The Langstroth style beehive is by far the most popular. We’re going to break it down into its purpose and parts to find out if this is the right style for your needs.
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First things first- this hive is probably the most popular because of 3 reasons:
- It is easily movable,
- Its parts are extremely universal with one another, and as a result
- It has become the most easily obtainable as well.
Easily movable
With the Langstroth style hive being movable, commercial beekeepers have taken this style and run with it.
Commercial beekeepers maintain either 4 or 6 beehives on a single pallet. This pallet is movable with a loader for times when their bees need to be moved from one location to another.
Many hobbyist beekeepers use this style too, simply because they do not realize that there are others available. But in general, if you want lots of honey, this is the style for you.
Learn more about the pros & cons of the Langstroth style beehive here.
Universal parts
Any product that has universal, interchangeable parts is going to be more mainstream.
The Langstroth style beehive comes in 8 or 10 frame box size options but their frames are still interchangeable among the boxes of equal depth.
This universality also applies to the other many parts of this hive: bottom boards, hive covers, bee escapes, and the list goes on.
Easily obtainable
Because the Langstroth style is so widely used, and its parts are so universal, the equipment itself has become easily obtainable through beekeeping manufacture supply companies.
This is another reason that most hobby beekeepers begin with this style, as it can be found just about anywhere.
But is this the hive for you?
Here’s the pros & cons at a glance:
Pros
- Large honey production
- Universal parts and equipment/easily obtainable
- Good for pollination
Cons
- Heavy lifting. A box of honey can weigh anywhere between 30-90 pounds.
- Not very Apicentric; that is, its design is not very bee-friendly. Bees are easily crushed, squashed, smashed, smeared, etc.
- Special extracting equipment can get costly.
If you’re looking to make lots of honey, I recommend this style. But if not, stay tuned and look for my upcoming/or already posted by now, posts about the Warre and Top Bar style hives.
Unless you’re life-goal is to become a large production commercial beekeeper, stay away from the Langstroth.
And as always, please question and comment below,
Until next time remember,
~Weeds are Wildflowers, let them Bee!~
Jonathan Hargus/Trying not to use Langstroth hives eventually
