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Beekeeping hives are beehives with enclosed structure in which bees live and being raised to multiply or produce honey. The most common genus of wild bees being taken care of in bee hive are the sub-species of the Apis.
Artificially made with high quality and sturdy materials, these hives are classified into three - ancient, traditional and modern artificial hives.
Ancient Artificial Beekeeping Hives are man-made beehives used by the Egyptians during the ancient period. These are made with straw and unbaked clay. As evidence, the use of beehives was discovered in the Sun temple walls of Nyuserre Ini of the 5th Dynasty dated earlier than 2422 B.C alongside the discovery of production of honey in the tomb of Pabasa of the 26th Dynasty dated in circa 650 B.C., which shows honey stored in cylindrical jars and beehives.
Traditional Artificial Hives are pots and jars with enclosed structure for the bee colony. It has no internal structure, but the bees have the ability to create their own honeycombs within the beehives. This type of hive allows the honeycombs to be cross-attached in the hive and cannot be removed away without destroying the beehive.
Traditional artificial hives have three subtypes - the mud and clay hives, bee gums and skeps. Skeps are baskets made of coils of grass or straw, normally being used in the northern part and western part of Europe. Mud beehives are elongated cylinders composed of unbaked mud, dung and straw, while the clay hives are long cylinder containers made of baked clay.
On the other hand, the bee gums are the hollow sections of the red gum trees where are set upright in apiaries. This subtype was used in the eastern United States until the 20th century.
Modern Artificial Hives are beehives with intermediate and advanced qualities such as mobility, sturdiness and safeguarding. The development of this kind of hive was done in the 19th century from its older versions. It has eight subtypes - the commercial hives, DLD or dartington Long Deep hives, Langstroth hives, beehaus, national hives, the WBC hives which are invented and named after William Broughton Carr, top-bar hives and warr hives.
There are also natural hives such as in rock cavities and sections of shallow trees, but the ancient, traditional and modern artificial hives are the most common and developed hives from the past until today.
About this Author
Todd, "The Bee Guy", is a beekeeping enthusiast who likes to share his beekeeping knowledge with others. For more information on beekeeping hives here and to discover the 10 essential steps every new beekeeper needs to know, visit Todd's First Lessons In Beekeeping site (don't forget to sign up for his FREE mini course).
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