Editing Beekeeping (section)

== Hives and other equipment==
=== Horizontal hives ===
<!--This sub-section is an excerpt from [[Horizontal top-bar hive]]. See that article's History for full attribution.-->
[[File:Top bar hive.JPG|thumb|Modern top bar hive]]

A [[Horizontal top-bar hive]] is a single-story, frameless beehive in which the comb hangs from removable bars that form a continuous roof over the comb, whereas the frames in most current hives allow space for bees to move between boxes. Hives that have frames or that use honey chambers in summer and use management principles similar to those of regular top-bar hives are sometimes also referred to as top-bar hives. Top-bar hives are rectangular and are typically more than twice as wide as multi-story framed hives commonly found in English-speaking countries. Top-bar hives usually include one box and allow for beekeeping methods that interfere very little with the colony. While conventional advice often recommends inspecting each colony each week during the warmer months,<ref>Advice for New Beekeepers UK National Bee Unit. 02/03/2020 http://www.nationalbeeunit.com/index.cfm?pageid=209 accessed 6.6.2020</ref> some beekeepers fully inspect top-bar hives only once a year,<ref>Fedor Lazutin. Keeping bees with a smile. Principles and practice of natural beekeeping. p 321. New Society Publishers. April 2020.</ref> and only one comb needs to be lifted at a time.<ref>Michael Bush. The Practical Beekeeper. p.551. xstarpublishing.com. 2004. {{ISBN|978-161476-064-1}}</ref>

=== Vertical stackable hives ===
{{Unreferenced section|date=December 2022}}

There are three types of vertical stackable hives: hanging or top-access frame, sliding or side-access frame, and top bar.

Hanging-frame hive designs include Langstroth, the British National, Dadant, Layens, and Rose, which differ in size and number of frames. The Langstroth was the first successful top-opened hive with movable frames. Many other hive designs are based on the principle of bee space that was first described by Langstroth, and is a descendant of Jan Dzierzon's Polish hive designs. Langstroth hives are the most-common size in the United States and much of the world; the British National is the most common size in the United Kingdom; Dadant and Modified Dadant hives are widely used in France and Italy, and Layens by some beekeepers, where their large size is an advantage. Square Dadant hives–often called 12-frame Dadant or Brother Adam hives–are used in large parts of Germany and other parts of Europe by commercial beekeepers.

Any hanging-frame hive design can be built as a sliding frame design. The AZ Hive, the original sliding frame design, integrates hives using Langstroth-sized frames into a honey house to streamline the workflow of honey harvest by localization of labor, similar to [[cellular manufacturing]]. The honey house can be a portable trailer, allowing the beekeeper to move hives to a site and provide pollination services.

Top-bar stackable hives use top bars instead of full frames. The most common type is the Warre hive, although any hive with hanging frames can be converted into a top-bar stackable hive by using only the top bar rather than the whole frame. This may work less well with larger frames, where crosscomb and attachment can occur more readily.

=== Protective clothing ===
[[File:Beekeeper keeping bees.jpg|upright=0.7|Beekeepers often wear protective clothing to protect themselves from stings.|thumb]]

Most beekeepers wear some protective clothing. Novice beekeepers usually wear gloves and a hooded suit or hat and veil. Experienced beekeepers sometimes choose not to use gloves because they inhibit delicate manipulations. The face and neck are the most important areas to protect, so most beekeepers wear at least a veil.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Hive and the honey bee: a new book on beekeeping which continues the tradition of "Langstroth on the hive and the honeybee"|date=1992|publisher=Dadant|editor=Graham, Joe M. |isbn=0-915698-09-9|edition=Rev.|location=Hamilton, IL |oclc=27344331}}</ref> Defensive bees are attracted to the breath; a sting on the face can lead to much more pain and swelling than a sting elsewhere, while a sting on a bare hand can usually be quickly removed by fingernail scrape to reduce the amount of venom injected.

Traditionally, beekeeping clothing is pale-colored because of the natural color of cotton and the cost of coloring is an expense not warranted for workwear, though some consider this to provide better differentiation from the colony's natural predators such as bears and skunks, which tend to be dark-colored. It is now known bees see in [[ultraviolet]] wavelengths and are also attracted to scent. The type of fabric conditioner used has more impact than the color of the fabric.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.ncsu.edu/2011/07/wms-what-bees-see/|title=What Do Bees See? And How Do We Know?|website=NC State News|date=27 July 2011|language=en-US|access-date=2020-04-17|archive-date=2020-04-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200401161912/https://news.ncsu.edu/2011/07/wms-what-bees-see/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/well-ill-bee-bees-see-uv/|title=Well, I'll BEE...Bees see UV|last=Murphy|first=Cheryl|website=Scientific American Blog Network|language=en|access-date=2020-04-17|archive-date=2020-01-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200113113414/https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/well-ill-bee-bees-see-uv/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Stings that are retained in clothing fabric continue to pump out an [[Alarm pheromones|alarm pheromone]] that attracts aggressive action and further stinging attacks. Attraction can be minimized with regular washing.{{cn|date=November 2024}}

=== Smoker ===
{{Main|Bee smoker}}
[[File:Bee smoker.jpg|thumb|Bee smoker with heat shield and hook]]

Most beekeepers use a [[Bee smoker|smoker]], a device that generates smoke from the incomplete combustion of fuels. Although the exact mechanism is disputed, it is said smoke calms bees. Some claim it initiates a feeding response in anticipation of possible hive abandonment due to fire.<ref>{{cite thesis|last1=Newton|first1=David Comstock|title=Behavioral Response of Honey Bees (Apis Mellifera L., Hymenoptera: Apidae) to Colony Disturbance by Smoke, Acetic Acid, Isopentyl Acetate, Light, Temperature and Vibration|date=March 1967|location=Champaign, IL|publisher=[[University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign|University of Illinois]]|id=Document No. 302256408{{ProQuest|302256408}}|page=3|degree=Ph.D.}}</ref> It is also thought smoke masks alarm pheromones released by guard bees or bees that are squashed in an inspection. The ensuing confusion creates an opportunity for the beekeeper to open the hive and work without triggering a defensive reaction.

Many types of fuel can be used in a smoker as long as it is natural and not contaminated with harmful substances. Common fuels include [[hessian (cloth)|hessian]], [[twine]], pine needles, corrugated cardboard, and rotten or punky wood. Indian beekeepers, especially in Kerala, often use coconut fibers, which are readily available, safe, and cheap. Some beekeeping supply sources also sell commercial fuels like pulped paper, compressed cotton and aerosol cans of smoke. Other beekeepers use [[sumac]] as fuel because it ejects much smoke and lacks an odor.

Some beekeepers use "liquid smoke" as a safer, more convenient alternative. It is a water-based solution that is sprayed onto the bees from a plastic spray bottle. A spray of clean water can also be used to encourage bees to move on.<ref>The Barefoot Beekeeper. Philip Chandler 2015 {{ISBN|9781326192259}}</ref> Torpor may also be induced by the introduction of chilled air into the hive, while chilled carbon dioxide may have harmful, long-term effects.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Robinson|first1=Gene E.|last2=Visscher|first2=P. Kirk|title=Effect of Low Temperature Narcosis on Honey Bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Foraging Behavior|journal=The Florida Entomologist|date=December 1984|volume=67|issue=4|pages=568|doi=10.2307/3494466|jstor=3494466}}</ref>

Few anecdotal stories of using the smoke from burning fungi in England or Europe for centuries have been published.  Several more recent studies describe anaesthesia of honeybees use of smoke from burning fungi.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Cook| first1 = V. A. | year = 1970 | title = Puff ball control of bees  | journal = N. Z. Jl. Agric. | volume = 120 | pages = 72–75}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last1 = Keewaydinoquay | year = 1978 | title = Puhpohwee for the people – a narrative account of some uses of fungi among Ahnishinaubeg: Cambridge, MA: Botanical Museum of Harvard University}}</ref> The fungi reported to have been used to smoke bees are the puffballs Lycoperdon gigantium, L. wahlbergii and the conks, Fomes fomentarius and F. igiarius.  When fungi are burned, the characteristic smell is due to the pyrolysis of the keratin cell wall of fungi. Besides being a major fungi constituent, keratin is found in animal tissues, such as hair or feathers.  Anaesthesia experiments done using smoke from pyrolysis of L. wahlbergii, human hair and chicken feathers showed no difference in long-term mortality of anesthetized honeybees and non-treated bees in the same hive.    Hydrogen sulphide was identified as the major combustion product that is responsible for putting the bees to sleep. Note – hydrogen sulphide is toxic to humans at high concentrations.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Wood | first1 = William F. | year = 1983 | title = Anaesthesia of Honeybees by Smoke from the Pyrolysis of Puffballs and Keratin | journal = J. Apicultural Research | volume = 22 | issue = 2 | pages = 107–110 | doi=10.1080/00218839.1983.11100569| bibcode = 1983JApiR..22..107W }}</ref>

=== Hive tool ===
{{Main|Hive tool}}
[[File:Beekeeping hive tool.jpg|thumb|American hive tool]]
Most beekeepers use a hive tool when working on their hives. The two main types are the American hive tool; and the Australian hive tool often called a 'frame lifter'. They are used to scrape off burr-comb from around the hive, especially on top of the frames. They are also used to separate the frames before lifting out of the hive.