In Topic 1 you learned about the kind of beehive that most beekeepers use in the Solomon Islands. It is called a “moveable frame hive”.  It was invented in the United States by Reverend Langstroth. This is why it is also sometimes called a “Langstroth hive”. Two things about this kind of hive made it better than earlier beehives.  The first is that the frames can be moved or removed. This means that a beekeeper can work in the hive, shift frames and take out honey without killing bees or spoiling the beeswax or comb.  The second discovery was that honeybees liked a certain space left between the combs or frames. If you built your frames and boxes so that this space was left between the frames, the bees would keep it open and not stick everything together.  This space is about the size of a honeybee. (6 to 10 millimetres or ¼” to 3/8”) and is called the bee space.

Hive Stand:  The main reasons for putting beehives on a hive stand in the Solomon Islands are:

1. To avoid frogs (cane toads).  Frogs love to eat honeybees, especially the ones that are flying back to the hive with a honey sac full of nectar. 
2. To protect the wooden hives from the wet ground so they don’t rot.
3. To protect the bees and hives from ants and termites (white ants), if you put grease or oil on the     legs of the hive stand. 
4. To make it easier for the farmer to work on the hives because he or she does not have to bend over when working.
5. Hive stands might also protect your hives from a small brush fire.
   

Hive stands should be about 0.5 to 0.8 meters off of the ground.  It depends on how tall the beekeeper is.  They need about 3 times as much space on them as the hives need.  This is so you have a place to put your equipment when you are working.

Hive stands can be made from bush materials, timber, plastic pipe for legs, cement blocks or bricks, but they must be strong. When your beehives are full of honey they are very heavy.  Also remember that when wood touches wet ground it starts to rot.  So make new legs before they rot.