes must align precisely with this requirement.
Step-by-Step Assembly
The construction process begins with accurately cutting the lumber pieces according to the chosen hive plan, ensuring all dimensions are exact. For the modular Langstroth boxes, the side and end panels are joined using strong joints, such as finger joints or rabbet joints, which provide a large surface area for the glue and enhance structural integrity. Apply a generous amount of waterproof wood glue to all mating surfaces before securing the pieces with screws or nails. Ensuring the box is perfectly square prevents future warping and guarantees that the frames will hang correctly inside.
After the boxes are assembled, the frame rests—small ledges for the frame top bars—must be installed to maintain the precise bee space above the frames. The frames themselves are then assembled, consisting of the four wooden pieces joined and secured with small nails and wood glue for stability. For a Top Bar hive, construction focuses on the single horizontal box, paying close attention to the slope of the side walls and the width of the top bars. Each Top Bar must be precisely 1 3/8 inches wide to encourage the bees to build a single comb down the center, maintaining correct comb spacing.
The final step involves constructing the covers and the bottom board. The inner cover is a simple wooden panel with a notch or hole for ventilation and feeding. The outer telescoping cover must be covered with a weather-resistant material, such as sheet metal or heavy-duty aluminum. The bottom board can be a solid wooden panel or a screened bottom board for enhanced ventilation and mite monitoring. It should be secured to a hive stand to elevate the entire structure off the ground.
Post-Construction Preparation and Placement
Once the hive structure is fully assembled, it must be prepared to withstand the elements. The most effective way to protect the wood from moisture and decay is to paint or seal the exterior surfaces of the hive bodies and covers. Only the outside should be treated, as the bees naturally coat the interior with propolis, and chemical odors can be detrimental to the colony’s health. Applying at least two coats of a light-colored, non-toxic exterior latex paint or a durable sealer will maximize the longevity of the wooden components. The completed hive should be allowed to air out for several days to dissipate any residual fumes.
The placement of the hive requires careful consideration of the local environment and is a factor in the colony’s eventual success. The hive should be positioned on a sturdy, level stand, such as a wooden platform or cinder blocks, to prevent tipping and keep the bottom board dry and away from ground pests. A level hive is necessary because bees rely on gravity to build straight, vertical comb. If the hive is tilted, they will build crooked comb, known as cross-comb, which complicates inspection.
Optimal placement includes ensuring the hive entrance receives early morning sunlight, ideally facing southeast or south, which encourages earlier foraging. Providing a windbreak, such as a fence or dense shrubbery, is necessary to shield the hive from harsh prevailing winds that can cause heat loss and stress the colony. The chosen location should also be easily accessible for the beekeeper and situated near a reliable source of fresh water, which the bees require for cooling the hive and diluting stored honey.