Custom and Local Hive Designs

Special-size and local hives are hives outside the globally widespread Langstroth and Dadant systems: hives built to standard dimensions established in a particular country or region, or to the beekeeper's own needs. The Warré, the WBC, the AŽ hive used in bee houses, local polystyrene systems and observation hives are examples. Whatever the dimensions, the bee space must be respected; but the practical cost of a non-standard size is often higher than people think.

Why use a special-size hive?

• Local tradition: Dimensions established in a country or region; equipment and colonies are easy to find there.
• Climate: Thickly insulated or double-walled designs in very cold regions, shaded and well-ventilated ones in hot regions.
• Materials: Built from timber, polystyrene or other materials available locally.
• Physical capacity: Lighter boxes, fewer frames, working at waist height.
• Special purpose: Observation, education, research or natural-comb beekeeping.

Examples of local hives from around the world

Warré hive

A vertical top-bar hive made of small square boxes, developed in the early 20th century by the French priest Émile Warré. New boxes are added not on top but underneath; the bees keep building comb downwards. It is popular among natural-comb beekeepers; however, because the combs cannot be taken out individually, detailed inspection and varroa control are difficult.

WBC and British National

In the WBC hive, designed by William Broughton Carr in England at the end of the 19th century, the inner boxes are protected by a separate outer casing; this double wall provides insulation in a wet climate but increases the number of parts. Today the most common hive in the UK is the simpler British National.

Bee house hives (AŽ)

The AŽ hives widespread in Slovenia are stacked like cupboards inside enclosed buildings called bee houses and are opened from the back. The beekeeper can work even in the rain and does not carry hives; however, the hives are fixed and not suitable for migratory beekeeping. Brightly painted front boards are a well-known symbol of this tradition.

Local Central European sizes and polystyrene hives

In Germany local frame sizes such as the Zander and the Deutsch Normalmaß are widespread; in some regions hive types bearing local names have developed. In Scandinavia and northern Europe, local systems with thick polystyrene bodies are often used against the cold.

The rule that never changes: bee space

Whatever the dimensions, the gaps inside the hive must match the bee space (about 6–9 mm). Wider spaces get filled with brace comb, narrower gaps are sealed with propolis. If this measurement is not kept, the frames stick to the walls and to each other, do not come out freely, and the whole benefit of the movable frame is lost.

• Between the frame and the hive wall
• Between the frame top bars and the crown board
• Between the top and bottom bars of boxes stacked on each other
• Between the frame bottom bar and the floor (a slightly larger space can be left here)

What does a special size cost you?

This is the point most often underestimated when deciding:

• Frames cannot be exchanged: Comb, brood or honey frames cannot be swapped with a neighbouring beekeeper.
• No ready-made equipment: Foundation, frames, excluders and feeders must be made to order or cut down to fit.
• Buying colonies becomes harder: A standard nuc you buy has to be transferred.
• Selling becomes harder: Non-standard hives and colonies struggle to find buyers.
• You are on your own in an emergency: It is impossible to get a frame with eggs from a neighbour for a queenless colony.

The last point alone is reason enough to give up a special size. Switching from one system to another also takes extra work: the colony is transferred either by cutting out the combs and tying them in, or by setting the old box on top of the new system and waiting for the colony to move across by itself.

Observation hives

Observation hives with glass sides are very valuable for education: dancing, brood care and the queen laying can be seen directly. A good observation hive has an entrance tube leading outside, adjustable ventilation, a feeding point and light-proof covers over the glass.

On the other hand it is not suitable for production: the volume is small, heat and humidity management is limited, and a strong colony cannot be housed in it all year round. As the colony grows, part of it must be moved to a normal hive, and in winter the observation hive is usually emptied.

If you are going to build your own hive

1. Do not change the frame size: You can adapt the body, insulation or roof to the climate, but the frame should stay at the size common in your area.
2. Use a jig: Cut all the parts from the same template; differences of a few millimetres upset the bee space.
3. Choose dry timber: Green wood warps as it dries and gaps open up between boxes.
4. Do not paint the inside: Paint is applied only to the outside, before the bees move in, and allowed to dry thoroughly.
5. Try it with one hive first: Do not multiply a design before trying it for a season.