Hives of Ages

Unlike many of today’s hobbies such as video games, traveling the world, and surfing the web, beekeeping has solid roots as far back as 2,500 years B.C. in ancient Egypt. Sealed pots of honey have been found in the tombs of the some of the Pharaohs, including Tutankhamun. Equipment used for beekeeping, also known as apiculture, has been discovered in Prehistoric Greece and at Bronze and Iron Age sites in modern-day Israel.  Ancient art has portrayed this as an important pastime, and early texts give records and instructions as to the methods of the day. Aristotle himself wrote at length of beekeeping and the lives of bees. 

Ancient Egyptian Art Depicting Bees

Before the idea of artificial hives was conceived, wild honey was gathered from undomesticated bee swarms. The honeycomb was removed from the hive and the honey was extracted by crushing, or pressing the comb, which produced more wax, but far less honey than modern hives. Quite often, early attempts to gather the honey resulted in the destruction of both the physical hive and the swarm of bees. This practice of honey gathering is still practiced by indigenous people from Asia, Australia, Africa and South America.

Early Beekeepers using Skeps

The first artificial attempts to produce honey and wax were crude and often ineffective. Early “beehives” were attempts to recreate a location where bees would gather naturally. Hollow logs, wooden boxes, woven straw baskets or “skeps,” domes made from straw and unbaked clay, as well as baked clay jars were all used as homes for bees. Because of a lack of internal structures, bees would build honeycomb wherever they pleased. As a result, it was often necessary to remove all the comb, which cannot be removed without being destroyed. The harvest often destroyed the hives. However, later attempts of additional removable structures attached to the hives allowed for removal of portions of the bee's honey. 

It wasn't until the 18th and 19th centuries that progress in maintaining swarms and keeping the hives intact was made. A man by the name of Langstroth determined what today is called a "bee space," or 5-8 mm passage in which bees will not build wax and comb, and designed a series of frames in a box. By carefully managing the "bee space," he found that a beekeeper could easily move frames around without damage to the bees themselves or the comb that they had built. When additional space is needed, another box full of frames with the standardized bee space could be simply added to the top of the hive. In 1860, Langstroth patented his design for the intent of comb honey production. By the year 1900, most beekeepers were using a variation of his design in order to manage their hives. Today, 75% of artificial hives used in the world are of this design. Other popular hives include top-bar hives and beekeepers in the United Kingdom use a design known as the National Hive. 

Movable Frames of the Langstroth Hive