Bee Space: The Genius Discovery That Changed Modern Beekeeping
It is a staggering thought that the fundamental design of the beehive has not changed in over 150 years.
It’s not because the industry is short of innovators. If you keep bees or know someone who does, odds are they are among the most inventive people you know — crafting new tools, jimmy-rigging hive parts, constantly experimenting.
The truth is that the endurance of the modern beehive is due to the famous minister-turned-beekeeper of the 19th century, Reverend Lorenzo Langstroth.
Langstroth’s careful observation of bees in many different hive environments led to an important discovery (or, really, re-discovery), which would serve as a pillar piece of knowledge for his eventual patented hive design.
What was this discovery? And why does it matter?
(Pretend the title didn’t give it away.)
The Rule of Bee Space
Prior to the modern Langstroth hive used by most beekeepers today, beekeepers struggled to manage their colonies with combs fixed to the walls of their various styles of hives.
Think of a traditional box without the movable frames you are used to: A beekeeper would toil to make splits, inspect for disease, collect honey, and perform other essential tasks.
Such was the life of the pre-Langstroth beekeeper.
Frames in a modern Langstroth hive are spaced ⅜ of an inch apart to deter bees from building comb between them.
Through many trials and experiments, Langstroth recognized a “dead air” space that bees would consistently interact with. If bees came across a space greater than ⅜ of an inch (approximately 1 cm), they would consistently fill it with burr comb; if the space was smaller than ¼ of an inch, they would propolize it.
“If bees came across a space greater than ⅜ of an inch, they would consistently fill it with burr comb; if the space was smaller than ¼ of an inch, they would propolize it.”
Langstroth noticed that there was a perfect “in-between” zone where the bees would simply travel through the space without needing to fill it.
This phenomenon is known as bee space, and it is fundamental to the design of the Langstroth hive.
The Role of Bee Space
Understanding this concept of bee space to a higher degree, Langstroth began to ideate how he might apply the knowledge to build a more functional beehive.
His work had already been focused on moveable frames, thanks in large part to the earlier Huber hive of the 18th century. The Huber hive was one of the first to offer movable combs, designed like pages in a book, where beekeepers could transfer combs back and forth without much disturbance to the bees.
In Langstroth on the Honey Bee (1860), Langstroth credits the Huber hive:
“The use of the Huber hive had satisfied me, that with proper precautions the combs might be removed without enraging the bees, and that these insects were capable of being tamed to a surprising degree. Without knowledge of these facts, I should have regarded a hive permitting the removal of the combs, as quite too dangerous for practical use.”
But the Huber hive was not practical enough for beekeepers, and never gained the popularity it hoped.
Langstroth landed on a concept of removable frames in a hive with ⅜ of an inch of space between each frame, the sides, and the bottom of the hive.
According to his original patent, “... this will prevent the bees from attaching the frame to the sides or bottom board of the hive, hindering its easy removal, and will allow them to pass freely between the sides and the bottom board, and the frame.”
Figures from Langstroth’s original beehive patent, dated October 5, 1852. Source: Google Patents.
This was the true genius behind Langstroth’s hive, that frames could now be easily removed for the beekeeper’s use without serious disturbance to the colony.
And it’s mostly due to his practical application of bee space.
Langstroth Hives Today
There is no doubt that the Langstroth hive has remained the most common hive type in beekeeping. With its emphasis on readily removable boxes and frames, beekeepers can expand, split, inspect, treat, and extract from their hives with relative ease.
Fortunately, manufacturers have largely standardized the dimensions of the Langstroth hive so as to make equipment more compatible.
As you shop for foundations, frames, and boxes for your apiary, you’ll notice all sorts of dimensions to the nearest ⅛ of an inch. All of our equipment at Premier Bee Products is considered standard dimensions in the United States. While we constantly innovate on design and material to produce healthier bees and more successful beekeepers, we have not changed the standard dimensions of the Langstroth hive.
(Believe us, if we saw a reason to improve, we probably would.)
This is because Langstroth knew what he was doing when he separated these particular hive parts by ⅜ of an inch. Any more or less, and it would spell headache for the beekeeper.
Now, next time you get confused with all the measurements while shopping for your hive equipment, you’ll hopefully have a little more patience as to why.