Welcome back to B-Hive Talkin’. In this, the second of our six-part series, we're tackling what's arguably the second most crucial decision you'll make as a new beekeeper – choosing your beehive. The most important decision is your beekeeping style, this will be covered in our final session, as it's something that will develop organically over time and needs to be the last thing you remember from this six-part series.

I hope you've had a productive week, exploring the various beehive options and perhaps even discussing them with other beekeepers or myself here at Hagens. I sincerely hope you felt the Ted Hooper book worth purchasing, again I cannot recommend this book highly enough. If you're feeling a little conflicted by the seemingly endless advice, that's perfectly normal! Remember what I said: ask twelve beekeepers a question, and you'll likely get thirteen different answers.

So, it's time to sift through the information and make an informed choice. Let me play devil's advocate, and offer my perspective on the three hive styles we discussed previously: the WBC, the BS National, and the Langstroth.

Before we delve into the specifics, let's consider the driving forces behind your beekeeping aspirations. Perhaps your initial motivation is environmental stewardship – a noble and valid reason. You might also be drawn to the practical benefits, like providing your family with natural sweeteners and crafting hive products. Maybe it is to help bond with other family members, beekeeping is an all-inclusive social activity. Or maybe you envision beekeeping as a rewarding hobby with the potential to generate income. Or simply you want a hobby that is as interesting as it is emotionally and mentally rewarding, or perhaps it's a combination of all these factors, or simply a fascination with these incredible creatures. Whatever your reasons, they're all valid and will shape your beekeeping journey.

Choosing Your Hive - A Personal Decision:
Now, the moment of truth: WBC, BS National, or Langstroth? This is where things can get a bit…passionate. Beekeepers often have strong opinions about their preferred hive styles. So, let me preface this by saying: what follows are my personal observations and experiences. I've kept bees in all three hive types, and I'm simply sharing what I've learned along the way.

We'll examine each hive based on the same criteria, and hopefully help you make an informed comparison.

The WBC Hive: A Blend of Beauty and Function
Let's start with the WBC. The WBC's charm extends beyond its looks. It's named after William Broughton Carr, a prominent figure in British beekeeping history, who designed it in the late 19th century it's the most visually appealing hive readily available in the UK. Its customisable exterior allows for creative expression – paint it to your heart's content! The key to painting isn't just aesthetics; it helps bees orient themselves back to their specific hive, a topic we'll cover in more detail in Part 4.

The WBC is more than just a pretty face. It's a well-designed system. The inner brood box accommodates ten frames, with room for a dummy board, and each super can hold ten frames as well, all within a modular, stackable design. The frames utilise the longer lug, which rests on rails attached to the brood box sidewalls. However, the WBC's brood capacity is on the smaller side, and without careful management, it may be prone to swarming earlier than other hive systems, especially in the second or subsequent season of a queen's life cycle.

The WBC's robust exterior, with its overlapping, vaulted sides, coupled with the traditional vaulted roof effectively sheds water. It also comes with an integral stand and hive entrance reducers, elevating it off the ground and protecting it from pests like slugs and ants. These creatures, especially ants (being in the same order as bees), can be a real nuisance, happily infesting a hive for its warmth and honey stores. Keeping the hive off the ground is crucial for its well-being.

Another advantage of the WBC is its built-in ventilation, facilitated by the inner and outer sections. Proper ventilation is essential, as bees produce moisture during their daily activities. A screened floor, ideal for monitoring varroa mites, is a valuable addition to this hive system.

But with a bee capacity of around 40,000 bees, it is a tad on the small side. However, this is easily overcome in two other choices, either by using a 14 x 12 box as the main brood area or using a double brood box, the latter being my personal best choice.

WBC hives are typically supplied with bottom bee space, requiring a wood-bound queen excluder with an optimal gap of 6-9mm used to separate the queen from the honey supers. Beyond its functional attributes, the WBC adds a touch of elegance to your garden, blending seamlessly with the natural environment.

In summary, while the WBC's smaller brood area might make it more susceptible to swarming if not managed proactively, its insulation, weather protection, and excellent ventilation make it a high-performing hive. We have fully assembled WBC Hives at Hagens, with frames, or without and compete starter packages too. Come and have a look online.

The BS National Hive: A British Standard of Excellence
Now, let's turn our attention to the BS National, arguably the most popular hive in Britain (with regional variations in Scotland, Ireland, and Wales).

At first glance, its construction might seem a bit over-engineered, with eight pieces of wood forming a square box. However, the British Standards Institute, along with the British Beekeepers Association and other organisations, designed this hive with functionality and robustness in mind. I've had some of my National hives for over 20 years, some painted pine and some untouched cedar. The cedar ones are now showing their age a little.

The National is larger than the WBC, accommodating eleven frames in the brood box, plus a space for a dummy board. The frames themselves are similar in design and capacity to the WBC, also using long lugs. However, a National hive filled with frames will be noticeably heavier than a WBC. The supers also hold eleven frames. Like the WBC, the National is modular in design.

Its square shape allows for operation and inspection in both "warm way" and "cold way," depending on the hive's orientation.

A National hive can house around 45,000 bees at the peak of the active season, perhaps even more with skilful management. Swarm management is similar to the WBC – most hives will swarm if preventive measures aren't taken.

While we're focusing on the standard brood box size, the National with an Eke can also accommodate the larger 14x12 frames and boxes for more prolific bee strains. There is also a specifically built 14 x 12 box designed in the same ways as the standard national that takes the larger frames. These are not my preferred choice of frames; I find they collapse too easily when being handled in warm weather.

The BS National is usually supplied with bottom bee space, requiring a wood-bound queen excluder with a 6-9mm gap. However, it can be easily converted to a top bee space configuration. For general use, a screened floor with a landing board and varroa drawer is ideal for monitoring varroa mites.

Traditionally, the National sits on a separate sloping hive stand. Personally, I consider this an unnecessary extra. A well-constructed floor with an integrated landing board and varroa monitoring floor is, in my opinion, preferable. The National should always be placed on a stand to provide a comfortable working height.

The hive box itself is constructed from eight pieces of wood – four for the box and four locking bars for added stability. These bars also provide a convenient grip when handling the boxes. Being the "British hive," manufacturers are constantly developing innovative accessories.

In terms of availability and accessories, the National is second only to the Langstroth. We have a number of National Hives on our website, come and have a look to see which one suits you best. 

Overall, the BS National is a practical and efficient design well-suited for British beekeepers. Its standardisation, modularity, and ease of use make it a popular choice for both amateur and commercial beekeepers.

The Langstroth Hive: A Global Beekeeping Standard
Used the world over, some claim by as many as 75% of the world's beekeepers use the Langstroth system in various sizes. the caveat to this statement being, one size for the UK, one for the USA, one for New Zealand, almost every country that uses this hive system has adapted it for their own specific country or personal style of beekeeping and available materials.

The Langstroth is the largest of the three hive styles we're considering. While all hives adhere to the fundamental principles of bee space, the Langstroth's form sets it apart from the WBC and National. 

A key advantage is its capacity. Housing 50,000 to 60,000 bees, it's one of the larger hive designs, which can help reduce swarming tendencies. The standard box holds ten frames, although some beekeepers use nine with a dummy board – a practice I prefer.

The Langstroth frame has a shorter lug than the WBC or National. In my opinion, this is of little importance as your finger is about the width of a Langstroth lug. The frame is generally more robust and made from thicker material.

The Langstroth is typically manufactured with top bee space, which can be advantageous during hive assembly and inspections, reducing the risk of crushing bees.

While the brood box is a deep box, Langstroth hives typically use two types of supers: medium and shallow. Some beekeepers use only one box depth, usually the medium super, unless they're commercial beekeepers in the USA, where deep brood boxes are common in the one-box system, you will need a good back for them. Stacking brood boxes is a common practice. Just as we use double brood boxes with the National, stacking two or even three medium-deep Langstroth boxes to create the brood area is a common practice in many countries. I prefer the double brood box method. Brood boxes full of brood and some stores in all the hive system types will not be as heavy as a full super.

The Langstroth's construction is simpler than the WBC or National, typically consisting of four pieces of wood, traditionally made from whitewood, fir, or pine. Floor choices vary; some prefer solid floors, while others opt for screened floors, citing the benefits of ventilation and varroa monitoring. However, in recent years, I've switched to solid floors for my Langstroth hives and believe my bees are thriving, they seem to come through the winter better and stronger on solid floors. Varroa counts can be performed using alternative methods, such as sticky boards or sampling.

In terms of accessories, the Langstroth reigns supreme. Being the most popular hive globally, manufacturers and beekeepers are constantly developing new ideas and accessories for this large-scale market.

One potential disadvantage is the weight of honey supers. However, we do not need to move all the frames in one go, decanting to another box is a good option.

To summarise the Langstroth system... A system with a capacity to accommodate most colonies, it’s a simple and cost-effective beehive, normally priced at the lower end of the market due to its popularity, although it is probably in second place in the UK. Its simple design and accessories make this a leading contender for the modern beekeeper. Have a look on our website at the different variations of Langstroth Hives we have to offer. You know where we are should you have any questions or need any information on our Langstroth Hives.

So, what have we achieved, we hopefully we have taken a very light overview of three very popular beehives used in the UK. Now it is choice time, and the only thing left to consider is your style of beekeeping, I am sure the bees, on the whole, do not care what box you use as long as it is sound and draft-free, clean and dry. No choice is a bad one, some are more interesting to work with than others, other beekeepers may tell you their opinions some will be forceful about it.

Listen, try to understand but don’t be bullied off course of what you think is best for you. If the only reason another beekeeper can give you for choosing one hive over another is that they would not be able to help you by giving you a frame of larvae or sealed brood to boost your colony then be grateful for choosing a different hive, swapping frames is the worst thing any beekeeper can do for you.

When we are considering our choices of beehive there are many factors to take into consideration and I hope this article helps with some of them.

Please feel free to ask questions using the contact us form below. We shall post some of these on our website to help others.