The Contemporary Design of Beehives

The “Modern” Beehive Click Here if you listened. We’d love to know what you think. There is even a spot for feedback! Read along below! 175 Years Old This Year By: James E. Tew Figure 1. A professionally constructed L.L. Langstroth hive. Figure 2. Langstroth with a Root version of his hive. (Root Archives) Figure 3. A 1918 USDA booklet on transferring box hives to modern equipment. Figure 4. One of my very few photos of my transfer from box to hive. I was attempting to get the bees to use the new entrance before I transferred them. Figure 5. The bees’ way and our way. Which is right? The birth of the Langstroth Hive I am not an apicultural historian but I am a longtime beekeeper. Compared to beekeeping’s extensive history, my bee experiences are only a tiny drop in a big, historic bee bucket. I’ve always used what my beekeeper instructors called the “Modern Hive” designed by L.L. Langstroth in 1851 and patented in 1852. Depending on how you measure the development of this hive experience, either this year or next year, the modern Langstroth hive will be 175 years old. Is it possible to sing Happy Birthday to bee hive style? Langstroth’s saga is long and contorted and beyond the scope of my modest effort here. It is interesting to note that he never made much income from his beekeeping-changing concept. It was too easy to copy the design without purchasing permission to use his ideas. The original Langstroth design was a complicated contraption. Interestingly, the original design could not readily have additional supers added to the unit. The supers it contained were small and walled with clear viewing glass – an interesting but needless characteristic.