There is often confusion around hive sizes. This is especially true when the beginner attends an auction where there are lots of old hives many of which are described as Nationals - but they are not. It is for this reason I have written this page.
How to decide which type of hive to purchase
- If you already have hives then stick with the same design. That allows you put your spare super on any of your hives.
- What are others in your club using?
- What is available?
- What material do you want the hive to be made from?
- How does appearance affect your choice?
- How does cost affect your choice?
All dimensions are in millimetres since it is much easier to see whether a hive is 445mm wide rather than 14 and 5/8th inches.
There is a separate page which describes the frames for the hive. When I first started working with bees I knew I had a National but I had no idea which frames I needed. Hopefully this article will help.
Most of these hives are based on the top bar hive. For the calculations on what goes on in the hive I have based it on a queen lays about 2000 eggs per day when she is laying at her peak. Each of those cells will be occupied for approximately 21 days before the queen can once again lay an egg in there. This means that at a minimum the hive needs to have access to 42,000 cells.
That is not all that is in the brood box. There will be drone cells which are larger than worker cells In addition there are honey stores and pollen stores and inevitably there will be some cells which are unusable. In total this can amount to an extra 30,000 cells meaning that in total the hive needs 72,000 cells.
A close examination of a frame shows that there are about 4 cells to the square centimetre. From this we can readily calculate that the average hive needs 13,000 square centimetres of frames.
National Hive This is a very popular type of hive in the UK. There are long lugs on the frame which overhang the rebate inside the hive. This gives convenient hand holds on the outside of the box. One of the disadvantages of this hive is that the brood box is considered to be too small for modern prolific bees. For this reason many bee keepers if they are using national Hives use a brood box and a super and then the queen excluder. This is called running on a "brood and a half".
One advantage of this hive design is that the brood and super are square when seen from above. This means that the frames can be put in so that they run parallel with the entrance - "warm way" or at right angles to the entrance slot "cold way". They are called this because frames set "warm way" keep the hive warmer since it is not so easy for the air to blow through the hive. There are advantages and disadvantages to both. In both methods the bees tend to avoid building on the frames nearest to the entrance. One advantage of putting the frames in the cold way is that you and your assistant can stand each side of the hive and work together examining the frames. If your frames are warm way then it encourages one of you to stand at the back of the hive and one at the front - and bees do not like you standing in front of the entrance to the hive.
- External dimensions - 460mm by 460mm
- Brood box height 225mm
- Super height 149mm
- Weight Full Super -11.4kg
- Bee space - Bottom
- Number of cells in brood box -60,000
- Area in brood box - 14,194 sq cms (1.42 sq metres)
- Frame type DN4 or DN5 and SN4 or SN5
- Frames Size
- Top bar -432mm * 22mm
- Bottom bar 356mm
- Deep side bar - 216mm *35mm
- Shallow side bar - 140mm * 35mm
- Number of frames in brood box
- 11 and a dummy board.
- 9 or 10 frames on castellated spacers in the super
- 8 frames with wide ends in the super
Deep National also known as "14 x 12" or "B.S. deeps"
The Deep National overcomes the drawback of the National Brood box being too small for the modern bees. It is,, of course, compatible with the National at Super level and gives you a larger brood chamber.
- External dimensions -460mm by 460mm
- Brood box height -315mm
- Super height -149mm
- Weight Full Super -11.4kg
- Bee space - Bottom
- Number of cells in brood box -93,500
- Area in brood box - 20,719 sq cms (2.07 sq metres)
- Frame type 14*12 and SN4 or SN5
- Frame Size
- Top bar 431mm *22mm
- Bottom bar 356mm
- Side bar 305mm *35mm
- Number of frames in brood box -
- 11 (Can fit 12 but not easy to work with best to put 11 frames and a dummy board.)
- 11 frames on narrow ends in brood body
- 9 or 10 frames on castellated spacers in the super
- 8 frames with wide ends in the super
WBC (William Broughton Carr) This is the hive which are seen in children's books and their attractive appearance means that the shape is often seen in gardens as compost bins. They are double walled made up of a National Hive surrounded by truncated square based pyramid structures called "lifts". Because of their double wall they are cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. One of the disadvantages is that a hive inspection is more awkward as the lifts have to be removed at each stage. This means there is more risk of knocking the hive and disturbing the bees.
- External dimensions - 505mm by 505mm
- Brood box height 225mm
- Super height 149mm
- Weight Full Super -11.4kg
- Bee space - Bottom
- Number of cells in brood box 45,000
- Frame type DN4 or DN5 and SN4 or SN5
- Area in brood box 12,902 sq cm (1.29 sq metres)
- Number of frames in brood box
- 10 Hoffman frames in brood or super
- 10 frames on narrow ends in brood body,
- 9 Manley in super,
- 8 or 10 on castellated spacers,
- 8 wide ends frames in super.
Commercial This hive is almost the same dimensions when seen from above, as the National. For this reason those beekeepers with prolific queens may use Commercial brood boxes and National supers. conversely those with less prolific queens but hard working workers may have a National brood box and Commercial supers. However do remember a Commercial super full of honey is heavy.
- External dimensions - 465mm by 465 mm
- Brood box height 267 mm
- Super height 162mm
- Weight Full Super -11.4kg
- Bee space - Bottom
- Frame type Commercial Deep and Commercial Shallow
- Area in brood box 19,353 sq cm (1.94 sq metres)
- Number of cells in brood box - 70,500
- Frame Size
- Top bar 438mm *27mm
- Bottom bar 406mm
- Deep side bar 254mm *35mm
- Shallow side bar 152mm *35mm
- Number of frames in brood box
- 11 Hoffman frames in brood and super
- 10 Manley frames in super.
Langstroth The Langstroth is the most popular hive worldwide - but not in the UK. If you buy a Langstroth beware that it comes in different sizes depending on whether it comes from UK, Europe or America. I have given the dimensions below but these are not to be relied upon as there are so many variations around the World. I could give the dimensions for British and American variations - and then I found that there is also a Californian size!
- External dimensions - 508mm by 413mm
- Brood box height - 240mm
- Jumbo brood height 298mm
- Super height - 146mm
- Weight Full Super -13.6kg
- Bee space - Top
- Number of cells in brood box -61,400
- Area in the brood box - 17,742 sq cm (1.77 sq metres)
- Number of frames in brood box
- 10 Hoffman frames in brood or super,
- 8 Manley frames in super
Smith The Smith Hive was developed by Mr Willie W Smith of Innerleithen in Peebles, Scotland. He set out to develop a hive which was simple to make, suitable for the harsh climate in Scotland and easy to move from one location to another as the heather bloomed. Because this is the simplest to make I have included a link to plans.
- External dimensions - 416mm by 463mm
- Brood box height - 225mm
- Super height 149mm
- Weight Full Super -11.4kg
- Bee space - Top
- Frame type Smith DN1 or Smith DN4 and Smith SN1 or Smith SN4
- Frame Sizes
- Top bar 394mm or you can use National DN4/DN5 and shorten the lugs.
- Bottom bar 356mm
- Deep side bars 216mm
- Shallow side bars 140mm
- Area in brood box - 14,192 sq cm 1.42 sq metres)
- Number of cells in brood box 50,000
- Number of frames in brood box -
- 11 Hoffman in brood body or super
- 10 Manley frames in the super
Dadant The Dadant is the largest of the hives mentioned here. Like the Langstroth it comes in many slightly different sizes. Being so large it is not an easy hive to inspect or move and for this reason it is not very popular in the UK.
- External dimensions 508mm by 470mm
- Brood box height 299mm
- Super height 168mm
- Area in brood box - 24,126 sq cm (2.41 sq metres)
- Number of cells in brood box 85,000
- Frame Sizes
- Top bar 483mm
- Bottom bar 446mm
- Deep side bars - 286mm
- Shallow side bars 159mm
- Number of frames -
- 11 Hoffman frames in super or brood box or
- 10 Manley frames
Well that gives a brief description of the most commonly used hives. If you are buying second hand then do measure carefully to check what sort of hive you are buying. It is also a good idea to take a super frame and a brood frame with you to see that they fit.
If you do purchase a second hand hive, or any second hand equipment then make certain it is well cleaned and sterilised before you introduce it to the bees - but that will be a whole separate article.
