Frame Transport and Storage

Frame carrying and storage equipment covers the accessories used to lift frames safely out of the hive, keep them to one side during inspections, lift and move supers and hives, and store empty combs undamaged out of season: frame grips, frame perches, super lifters, hive carts, straps, comb racks and hangers. The right equipment protects the beekeeper's back, the comb and the bees. This page describes this equipment and the methods for storing comb safe from wax moth.

Why is frame carrying equipment needed?

A full honey frame weighs a few kilograms, and a full super weighs tens of kilograms. On a harvest day the beekeeper lifts this load many times over. The purpose of the equipment is:

• Protecting the comb: Carrying the frame without jolting, dropping or crushing it.
• Protecting the bees: Preventing crushed bees and the loss of the queen when frames are taken out and put back.
• Protecting the beekeeper: Reducing the strain on the back and wrists.
• Hygiene: Working without putting frames on the ground or letting them touch soil and grass.

Lidded frame carrying boxes and carrying frames in supers at harvest are covered in detail on the “Frame Carrying and Storage Boxes” page; this page focuses on equipment other than boxes.

Frame handling equipment at the hive

Frame grip

A tong-shaped metal grip that grasps the top bar of the frame from both sides. It lets you lift a frame stuck down with propolis with one hand, vertically and without jolting. It is safer than holding the thin bar with a gloved hand and reduces the risk of crushing bees.

Frame perch (frame rest)

A metal hanger that hooks onto the side of the hive or super. The first one or two frames removed during an inspection are hung on this perch; this makes room to work inside the hive, and the frame is not put on the ground. With a frame covered in bees, it also prevents the queen from falling off.

Hive tool

The basic tool of every beekeeper: it separates, lifts and scrapes stuck frames. The hooked end acts as a lever for lifting frames.

Super and hive carrying equipment

• Super lifter: A frame set up beside the hive that lifts a super or hive body with a lever or crank. A beekeeper working alone can lift heavy supers without straining their back.
• Hive cart: A two-wheeled barrow with a base the size of a hive. It makes it easier to move supers and hives within the apiary; wide wheels are preferred on rough ground.
• Carrying handles and grips: Handles fitted to the hive body or used by two people together.
• Hive strap: Holds the hive parts together; it stops the hive coming apart during transport and in migratory beekeeping.

Frame storage equipment

• Comb racks: Open racks on which frames hang by their lugs. The combs do not touch each other, air circulates and checking is easy.
• Ceiling hangers: Frames lined up on bars hanging from the ceiling save space and stay aired.
• Comb cabinets: Tight, lidded cabinets; they stop frozen combs from being reinfested by moth.
• Stacked supers: The most common method. The bottom and top are closed so that mice and moths cannot get in.

How should combs be stored to protect them from wax moth?

The greatest enemy of empty comb in storage is the wax moth (greater wax moth Galleria mellonella and lesser wax moth Achroia grisella). Its larvae feed on wax, pollen and cocoon residues and destroy comb by covering it in webbing. Comb left without bees can become unusable within a few weeks.

Naphthalene (mothballs) and similar chemicals leave residues in wax and honey; they are not used. Melting down old, darkened brood combs full of cocoons instead of storing them reduces both the moth risk and the disease load.

Hygiene and order in storage

• Have the bees clean out the combs and dry them before storage; wet comb goes mouldy.
• Make the store mouse-proof; mice chew and soil the comb.
• Mark combs according to the apiary they came from; keep combs from hives suspected of disease separate and report them.
• Check several times over the winter; immediately set aside and freeze any frame showing webbing or larvae.
• Do not bring second-hand comb of unknown origin into your store.

Common mistakes

• Putting frames on the ground or on grass during an inspection.
• Lifting heavy supers alone, bending from the waist.
• Not strapping the hive before moving it.
• Leaving empty combs unchecked in a warm, dark, enclosed place.
• Using naphthalene in the store.