The hive at a glance
A standard stacked hive such as a Langstroth or National is built from the bottom up. From the ground, the usual order is:
- Stand
- Bottom board (floor) and entrance
- Brood box with frames
- Queen excluder (optional)
- Honey supers with frames
- Inner cover (or crown board)
- Outer cover or roof
Names differ by region, so a “crown board” in the UK is roughly the “inner cover” in the US. Other hive designs rearrange or leave out some parts; see the types of bee hives.
Base: stand, bottom board and entrance
- Stand: raises the hive off the ground to reduce damp and make the entrance easier to reach. Bricks, blocks or a purpose-built stand all work.
- Bottom board: the floor. A solid board gives more protection from wind and cold (see bottom board dimensions for choosing between them). A screened (mesh) floor adds ventilation and lets debris and mites fall through, which can help with monitoring.
- Entrance reducer: a block or insert that narrows the opening (more in when to use an entrance reducer). A smaller entrance helps a small colony defend itself against robbing bees and keeps out mice in colder months.
Brood box
The brood box, also called the hive body or deep, is the main living space. The queen lays eggs here, workers raise young, and the colony keeps pollen and honey. Many beekeepers use one or two boxes for the brood area, depending on climate and hive design. A small starter colony from a nucleus hive is typically moved into a box like this.
Queen excluder
A queen excluder is a panel with slots too narrow for the larger queen but wide enough for workers. Placed between brood box and supers, it keeps eggs out of the honey boxes. Not every beekeeper uses one, and opinions differ about its effect on bee traffic, so treat it as optional.
Honey supers
Supers are boxes added above the brood box for surplus honey. They are often shallower than the brood box so they are lighter to lift. Beekeepers add them when the colony needs more storage and remove them when honey is capped and ready to harvest.
Frames and foundation
Frames are rectangular wooden or plastic holders that hang inside boxes. Bees build comb on them, and comb holds brood, pollen and honey. Many frames hold a sheet of foundation, a thin sheet of wax or plastic embossed with a cell pattern, to guide bees to build straight comb. Some keepers use foundationless frames. Frames come in sizes matched to deep, medium and shallow boxes, so make sure they fit; the bee hive size guide lists typical measurements.
Inner cover and roof
The inner cover sits above the top box. It helps with insulation and gives an air space, and often has a hole for ventilation or feeding. The outer cover, or roof, shelters everything from rain. Some roofs are flat and covered in metal; the telescoping style overhangs the box sides. The traditional WBC hive adds outer lifts around the inner boxes.
Bee space
Hive parts are made to respect “bee space”, a gap of roughly a quarter to three-eighths of an inch (roughly 6 to 10 mm). Bees leave spaces of this size open as walkways. Gaps much smaller get glued with propolis, and gaps much larger get filled with extra comb. This is why precise measurements matter.
Which parts are optional?
- Essential: floor, a brood box, frames or bars, cover or roof.
- Optional: queen excluder, screened bottom, entrance reducer, stand (though recommended), additional supers.
How parts differ by hive type
Top bar hives have no stacked boxes; bees build comb from bars along a horizontal body. Warre hives use small square boxes with bars. Mini hives scale parts down; see the smallest bee hives.
What is inside the hive: the bees
Inside a healthy colony there is usually one queen, thousands of workers, and, in season, drones. Their roles are explained in the bee hive hierarchy. Workers are female. The colony also holds eggs, larvae, capped brood, pollen and honey.