To Bee or not to Bee

I’ve really got into the green theme. Last year I had built three raised garden beds, which turned out wonderful. As the season progressed there was less tending in the garden for me. For this upcoming season I would like to experiment with Bee keeping. Having a bee hive would help with crop growth and pollination. It would also give me something else to tend to during the summer months. The problem is that I’m ill experienced and there is a lot of variables that I face. Luckily the internet is vast and has a lot of good information on the subject. The first challenge is to figure out which hive would best suit my small garden and the area I live in. There are many types to choose from but I have narrowed it down to three types. The simple traditional skep, the mainstream Langstroth hive, or the bee friendly organic Top-Bar hive.
The skep is what is normally the image that is duplicated in a lot of historical documents. It’s normally built with straw or wicker to make a basket shape.

These are nice to look at. If I were a bee I would think that these would make a suitable home for me and my hive. There is a few problems with this type of hive. One issue is that you cannot inspect the hive easily for disease and pests. The other reason would be that to harvest the honey the destruction of the hive is almost next to impossible to avoid.

The second on my list is the mainstream Langstroth hive. The construction of this hive is straight forward, uniform and effecient.

From this picture you can see the different parts of the hive. As you can see the actual building of the frames would be very simple. For this reason I think this is why I see them around the most. The parts that appeal to me about this hive is that they are very space effecient, you can stack multiple levels, and the are portable. The cons of this type are minimal that I have found other then the cosmetic look.

The final Hive that has peaked my interest is the elegant Top-Bar hive. The look alone for me is pulling my vote towards choosing this design, but it has more to it then just looks.

These types of hives are what I’m more so looking for summer project. This would be quite the project to take on just to build the thing. The top comes off the reveal the top bars which the bees build their combs off of. This type of hive is become more popular for its friendlier approach of organic bee keeping.

Whatever choice is made I’m sure the bees will be happy.

Please comment if you have any input on this fun subject. If anyone has knowledge on this enlighten me. It will be welcomed!