Frames – their varieties and sizes

The frame hive is nowadays the main beekeeping equipment. He came to replace the nest boxes and decks, opening a new stage in the development of beekeeping.

The frames for the beehives and the collapsible system of bee dwellings made it possible to actively intervene in the life of bee colonies, to carry out inspections, to correct the development of nests, to hatch queens, to use artificial foundation, to fight swarming, and to quickly pump out marketable honey.

The content of the article

  • 1 Design
  • 2 dimensions
  • 3 Varieties
    • 3.1 Cover
    • 3.2 Feeders, incubators, nurseries
    • 3.3 Screensavers
    • 3.4 Construction
    • 3.5 Sectional

Design

Beehive frames allow limiting the construction of honeycombs Bees rebuild them less in places inconvenient for the beekeeper.

By design, these are two vertical strips installed parallel to each other. Above and below, the structure is fastened with bars of different thicknesses – at the bottom they are thinner than at the top. Sometimes a bar is set at the bottom.

For production, dry lumber is used, which does not have knots and other defects. Birch and pine are not used for blanks! Only coniferous and soft deciduous trees are used.

dimensions

The dimensions of the frames for bee hives differ depending on the design of the houses used.

Initially, the systems of the American Lorenzo Langstroth were distributed on the market, who managed to reach buyers with his offer, ahead of Pyotr Prokopovich from Ukraine. The second popular design was proposed by Charles Dadant.

Which of the proposed designs is considered a standard is a moot point. But the developers of the hives sought to unify the sizes to facilitate the work of beekeepers. The honeycomb frames are based on a width of 435 millimeters, since the internal width of the used cases is 450 mm.

Accordingly, the dimensions of the standard frame for the hive, with a slight change in its height, are suitable for the dimensions of multi-body and double-body structures:

  • 435 by 300 – dimensions of frames for Dadan hives, equipped with two buildings;
  • 435 by 230 – the standard dimensions of multihull systems from Langstroth-Root.

But here it should be borne in mind that Dadans can be equipped with one or two store extensions, which have a reduced size in height. Therefore, the size of the frames for Dadan hives is:

  • 435 by 300 in nests;
  • 435 to 145 – half-frames in extensions used to accumulate honey during periods of bribe.

On both sides of the top bar according to TU 10 RSFSR 337-88 10 mm hangers are made for hanging honeycomb frames on the folds inside the house. In this case, the width of all parts is 25 mm.

Frames - their varieties and sizes Frames - their varieties and sizes Frames - their varieties and sizes

Other common sizes of hive frames:

  • 300 by 435 – inverted by 90 degrees or narrow-high honeycomb frame for Ukrainian hives;
  • 435 by 145 – the low-wide honeycomb is used in systems that have the same low-wide hulls (for example, Farrara or Palivoda’s horned design).

The low-wide design is fully equipped with half-frames – there are also low-wide honeycomb frames in the nest. This is how it differs from the hives that are more familiar in design, which have clearly defined nesting and honey sections.

There are also non-standard honeycomb frames. For example, in the Boas, their width is 280 and the height is 110 millimeters.

The drawings can be found in a separate article:

How to make hive frames 

Varieties

The types of frames for beehives are determined by the area and features of their application:

  1. Nesting are used to complete the brood zone in the lower buildings. In loungers and low-width systems, they are indistinguishable from honeycombs.
  2. Shop half-frames are installed in the upper superstructures. They are used during the honey collection period. Can be used in sun loungers, if the store is provided by the design.

Cover

Many novice beekeepers are wondering what is a cover frame in a hive? We are not talking about sizes or any special design here! Honeycomb frames can be of any size, but if they are installed on both sides of the nest, they cover it, separating it from the free hive space. Behind them, insert boards are placed and insulating cushions are laid.

The main task of the covering honeycomb is to keep warm. In the spring, the nest is covered with honeycombs. And for the winter, they use old, brown, full honey honeycomb frames.

Feeders, incubators, nurseries

feeder

Feeder frame – the most common device for dispensing syrup feeding to bees. It is installed like a regular honeycomb frame, resting on the folds with its shoulders. Sheathed with planks or plywood on all sides. Holds up to 1-2 liters of top dressing.

Incubator frame – an ordinary honeycomb frame, placed in an insulator box. Must contain brood or sealed queen cells. Used for incubation when growing mother liquors.

Nursery frame (grafting) – an ordinary honeycomb frame with movable thin slats on the sides. Used to install cells with queen cells.

inoculation

Screensavers

Outpost frame for the beehive aka outpost board… Has standard sizes for a particular type of hive. Assembled from side strips and bars. In some models, the bar at the bottom may not be. The entire area of ​​such a frame is sewn up with boards or plywood. Many beekeepers stuff rubber seals around the perimeter, which ensures better heat retention in the nest.

outpost

A variant of this element is a splash made of polystyrene sheathed foam. Or a double-skinned plywood construction with insulation inside.

Construction

Construction frame – used to combat drones, varroatosis and wax production (cut once a week – bees are constantly rebuilding new honeycombs here in the summer). In appearance, this is an ordinary honeycomb frame with a stretched wire. In the upper part, a strip of artificial foundation is installed, 2-3 centimeters wide.

construction

Bees are guided by it in which direction to build cells.

Ideal for the production and sale of comb honey. All cells will be large, the same size, light – having a marketable appearance.

In the spring, building frames are used to hatch the drones. The resulting individuals are suitable for mating early queens. But it is necessary to set these frames exclusively in native bee colonies, since the nests may differ in the size of the drone cells and, accordingly, in the weight of the hatched males.

The honeycomb frame is installed second in a row in the case or in the center of the nest.

Sectional

Sectional frames used to obtain honeycomb. They appeared on the domestic market in 1990 thanks to the Apikrof company. The set includes four sectional honeycomb frames and containers for them. Sections are inserted into a standard half-frame with dimensions of 435 x 145 mm.

As practice shows, bees are reluctant to work in plastic sections. The problem can be solved by improving the half-frame with your own hands.

sectional

To do this:

  • from the blanks of the side strips, three segments with a height of 110 mm are cut out (the standard section is 25 by 10);
  • the half-frame is marked into three sections with a pencil;
  • the segments are installed inside the structure and nailed on the outside with two studs (top and bottom);
  • the foundation is cut to size and attached to the bar at the top using a hot roller.

Three homemade honeycomb frames are installed in the center of the lower store of each bee colony. The mass of the obtained comb honey in each section is from 500 to 700 grams. They are cut out during pumping with a heated knife over a plastic container of suitable dimensions.

Here is another version of the original homemade product using veneer – scraps of plywood production. It is inserted into a standard honeycomb frame 230 mm high.

The frame is the main and most important element of any modern hive. Among domestic beekeepers, the most common is the Dadanov honeycomb frame, which is used in two-body systems and sun beds. After assembly, a wire is pulled on any frame: in 4-5 rows for Dadans, in 3-4 rows for Routes (multi-body risers) and in 2-3 rows for shops.

More on pulling:

We pull the wire correctly – homemade products for working with frames

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Anna Evans

Author ✓ Farmer

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