The beehive is a structured stack of parts that when joined together form the main hive component, these parts are generally made of quality timber like Macrocarpa, Red Cedar or Douglas Fir, any timber that is reasonably stable and will not twist and warp under adverse conditions and it is essential that the timber is not treated in any way as the treatment will harm the colony.
The construction starts with the bottom board which is the base that the rest of the hive sits on, this holds the stack together, next layer is the deep hive body this where the bees keep the young bees and where they live to keep the hive alive and going, there can be several layers of the deep hive body depending on the designed size of the colony.
The next layer on top of the deep hive body is the honey producing layer this is usually called the medium honey super, this layer like the others is open at the bottom so the bees can move up through the hive in the layers the honey producing layer is not as deep as the others, on top of the honey layer is the inner cover then the outer cover which protects the hive from the elements.
Inside of the deep hive body and also the honey producing layer are 10 frames that slot in from the top, these frames hold the wax foundation that will eventually form the honey comb grid where the bees store the precious honey.
How many deep hive layers with in a given beehive is dependent on the conditions and the climate and position of each hive on a given property, the colder the climate the more deep living layers that are required to keep the bees warm during the winter, in a hot climate you may only need one living layer or the hive will over heat.
The number of honey producing layers is dependent on the size of the colony, the more deep hive layers you have will increase the amount of honey producing layers that you need as you will have more bees to contend with, the honey layers are only around half the size of the living quarters as these layers can get heavy with honey and may be difficult to harvest from the hive.
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