The beehive is the beekeeper’s tool. At this point the beekeeper must
do all the things necessary with as little effort possible and in the least
amount of time. The beehive with which I do my beekeeping started being
used forty years ago here in Slovenia. People no longer believe in the
statement that our feeding and climate conditions are not suitable because
many beekeepers have been successful in our conditions. The beehive does
not have a permanent shape or size - we can increase or decrease the size
depending on the strength of the colony, feed, the season and so on. See
picture that has 8 beehives.
 Selecting
the most suitable beehive is very important for modern beekeeping and also
for its success. I bee keep with the LR beehives in which my father-in-law
Martin Adlešič redesigned and completed with quality. Beekeeping with them
is simple and the maximum amount of honey is produced. This is the version
3 beehive, which has a 2/3 load of honey (picture) meanwhile he bee keeps
with a more improved beehive called version 4. I recommend these beehives
to all those who are intending to bee keep with many beehives and to the
beginners who are looking to cut the costs as much as possible – this type
of beehive costs the least. Compared to the AŽ beehives its easier to monitor
the development of bee colonies, less time is used for maintenance and
what is most important more honey is produced during a good feed than if
the AŽ beehive is used.
The beehive has the following parts:
BOTTOM BOARD
HIVE BODIES
SHALLOW SUPERS
HIVE COVER
ROOF
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 THE
BOTTOM BOARD
The bottom board is exposed the most to the weather and therefore quickly
falls apart. It is assembled with 2 cm thick boards made of pine, which
have to be well-protected. The bottom board is 38 cm wide and 54 cm long.
4 cm is cut off for the external section where bees enter and exit the
hive. The front parts are painted with different colours so the queen bee
can orient itself better during the mating flight.
There
is a 11 cm long opening at the front part of the board, which
can be adjusted. The smallest opening is used during winter and for weaker
colonies and bigger openings are used during the development of the colonies.
The height of the board is 5 cm and depends on the beekeeping technology.
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 THE HIVE BODIES
We usually use the same size for hive bodies and shallow supers. The beehive
type Adlešič V3 is lower in the shallow super than in hive body. The hive has
nine frames, which are the most important parts of the hive. Their creation
to a great extent depends on the successful work in beehives. They are made
of linden ore pine wood. The Hoffman frame is the most liked and most used.
It is named after the American beekeeper. The frame sides are 15 mm longer
on both sides than the outer length of the frame. These are the so-called “ears”
on which the frames hang from at the front and back of the hive. The hive body
dimensions are 24 cm for the height, 38 cm for the width, and 50 cm for the
length and the outer sides are made of 1 cm thick pine wood. The inside is
isolated with 1 cm thick Styrofoam, which is coated with a protective layer
of colours so the bees do not bite into it. It weighs only 1.5 kg or 6 kg with
empty combs.
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 THE SHALLOW SUPERS
The shallow supers are lower than the body hives in the beehive
Adlešič V3 and has a height of 17 cm. The rest of the dimensions are similar
to those of the body hive. This is a two-third beehive. The creation of the super
is similar to that of the hive body and the frames are smaller. The shallow super
is even lighter as an empty one only weighs 1 kg or 4 kg with empty combs. These
types of supers are suitable for older people because when filled with honeys
are lighter than the bigger hive bodies. They are most suitable for obtaining
honey from the combs and different sorts of honey. The shallow supers are very
simple to install regarding the strength of the family, feed, and season. The
queen excluder is put in between the body hives and shallow supers. A beehive
with two shallow supers, empty combs and no hive cover weighs 18 kg at most.
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 THE
HIVE COVER
We use it to cover the top part of the hive. The outside width and length of the cover are the same as the external measurements of the hive. The cover is made of a frame and metal. There is an opening in the middle of the cover in which we smoke the bees out at the beginning. The top of the cover has a sliding screen that prevents us from coming into contact with the bees. We can pour a sugary substance into this cover and put some sugar loaves or dry sugar around the opening. We can put 4 kg of feed into such a cover. There are little openings on the sides acting as vents, which let out the excess humidity. |
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THE ROOF
There is also a roof on top of everything, which protects the hive from rain and snow. The roof is also used when we examine the hives. When we open the hives we turn it over so that the top of the roof, which is covered with metal, is facing downwards. We temporarily place the hive bodies on the roof of the frame. The roof is made of a wooden frame on which 20 mm thick boards are nailed to. The outer side is made of metal and the inside is covered with Styrofoam, which is added insulation from the cold. The outside measurements are somewhat bigger than the external hive measurements.
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THE BEEKEPING EQUIPMENT FOR EXAMINING THE HIVES
The following equipment is needed before taking on this task.
The suit should be white or some other light colour and made of cotton, which should be thick enough to prevent any bee stings. Darkness and wool especially annoy the bees. I also recommend that perfumes and other odours should not be used before examination. The suit can be one piece or two pieces. It is wise to put elastic around the wrist and ankle areas. It is very important the suit has a sewn in veil so that the bees cannot find any kind of opening towards the face.
The gloves are the next important part of the equipment. This is especially important for beginners who are still getting experience and building confidence within themselves and building a trust with the bees. We should dampen our hands with vinegar, which annoys the bees if we do not use gloves. More detailed work such as marking the queen bee is done without gloves. Working without the gloves is very demanding and wedding bands can be the reason for many bee stings.
 The smoke burner is an indispensable addition for every beekeeper. We create smoke with it, which calms the bees down so that they move away from the edge of the frames and in great quantities start to take the honey from the combs. The smoke burner is filled with, trunks, dried mushrooms, dry leaves and grass etc. The majority of beekeepers smoke but it is not recommended that cigarettes or pipes are used. We must be very careful when using the smoke burner. When finished we must put out the burning leaves etc. with water. There have been many examples of beekeeper negligence as entire bee houses have been burnt down to the ground and the bees sent off on an early vacation because of smoke burners not being extinguished.
The hive chisel is a tool, which a beekeeper cannot go without and without it cannot perform the work sufficiently enough. We loosen the combs with it, separate the body hives, scrape off any excess, clean out the wax and clean out the bottom board. We can also move the whole hive with it.
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