People who garden and appreciate the important role bees play in the natural environment may seek to breed bees themselves. The bee box, or beehive, is now designed for the health of the bee colony and makes it easier for beekeepers to extract honey from the hive while minimizing the risk of harm to the bees. The honey bee box consists of a hive pole, a bottom board, a hive body (seed container), a small box called a honey container and a lid. The bottom of the hive is separated from the honey container above by a screen. Learn how to make a honey bee box to start the beekeeping process.
Step
Part 1 of 2: Understanding the Parts
Step 1. Pole nest
These are posts for lifting the hive off the ground, and there may be an inclined landing board for the bees. While you don't really need a technical 'nest post', you will need some kind of post to support your container off the ground. A small table or stool adapted to your honeybee box will do just fine, if you want to make your own replacement.
Step 2. Bottom board
This is the first section/layer of your box. This is a flat sheet of wood that serves as the base for your container. Baseboards can be solid or screened, the only difference being that screened bottoms are better at repelling pests and have slightly more ventilation. The bees will come and go through the entrance on the bottom board.
Step 3. Entrance reducer
This is a small piece of wood that partially blocks the entrance to the underside. Entrance reducers serve to help small colonies by keeping out large pests and thieves from entering.
Step 4. Bladed shelves
These are, as the name suggests, flat panels of wood crossed by small slats of wood, forming a flat shelf. This shelf is layered between the bottom board and the seed chamber, to provide ventilation, facilitate access to the seed chamber, and prevent bees from forming nests. Slatted shelves are another great addition to your box, but they're worth adding if you can.
Step 5. Inner container
The inner receptacle is a large box in which bees build their hives. The inner container is the largest part of the hive, and you will place 1-2 containers for each honeybee box. Each inner container comes with 8 or 10 frames.
Step 6. Frame the inner container
These are the frames that are inserted one by one into the inner receptacle. The frame holds the foundation, which is the wax and basic wire that bees use to start making their own candles. You will need 8-10 inner container frames, depending on the size of your inner container.
Step 7. Queen bee retaining rack
Since you won't want the queen bee to lay eggs in the honey, you'll need to add a queen bee retaining rack to your box. This is a flat shelf that has small holes for the worker bees to work with, but is too small for the queen bee to work with.
Step 8. Honey container
The honey jar, like the inner jar, is where the bees store their honey. This is a large box that sits on top of an inner container, with a queen holder sandwiched between the two. Usually the easiest is to set the honey container shallow or medium, otherwise it can become too heavy to lift a box filled with honey.
Step 9. Frame the honey container
The honey container frame is a wooden or plastic panel that is inserted lengthwise upwards inside the honey container. This is where the bees make the candles and honey, which can be released from the receptacle. This frame can be 'shallow' or 'medium' and has the same base as the inner container frame, to match the size of the honey container used.
Step 10. Inner cover
This is the last layer in your bee box. The shape is a kind of lid with an entrance that is above your honey container. The inner cover has two sides - one side for fall/winter, and one side for spring/summer.
Step 11. Outer cover
This is a metal lid that works to keep your bee box unaffected by bad weather conditions. This is the lid that is at the very top of the box, above the inner lid.
Part 2 of 2: Making the Box
Step 1. Purchase your equipment
You have three choices when it comes to getting a honeybee box: buy the complete box at a high price, buy the separate parts and install them yourself at a lower price, or make all the parts from scratch and save more than 50% of your money. Regardless of the choice you make, you should always buy your gear from a trusted bee seller. Buying inexpensive equipment not only risks breaking down quickly, but it can also destroy the bees (and your honey)!
- Always use unprocessed wood - usually pine or cedar.
- Boxes/containers don't have a bottom, so you only need to buy enough wood to make outer edges for some of your containers.
- Some parts/equipment - such as frames and outer covers - are quite difficult to manufacture and you may be better off buying them.
Step 2. Create your inner container
There are two short sides measuring 41.28 x 24.28 cm and 2 long sides measuring 50.8 x 24.28 cm. All four sides will have bumps and grooves or interlocking edges. Cut the wood to this size, and make proper joints along the edges.
Step 3. Make your honey container
The size of your honey container will vary depending on whether you want a 'shallow' or 'medium' container. The length/width of your honey container is the same as your inner container (long side: 50.8 x 24 cm, short side: 41 x 24 cm), but the height will vary. For shallow containers, your box should be 14.6 cm high; medium container 16.8 cm high. As with the inner container, use bumps and grooves or mesh joints at the edges.
Step 4. Assemble your container
Use waterproof wood glue to glue your container. Place a small drop of glue on each joint, and slide the blade into place to form your square. Then use a gripper to hold the box in place while waiting for the glue to dry. When the glue has dried, use small nails to finish building your container.
Step 5. Purchase or build a bottom board with entry door reducers
The bottom board is the first layer of your box, and is simply a flat piece of wood with a protruding edge. This board is the same length/width as the receptacle, but the height is only 0.95 cm high. Linked in front of it are the entrance reducers; Entrance reducers should measure 1.91 cm for summer entrances and 0.95 cm for winter entrances.
- Larger entrances can encourage the growth of rat pests.
- Some of the box base boards that can be purchased on the market can be flipped over to get the seasonal entryway position correct. This will reduce setup costs and avoid the need to store one box base during different seasons.
Step 6. Paint the exposed parts of your box
While you don't have to paint your box, many beekeepers prefer to paint the exposed areas white to reflect sunlight. If you want to do that, use a non-toxic and weather-resistant white paint for the outdoors. Do not paint the inside of the container, as this can harm your bees and honey.
Step 7. Purchase a holder for your bee box
This item fits over the top of the inner container and serves to prevent the queen from moving into the honey container. These are items that cannot be made at home, and must be purchased outside for your box.
Step 8. Purchase a cover for the box
There are two covers needed to make a honey bee box: an inner cover, and an outer cover. The inner cover is made of wood and there is a hole at the top for the entrance, with the outer cover made of metal and covering the top of the box. The outer cover should extend beyond the sides of the nest and fit snugly.
Step 9. Purchase a frame for your container
The frame is the part of the box that the bees use to build their hives and wax. You can't make your own frame, unless you go through the lengthy process of assembling the wire/base (which beginners shouldn't do). The frame is made of wood and plastic, but they both function the same. You will need 10 frames for each inner container, and 6-8 frames depending on the size of each of your honey containers. Slide each container vertically until it locks into place.
Step 10. Assemble your box
Now is the time you've been waiting for! To assemble your box, you'll need to arrange all the pieces on the posts. The bottom board first, followed by the slatted frame (if you have one), then the inner receptacles, queen holder, honey jars, and lid.
