What Is Bee Space?
What Is Bee Space?
In the previous video, you may have heard the term bee space. What is bee space, and how is it used inside a hive?
Size of Bee Space
Bee space is the gap between hive parts that allows bees to move around and work in the hive. The measurement of the gap is generally considered to be 1/4" to 3/8"; spaces larger than this are not optimal.
The important thing to understand about bee space is that if gaps between hive parts are too small, bees will "glue" them together and even fill them with propolis. Conversely, if spaces are too big, bees will build comb until only bee space remains between combs and other surfaces. If a hive is expected to be opened, manipulated, and used again, it is very important to account for bee space in the design.
Understanding how much space bees need enables beekeepers to create frames for combs that are:
- easy to remove from a hive
- easy to harvest honey from
Customizing Bee Space
All commercially produced parts are constructed with bee space in mind, but a beekeeper can change things inside a hive, most commonly the number of frames in a hive body.
For instance, when bees are drawing foundation, 10 frames should always be present in a hive body. Once drawn, 9 frames in a 10-frame super can be used so that the comb, when fully drawn and filled with honey, will protrude farther past the edges of the wooden frame. This makes it easier to uncap the comb at harvest time. This is one of many ways beekeepers customize their own hives to meet their needs.
If gaps between hive parts are too small, bees will "glue" them together; if spaces are too big, bees will build comb until only bee space remains between combs and other surfaces.
Langstroth's Bee Space
Numerous beekeepers explored the concept of bee space in Europe and America in the early 1800s. But L.L. Langstroth's U.S. patent in 1852 gave specific dimensions for most of the spaces between parts in a hive, and his design is the basis for hives that are in broad use today.
Lesson List
- 9. Hive Stand Duration:
- 2.6 Check Your Learning Duration:
- Tools Duration:
- 2.5 Clothing & Tools Duration:
- What Is Bee Space? Duration:
- 2.4 Hive Frames & Bee Space Duration:
- Top-bar Hives Duration:
- Foundations Duration:
- 2.3 Comb Foundations Duration:
- The Langstroth Hive Duration:
- Bottom Board Duration:
- Full-Depth Hive Body Duration:
- Queen Excluder Duration:
- Medium-Depth Super Duration:
- Shallow-Depth Super Duration:
- Section Comb Super Duration:
- Inner Cover Duration:
- Outer Telescoping Cover Duration:
Teachers Info
Bee doctor
- Website: http://www.example.com
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