Parts of a Beehive - (Explaining Hive Parts, Accessories & ...

So you're thinking about becoming a beekeeper, are you?

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Maybe you want to save the bees. Maybe you dream of selling honey. Or maybe it just brings back fond memories of grandpa on the farm. Everyone who comes to this site has caught the buzz at some point or another.

But what do you do with it? What kind of beehive should you get? What are you even looking for?

If you're looking at an online beehive kit like it's algebra, then reading this article will be a perfect guide to get you comfortable with how a beehive works.

Understanding Beehive Components

This article delves into the intricacies of a beehive, explaining in detail every component. You will learn about each part, its name, purpose, features to look out for, how they integrate with the hive, expert usage tips, and some exclusive tricks you won't find elsewhere.

If you already have a basic understanding of beehive parts but need a quick refresher on specific components, just click on the diagram below to enlarge it. The diagram will help you pinpoint the piece you're curious about. Once identified, you can read more about it here or visit our other article: How Do I Assemble My Beehive? (Click Here).

Telescoping Top Cover

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At the top of this list and the top of your hive is the telescoping top cover.

It's the first line of defense between your colony and your climate.

Telescoping top covers are capped with a highly rust-resistant metal and aren't affected by the rain, sleet, or snow.

Made from solid wood, these covers will have a long and durable life.

Beekeepers use the word telescoping to describe the way that the two-inch tall sides of this cover act as weather guards. When placed on the hive, the sides envelop both the inner cover and the crown of your first medium super. By surrounding this area with a two-inch ledge of wood, the weather falls to the ground instead of into your hive.

This ledge also provides an easy way to grab onto the cover when you're looking for leverage to remove it for hive inspections.

Here's a Pro Tip!

When inspecting your hive, the first cover to come off is the telescoping top cover. Once you've removed it, an additional benefit to this part is found by setting the cover on the ground with the metal side down. Doing so allows you to have a place to safely stack your bee boxes and hive bodies. Instead of putting the boxes directly on the ground, you can set them at an angle in relation to the ledges. This lets the frames hang freely over the cover and results in a cleaner inspection. It will also minimize the number of bees that are harmed and other damages.

Inner Cover

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The next hive part on the list is called the inner cover.

The inner cover is a dividing layer between the telescoping top cover and the frames full of bees below.

At first glance, inner covers may seem as one of the more insignificant parts of a beehive. On the contrary, the inner cover is an unsung hero of the hive and has a multitude of hidden purposes. Let's go through some of them here.

Feeding Within the Hive

One of the most useful benefits of the inner cover is that the cutout hole in the middle can be used to feed your bees. By sitting a mason jar full of sugar syrup on the inner cover, your bees have a direct line to artificial nectar. Bees can use this artificial nectar to help them build up their honeycomb and as an ingredient in the food they feed their larva.

You don't always have to feed your bees, but you should for the first few months. When your bees first arrive, they don't know where they can get food. They haven't dialed into their surroundings yet. So to give them the best head start, you should feed them sugar water. To learn all about this sugar syrup you can visit: The Ultimate Guide to Feeding Bees Sugar Water (How to Make it & More).

To use the inner cover for feeding, place it directly above your highest hive body. Then place another bee box without frames on top of the inner cover. See picture. The mason jar should have a lid with a couple of nail-sized holes in it. Flip the jar upside down and it will slowly drip into the hive. Once the mason jar is flipped you can set the telescoping top cover on to the frameless box.

The Busy Bees 'N' More inner cover has a circular cutout in the middle. The size of this circle has the same measurements as a mason jar. Allowing you to insert it through the hole and keep it held straight up.

Ventilation & Top Entrance

The Busy Bees 'N' More inner cover also has a little notch cut out on the brim. This notch serves a dual purpose.

In the summertime, you can face the notched side up creating a "u" shape. This position makes a top entrance where bees can easily walk into the hive and onto the inner cover. This gives your honeybees a direct route to the inner cover's center cut-out at the top of the hive. Bypassing many of the obstacles that they'd encounter on the way to their desired frame - which makes them more productive.

In the winter months, the bees will stop collecting resources and slow down their comb making. To help prep for winter, you can flip your inner cover over to create an "n" shape with the notch. When the notch is facing down like this, it is ventilating the moisture out of your hive. Moisture can be a huge problem and is one of the leading causes of bee death during winter.

When your hive has this notch facing down, the moisture has somewhere to go. It now rolls out of the hive through the notch instead of collecting at the top of your hive.

Here's a Pro Tip!

If you're looking to buy a beehive, the notch in an inner cover is a nice feature to have, but it's not a deal breaker if it doesn't come with one. If your inner cover doesn't have this notch and you desire one, you have a few options:

1. Cut a notch using a small keyhole saw or pocket knife. The notch should be at the front of the hive. Cut it about an inch wide in the center of the inner cover's brim. Make sure the cut is on the deep side's (3/8" side) brim all the way down to the center board.
2. Purchase a Busy Bees 'N' More Inner Cover to go on your hive. Every hive part from Galena Farm's brands is cut to the industry's standard dimensions. This means that all of our hive parts are interchangeable between any other brand on the market.
3. Use the Popsicle Stick Method. To do this method, you'll line the inner cover's brim with popsicle sticks - remember to leave a space for the notch. Stack these popsicle sticks 3 high and screw them into the brim. This method creates a notch in any inner cover that will ventilate your heat and humidity in the winter and add a top entrance in the summer. You can also remove the screws and popsicle sticks any time you'd like.

Additional Uses for the Inner Cover

Evacuating Bees

Galena Farm's NuBee and Hoover Hives can both use an Oval Bee Escape.

The Oval Bee Escape is an accessory that fits into the oval cutout of your beehive's inner cover. It is used to expel bees from certain areas of your hive. In most cases, beekeepers use them to vacate the medium super boxes before harvesting them.

Traditionally, beekeepers would just use bee brushes to sweep the bees off of the frames. Unfortunately, brushing bees can be harmful to them and may even kill the queen. Using an Oval Bee Escape is a safe and easy alternative for vacating your bee boxes.

The technology behind it uses a couple of springs to create a one-way exit. The bees can leave the upper boxes, but once they've descended down through the oval bee escape, the springs prevent them from going back up.

Galena Farms includes one of these as a free gift with each NuBee and Hoover Hives kit we sell. To learn more about the Oval Bee Escape, check out our article: How Do I Use an Oval Bee Escape?

Cleaner Inspections

You should also seek an inner cover that has two different depths on each side. One side is shallow/flush and the other side is 3/8" deep. The different depths have different purposes.

During the spring and summer, the shallow/flush side should be facing down towards the frames. This helps prevent the bees from connecting the inner cover to the frames with burr comb. Burr comb is just what beekeepers call beeswax that is placed anywhere else other than where it should be - on the frames.

Bees have a habit of building burr comb anywhere they think has too much space. By putting the shallow/flush side down in the spring and summer, it limits the amount of space they have between the inner cover and frames during the bees' peak wax building season.

Insulation

During the winter, the 3/8" deep side can face down towards the frames. This will create some extra loft that will collect heat underneath the inner cover.

At the same time, the inner cover also creates a second layer at the top of your hive with a small amount of dead space between the telescoping top cover. This works similarly to double-pane windows to keep the heat in and soften the blow of winter.

Smoke/Peep Hole

The inner cover's cutout hole can be used to check on your bees with the least amount of disturbance to the hive. This can be useful when it's late February or early March and you want to do a quick check on your hive. At this time of year, it's still too cold outside to do a full inspection. So instead of having to crack open the inner cover and release all the heat, you can just look through the cutout.

You can also use the cutout in the inner cover as a place to point the nose of your smoker. This can prepare and calm your hive for inspection before you disturb them. With the inner cover still on, you can smoke the whole hive in just a couple of puffs.