The bee hive frame is an indispensable structural element of the modern hive, the basis for honey honeycombs, and it serves to check the health of bees and extract honey. They are tips for bees telling them exactly how to build combs.
The sizes of the bee frames can vary, choose them based on their dimensions of the hive. Let’s look at what beehive frames are for you to make the best choice.
Contents
- 1 Our Top List 9 Picks Best Bee Hive Frames – Editor’s Choice
- 1.1 1# Mann Lake WW906 Assembled Commercial Frames with Waxed Natural Rite-Cell Foundation – Amazon’s Choice
- 1.2 2# BeeCastle 10-Pack Waxed Foundation with Complete Unassembled Commercial Frames – Amazon’s Choice
- 1.3 3# BeeCastle Waxed Plastic Foundation with Complete Unassembled Commercial Frames – Amazon’s Choice
- 1.4 4# Little Giant Deep Hive Frame Black Deep Beehive Frames for Beekeeping
- 1.5 5# Mann Lake FR902 Unassembled Wedge Top and Groove Bottom Endbars with Holes
- 1.6 6# Honey Keeper Beehive 10 Deep Frame Kit with Foundations – Amazon’s Choice
- 1.7 7# Little Giant Beehive Medium Frames
- 1.8 8# Foxhound Bee Company Frame Plastic Beekeeping Queen Excluder – Amazon’s Choice
- 1.9 9# Little Giant 10-Frame Medium Super Beehive Body with Frames for Beekeeping – Amazon’s Choice
- 1.10 Location of the Bee Frames in the Hive
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Our Top List 9 Picks Best Bee Hive Frames – Editor’s Choice
Here I have reviewed the 9 best hive frames for beekeeping, you will find out about their pros and cons. I have tried to make an understandable review so that everyone could choose it for themselves.
1# Mann Lake WW906 Assembled Commercial Frames with Waxed Natural Rite-Cell Foundation – Amazon’s Choice
These are some of the highest quality bee frames I’ve ever used. They come assembled with a waxed natural rite-cell foundation. They are easy to use, so whether you are a beginner or a professional beekeeper, you can easily use them in business. You will get 10 beehive frames.
You will see bars all over the frame. They are made and put together. This is ideal for those beekeepers who are looking for an option for interchangeable frames. Each frame goes 8 inches high and 19 inches long. You can trust the Mann Lake brand, which is a popular beekeeping equipment manufacturer.
2# BeeCastle 10-Pack Waxed Foundation with Complete Unassembled Commercial Frames – Amazon’s Choice
These beekeeping frames are made of high-quality material. Even though it doesn’t come assembled, you can handle it quickly and easily. All elements are made well, do not have chipping, bending, and other deformations.
This is an excellent hive frame for beekeeping with a foundation that is filled with beeswax. They have a pronounced honey smell that you can’t stop sniffing. It has a black color for the greater attractiveness of bees. I recommend you buy this bee frames as they do their job 100%.
3# BeeCastle Waxed Plastic Foundation with Complete Unassembled Commercial Frames – Amazon’s Choice
Even if you are just starting to get acquainted with beekeeping, then you will understand how to use these bee frames. They come unassembled. However, it will not take you long to complete this task. Everything is tight, no knots or chips appear. The plastic base is initially coated with wax.
4# Little Giant Deep Hive Frame Black Deep Beehive Frames for Beekeeping
You will love these wooden bee frames that fit the 10-frame Langstroth hive. The material used for it is well suited for bees and doesn’t harm their livelihoods. It is made from unfinished pine. The plastic base is already covered with wax and has a black color. This allows you to see bees better. Use these frames for deep hives. The frame size is 19.25” x W 9.5” x H 6.5”.
5# Mann Lake FR902 Unassembled Wedge Top and Groove Bottom Endbars with Holes
This is a large set of beehive frames including 100 pieces for your bees. You will have to assemble it yourself, but you don’t need much effort. The frames are 19 inches long and 8 inches high. You will get quality wooden parts that do not have knots and flawless cuts. This is an expensive product and you can be sure of the durability and high quality of the bee frames.
6# Honey Keeper Beehive 10 Deep Frame Kit with Foundations – Amazon’s Choice
This is a set of 10 best bee hive frames that will come to you unassembled. You will need to do this yourself, however, it will not take you much time and effort. For bee frames, pine is used that does not harm bees. They have a black foundation. This color is more attractive to bees than white.
7# Little Giant Beehive Medium Frames
Little Giant offers you 5 hive frames for beekeeping. They are ideal for beehives, including thanks to their material: unfinished pine wood. The bee frames are reinforced with nails and have strong seams. Use them for medium-sized hives. You will find a frame in the size of 9x7x7 inches. They come with a plastic bee base. Bees perceive this very well because it is covered with wax from all sides.
8# Foxhound Bee Company Frame Plastic Beekeeping Queen Excluder – Amazon’s Choice
This is a special queen excluder that any beekeeper needs for proper beekeeping. This design is made of durable plastic and helps you understand where the queen is in your hive. You can easily find it among all the bee frames. It has an ideal space that allows your bees to get through the holes. But at the same time, they are not big enough for the queen to get to the honey.
9# Little Giant 10-Frame Medium Super Beehive Body with Frames for Beekeeping – Amazon’s Choice
These hive frames for beekeeping are made from pine and are a durable product for long-term use. They are delivered in the amount of 10 pieces assembled. You don’t have to sweat to figure out how to put it together. These frames are great for the Langstroth hive. Frames have a wax-coated plastic foundation. You will be able to better observe the bees.
Location of the Bee Frames in the Hive
Modern hives provide two possible options for the location of the frames inside the hive:
- Transversely
- Longitudinally
There is no particular difference in terms of bee comfort, the intensity of family development, and honey collection efficiency. Rather, it is only about convenience for the beekeeper. During the control of the hive with bee hive frames located along with the notch, there are inconveniences associated with the need to strongly extend one arm, and the second, while bending.
It is much easier to control the condition of the family in a hive with a transverse arrangement of frames. At the same time, experienced beekeepers are used to checking by tilting the hive. In this case, the longitudinal arrangement of the bee frames will be optimal, since hive frames for beekeeping located across the notch can stagger and crush the bees when the hive is tilted.
Modern hives provide the possibility of any option for placing these frames. The main rule is to leave the so-called slot (at least 10 mm) between the beehive frames. Strongly increase this size isn’t worth it because of the risk of random construction of honeycombs by bees. Free space should be fixed with special spacers on the frame.
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Bee Hive Frames
- Assembled Frames (The assembled beehive frame is suitable for those who don’t want to spend their time assembling it. You will get perfectly stapled joints. They come with a foundation. It is usually beeswaxed. These are constructions made of first-class wood).
- Unassembled Frames (You can also select unassembled hives. This is a great option for beekeepers who themselves want to participate in the process of assembling frames for their hives. In this case, the assembly usually doesn’t take much of your time and effort).
- Plastic Frames (Choosing plastic frames, it means for you that you provide yourself with a durable product. Such material lasts longer than wood. Such frames are assembled with the foundation. Your bees will always be in place as they will not be able to escape through the plastic. However, such frames are not suitable for organic beekeeping and require the use of a foundation).
- Frame Wire, Support Pins, Assembly Aids – You will need these things to assembly the bee frames and their fastenings.
Wire Pulling Process
The wire acts as a reinforcement when the frames are hung. To do this, you will need:
- Steel wire (1.5-2 mm diameter).
- Drill of the same diameter, screwdriver.
- Hammer.
- Pliers.
- Conductor or pattern.
- Nails for wire fasteners.
Step-by-step wire tensioning procedure:
- Using a template drawing or a conductor, holes are drilled in opposite poles.
- In the bee frame, it is necessary to hammer in a tension nail.
- Pull the wire through the drilled holes.
- The end of the wire is wrapped around a driven nail.
- With the help of pliers, the wire is pulled and fixed on the corresponding nail.
What Bee Hive Frames to Choose: Plastic or Wooden?
Wooden Beekeeping Frames
Benefits:
- Many think that nothing can be better than wood as a material for bee houses.
- Price. Their cost is usually lower than plastic frames.
- Environmental friendliness. Wood is a safe and familiar material for bees. Natural material “breathes” helps maintain an optimal microclimate in the hive.
Disadvantages:
- The service life of 2-3 years. Linden and pine, which are used in production, like many other wood species, are afraid of high humidity and insect pests, can dry out over time and can break.
- Inability to carry out complete disinfection. It is difficult to completely clear the tree of the old land and the waste products of the bee family so that the frame “is like new” and does not become a source of disease development.
- Lots of weight. Wood products are quite heavy, this is especially noticeable if work in the apiary is carried out with a large number of hives.
Plastic Bee Frames – Attention to Modern Technologies
Benefits:
- Safety. The frames are made of food-grade polypropylene, safe both for the bees themselves and for honey.
- Save money and time. There is no need to purchase individual sheets of wax, collect frames, carry out a long procedure with pulling the wire and attaching the wax to the frames. It is enough to cover the cellular basis of the plastic frame with a layer of molten wax and it is already ready for use.
- Strength. The risk of breakage during transportation or pumping of honey in the honey extractor is minimized.
- Lightweight. Plastic beehive frames are usually about 2 times lighter than a wooden one.
- Long service life. Such hive frames for beekeeping don’t rot or stratify over time. According to the manufacturer, plastic and the entire structure will last for more than a dozen years.
Disadvantages:
- High price. The price of plastic frames for beehives is 2-3 or more times higher than for wooden ones. However, options made of plastic remain usable significantly longer than wood.
- Bees can rebuild their cells a little worse. Some beekeepers have noticed that if plastic products with a cellular base covered with a layer of wax are used along with wooden frames and a “traditional” wax leaf in one apiary, then the bees will prefer wood.
Conclusion
Neither a beginner nor a professional beekeeper can do without hive frames for beekeeping today. This is essential equipment for efficient beekeeping. Now you know a little more about this and you can easily purchase such beekeeping equipment for yourself.
