Introduction
There are four-honeybee species of Sri Lanka, only one-the Apis cerana (mee massa)-is
suitable for domestication, because it builds its hive in enclosed spaces, which makes it suitable
for beekeeping. The bambara and the danduwel massa (Apis florea), small, red bees, build their
hives in open spaces such as on trees or high up on buildings. The fourth species, the kano mee,
a small stingless honeybee species, produces small quantities of honey.
Sri Lanka is home to 148 species of bees of which 21 are endemic. Over the past decade, the
country has witnessed the resurgence of beekeeping. Bees are key to a sustainable ecology, and
at a time when development equates the felling of forest cover and the use of toxic chemicals
as fertilizer and for pest control, the systematic breeding of bees is a breath of relief. Sri Lanka's
rich biodiversity incorporates a range of ecosystems, from rain forest to arid scrub land. And
although small, the Island has been identified by Conservation International as one of the
world's 25 biodiversity hotspots, with 2,180 unique plant species.
Honeybees are a critical link in the pollination cycle. A minority among bee species, they are
classed as social bees, with the rest being solitary bees, living alone in nests most often
underground. Unlike solitary bees and some other social bee species that are happy to feed
from a variety of plants, honeybees are loyal to one or a few select plant species. This is useful
because plants require pollen of the same species to propagate. While other bees may introduce
pollen from different plant species, the honeybee guarantees pollination by the same species
because it moves from flower to flower of the same plant type, cross-pollinating them, causing
fertilisation and seed production. Studies worldwide have linked the decline of certain flora to
the decline of specific bee species. It's said that only 10 percent or so of the world's 20,000 bee
species, are social. Of this 10 percent, only a small section are honeybees, bees that produce
honey in quantities large enough to harvest.
Honey gathering has a long history in the country. Bee honey has long been associated with
the country's indigenous Veddah people, who used it not only as food but a barter product as
well. Even today, the community makes a ritualistic offering of a pot of bee honey at the
Temple of the Tooth Relic during the annual perahera Festival in August. Bee honey is valued
by Sri Lanka's ayurvedic medical system, where it is an essential ingredient in various
medicines. The practice of beekeeping was introduced around 1940 by the then State
Department of Agriculture.
Bee box is important equipment in bee keeping. There are 2 types of honey box use in Sri
Lanka. One is square shape and the other one is rectangular shape. the square shaped honey
box is suitable foe wet zone and rectangular shape honey box is suitable for dry zone in Sri
Lanka. Instead of these honey boxes there are many types of honey box are used in the world.
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History of Honey box in Sri Lanka
The suitability of hives for Apis cerana in Sri Lanka is a question as old as the history of modem
beekeeping in Sri Lanka. Ever since then, there have been many changes in the hive design.
The following is a brief
Rev. Lorenzo Lorraine Langstroth (1810-95) who invented the Movable Comb (Frame) Hive
with which the inevitable destruction of brood nest after honey extraction was overcome.
Jayatillake (1881) who observed that the serious destruction caused by honey hunters to the
Mee Bees and Bambara Bees for extracting honey. As an alternative for this problem the first
in Sri Lanka who attempted to rear Mee Bees in a movable frame hive obtain from Britain. As
a result of this, he was However, he concluded that the British hive to be undesirable for the
local bee and with many years of experimentation he recommended that a hive arrangement
with flat pots and pans made of burnt clay is more suitable
Benton (1881) made suggestions on developing suitable hives for Sri Lanka's honeybee during
his visit to the island.
Goonatillake (1918) designed a hive with eight frames.
The hive recommended by Ceylon Beekeepers' Association in 1920, had ten frames.
Kannangara (1938) recommended a hive with seven frames for brood chamber and super with
half the height of brood frames. This hive was used in late 1930s and early 1940s
Butler (1953) and Baptist (1954)8 introduced a hive where brood frame with six such frames
in the brood chamber and honey frame which half size of the brood frame and thus the honey
super was half the height of the brood box. This hive was the standard hive recommended by
the Sri Lanka Dept. of Agriculture till 1986.
Punchihewa (1986) introduced a hive with a 8 liters brood box with provision for 8 frames This
hive is still being improved and modified along with management improvements. A single
super is almost half the size of the brood chamber and the number of supers required depends
on the beekeeping conditions
Most of these designs were recommended by the Sri Lanka Department of Agriculture as the
suitable hive during the period concerned. However, even today many successful beekeepers
use their own design and they are all good.
It is often thought by many people that a colony of bees in a movable comb hive is happy and
they would do everything to give honey to the hive owner. Therefore, very often the hive has
to take the blame for failures in beekeeping. The management of bees is the most important
role in successful beekeeping and the movable comb hive offers many possibilities for effective
and efficient management practices.
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Movable Comb Hive
At the ancient time there were enough forest. So, people had honey from forest. There was a
no necessary of bee keeping. But when the population increases the natural forest are reduced
and increased the demand for honey, at that time honey production from woods also reduced.
With the development of human civilization people tend to apiculture, but there was a problem.
People make the hives for bees and allow to colonize bees and extract honey, but in this process
both and bees and humans were harmed by each other. Most of the time bees are left the hives
due to various disturbances.
As solution for this problem Rev. Lorenzo Lorraine Langstroth (1810-95) who invented the
Movable Comb (Frame) Hive I with which the inevitable destruction of brood nest after honey
extraction was overcome. Langstroth observed that the minimum space needed for the bees to
walk around was always kept free by them. This minimum space needed to walk around was
called the Bee-Space and its discovery was the turning point for later developments apiculture.
As a result of this discovery, hives with movable frames containing brood and honey combs
were constructed and this device ensured that no disturbances was caused bees nest in
extracting honey. Extraction of honey became an easy task as now the combs built on frames
were easily movable without disturbances to the bees. The advantages brought about by this
new device made a great impact on beekeeping worldwide and resulted in beekeeping
becoming a large-scale industry in many countries.
There are some vital measures for designing bee hive.
1.Bee-space
Bee-space implies the minimum space required by bees for their movement without barricade
within the nest. It is defined as the space between two parallel brood combs on which two
layers of bees can stay, keeping back to back. (between 8.0 mm to 9.0 mm for Sri Lankan
honeybees.) If the space provided between movable parts of the hive exceeds the above
specification, the bees tend to build Burr-Combs between the parts rendering them immovable.
If the space between movable parts of the hive become less than the bee-space, the bees tend
to seal up such spaces with wax, again making the movable parts immovable. Therefore, the
bee space important in designing the hive.
2. Comb Thickness
The thickness of a worker brood comb is between 20.0 mm to 21.0 mm while the thickness of
a drone brood comb may be between 24.0 mm to 25.0 mm. The thickness of honey combs are
highly variable and sometimes may extend up to 50 mm. In designing frames and top-bars for
comb building, what is considered as the comb thickness is the thickness of the worker brood
comb which is about 20 mm.
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3. Comb Spacing
Comb spacing is the center to center spacing of two adjoining worker brood combs. In hive
designing this is taken as 28.0 mm. This is the distance between center to center in adjoining
tob-bars or top-bars of frames in a movable comb hive.
Parts of the Typical Bee Hive use in Sri Lanka
Roof
Inner Cover
Honey Supers
Brooder box
Floor board
1.Floor Board
The floor-board is the lowermost part in a movable-comb-hive. Rest of the parts are placed on
it. It helps to collect many of the debris from the brood combs such as the capping. Often many
scavenging insects such as beetles, wax moth larvae, etc. dwell in this debris. Also, during the
rainy season, due to gusty winds water too tends to get collected on the floor-board.
Many floor-boards are flat and are kept horizontally. On such floor-boards, the tendency for
debris to get collected is greater. There is also the proneness to wood-rotting. Therefore,
slanting bottom floor-boards seem more desirable.
In tropical conditions termites’ damages are common and it can overcome by using suitable
wood. Concrete or cement floor boards can be used but it difficult to move place to place.
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23 cm
23 cm
2.Brooder Chamber
Most important functional compartment of the hive. In Sri Lanka, for Apis cerana and the
brood area with its honey and pollen stores usually have about 8 liters volume and has between
5 to 9 combs, depending on the shape of the nest cavity.
A brood box with internal dimensions 23cm x 23cm x 15cm seems quite adequate for many
situations. Such a brood box can take up to 8 combs of 2lcm long and 14cm high. This brood
area when properly managed can generate enough bees to fill up honey supers up to 4 times.
To rest the frames or top-bars, a groove 9mm deep and 5mm broad should be made in anyone
of the two opposite walls.
21cm
14cm
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3.Dummy-Board or Movable Wall
This helps to regulate the size of the brood nest and is especially important in managing small
colonies and this can function like a movable wall in giving required space for a growing brood
nest
4.Honey-Supers
The dimensions of the honey chamber or honey supers are such that it is almost half the size
of a brood box. The internal dimensions are 23cm x 23cm x 7.6cm. As in the case of the brood
chamber, the supers also have two grooves (9mm deep and 5mm wide) on two opposite sides
to place the honey or super frames. Generally, 8 honey frames could be placed on a single super
but it is more advantageous to place only 7.
By placing 7 honey frames, the honey comb will be drawn much thicker by the bees. the honey
frames designed for the super have side bars of 32mm breadth which would enable the placing
of 7 of them on a super. The internal dimensions of this super frame are 20cm x 6cm. The
earlier honey frames had a side bar breadth of 2.8cm just like in brood frames and internal
dimensions are 21cm x 0.6cm but it was seen that broader side bars are much better as they
give rise to thicker honey combs and increased yields.
The size of honey super is half from the brooder. Because if there is a large honey frames it
needs large honey extractor. It is not cost effective and can occur some practical problems like
breaking of combs. Then using small honey frames can quickly fil the combs with honey in
honey flow period and can have frequent production.
In well managed colony can have a population up to 6 honey supers or 3 times the size of the
brood box. Such a colony could yield really good harvests during a honey-flow, perhaps well
over 10 kg. It is also important to have combs in all super frames and not just empty spaces in
them.
20 cm
6 cm
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5.Inner Cover (Crown Board)
The inner-cover is a flat piece of wood with a few ventilating holes, it demarcates the upper
limit of the nest. This being a movable part, it could be placed anywhere from the top of the
brood chamber to the last super depending on the size of the colony.
6. Roof
inner cover helps to close the nest area but it needs further protection from sun and rain and so
the roof becomes essential. Roofs could be turned out of wood and could be covered with
roofing tar paper to make them weather proof. This sort of roof will last a considerable time
with good care.
burnt-clay-tiles also can be used as roofing material. Using clay tiles for roofing the cost will
be considerably lower. If one wants to use roofing tiles, the tiles should be placed slanting
towards one end. Otherwise during rain, the overlapping groove tends to get flooded with water
which can eventually damage the inner cover. To prevent this an appropriate wooden frame
can be used.
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7. Queen Guard
It is a piece of metal strip with holes that allow only workers whose thorax is smaller to pass
through but not the drones and queens with larger thoraxes. The height of this hole (3.8 mm)
is the same as the diameter of the worker brood cell into which a worker can enter with ease
but not the drones and the queen.
The principle of the operation of the queen guard is the same as for the queen excluder it uses
to prevent the queen coming to honey supers to lay eggs.
It is often considered that the entrance guard can prevent the problem of absconding by not
allowing the queen to leave the hive. The queen guard is also useful in catching swarms where
the swarm may tend to fly away again soon after they are taken inside a hive. In this instance
the prevention of the queen leaving will make the worker bees return.
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Different Types of Bee Hives Using Around the World
In 1814, Petro Prokopovych, the founder of commercial beekeeping in the Ukraine, invented
one of the first beehive frames. However, for easy operations in beehives the spaces between
elements need to be correct. The correct distance between combs was described in 1845 by
Jan Dzierzon as 1½ inches from the centre of one top bar to the centre of the next one. In
1848 Dzierzon introduced grooves into the hive’s side walls replacing the strips of wood for
moving top bars. The grooves were 8 x 8 mm (0.31 x 0.31 in), the spacing later termed bee
space. The Langstroth hive was the first successful top-opened hive with movable frames.
Langstroth hive was however direct product of Dzierzon’s hive designs.
There are two basic types of modern or movable hive in common use, the “Langstroth hive”
(available in different sizes) which has enclosed frames to hold the comb and the “top-bar
hive”, as the name implies, have only a top-bar to support the comb. These hives are typified
by removable frames which allow the apiarist to inspect for diseases and parasites. Movable
frames also allow a beekeeper to more easily split the hive to make new colonies.
National Hive
The National hive is the most widely used hive in the United Kingdom. It is a square hive, with
rebates (grooves) that serve as hand grips. The frames are smaller than standard Langstroth and
Commercial hives and have longer hand grips. Many beekeepers now view the brood box of
the National as too small for the laying activity of modern strains of queen bee, so many
beekeepers operate the National with a brood box and one super. This is sometimes called “a
brood and a half”. While this provides enough room for the brood, it also increases the number
of frames that have to be checked through regular inspection. Because of this the National hive
brood box are also now available in a 14 x 12-inch size which gives a brood size similar to the
Commercial or Langstroth.
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Langstroth Hive
Named for their inventor, Rev. Lorenzo Langstroth, Langstroth hives are not the only hives of
this style, but they are the most common. Langstroth patented his design in 1860 originally
being designed for comb honey production; it has become the standard style hive for 75% of
the world’s beekeepers. This class of hives includes other styles, which differ mainly in the
size and number of frames used. These include the features of German, Modified Commercial
and Modified Dadant hive and regional variations such as the British Modified National
Hive.Langstroth hives make use of bee space so that frames are neither glued together nor filled
with burr comb–comb joining adjacent frames.
Langstroth hives use standardized sizes of hive bodies (rectangular boxes without tops or
bottoms placed one on top of another) and internal frames to ensure that parts are
interchangeable and that the frames will remain relatively easy to remove, inspect, and replace
without killing the bees. Langstroth hive bodies are rectangular in shape and can be made from
a variety of materials that can be stacked to expand the usable space for the bees. Inside the
boxes, frames are hung in parallel. The minimum size of the hive is dependent on outside air
temperature and potential food sources in the winter months. The colder the winter, the larger
the hive and food stores need to be. In the regions with severe winter weather, a basketballshaped cluster of bees typically survives in a “double-deep” box. In temperate and equatorial
regions, a winter cluster will survive in a single box.
Langstroth frames are thin rectangular structures made of wood or plastic and which have a
wax or plastic foundation on which the bees draw out the comb. The frames hold the beeswax
honeycomb formed by the bees. Ten frames side-to-side will fill the hive body and leave the
right amount of bee space between each frame and between the end frames and the hive body.
Langstroth frames are often reinforced with wire, making it possible to extract honey in
centrifuges to spin the honey out of the comb. As a result, the empty frames and comb can be
returned to the beehive for use in the next season. Since it is estimated that bees require as
much food to make one kilogram of beeswax as they do to make eight kilograms of honey, the
ability to reuse comb can significantly increase honey production.
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WBC Hive
The WBC, invented by and named after William Broughton Carr, is a double-walled hive with
an external housing that splays out towards the bottom of each frame covering a standard box
shape hive inside. despite the extra level of insulation for the bees offered by its double-walled
design many beekeepers avoid it due to the inconvenience of having to remove the external
layer before the hive can be examined.
DLD (Dartington Long Deep) Hive
DLD hive takes 14 x 12 inch and can take up to 17 frames. It is possible to have 2 colonies in
the brood box as there is an entrance at either end. It has half size honey supers which take 6
frames can be used which are lighter than full supers and are therefore easier to lift. The
Dartington originally developed by Robin Dartington so that he could keep bees on his London
rooftop.
BeeHaus Hive
The Beehaus is the most modern beehive having been
launched in 2009. It is based on similar principles
to a Dartington.
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Top Bar Hive
The top-bar or Kenya-hives were developed as a lower-cost alternative to the standard
Langstroth hives and equipment. They are used by some devotees in the United States, but are
much more popular, due to their simplicity and low cost, in developing countries. Top-bar hives
also have movable frames and make use of the concept of bee space.
The top-bar hive is so named because the frames of the hive have only a top bar, not sides or a
bottom bar. The beekeeper does not provide a foundation for the bees to build from. The bees
build the comb so it hangs down from the top bar. The hive body is often shaped as an inverted
trapezoid in order to reduce the tendency of bees to attach the comb to the hive-body walls.
Unlike the Langstroth design, a top-bar hive is generally expanded horizontally, not vertically.
The top-bar design is a single, much longer box, with all the frames hanging in parallel.
Unlike the Langstroth hive, the honey cannot be extracted by centrifuging because a top-bar
frame does not have reinforced foundation or a full frame. Because the bees have to rebuild the
comb after each harvest, a top-bar hive yields more beeswax but less honey.
However, like the Langstroth hive, the bees can be induced to store the honey separately from
the areas where they are raising the brood. Therefore, bees are less likely to be killed when
harvesting from a top-bar hive than when harvesting from a skep or other traditional hive
design.
Warre Hive
The Warre hive was invented by Abbe Emil Warre, and is
also called or “The People’s Hive” The Warre hive is a
modular and storied design similar to a Langstroth hive.
The hive body is made of boxes stacked vertically,
however it uses Top Bars for comb support instead of full
frames. Popularity of this hive is growing among
sustainable practice beekeepers. The Warre hive differs
from other stacked hive systems in one fundamental
aspect: when the bees need more space as the colony
expands, the new box is positioned underneath the existing
box. This serves the purpose of warmth retention within
the brood nest of the hive, considered vital to colony
health
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References
▪
Beekeeping for honey production in Sri Lanka By R.W.K. Punchihewa.
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https://www.thespruce.com/types-of-beehives-langstroth-top-bar-3016863
▪
https://backyardbeekeeping101.com/types-of-beehives/
▪
https://www.ebeehq.com/beekeeping-equipment/types-of-beehives/
▪
https://www.perfectbee.com/beekeeping-articles/outside-the-swarm/what-is-the-righttype-of-beehive
▪
https://www.perfectbee.com/your-beehive/beehives-and-accessories/common-typesof-beehive
▪
https://kiwimana.co.nz/different-types-of-beehives-in-britain/
▪
https://bees4life.org/learn/sustainable-beekeeping/guide-bee-hive-types
▪
https://www.honeyshop.co.uk/hives.html
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