ALIEN SPECIES
From page 25
slides down over the top
apertures of which are large
super to secure it and add a enough to allow worker
further seal.
bees to move up into the
The outer lid itself is covered supers, but small enough to
with a thin metal plate,
prevent the larger queen
commonly a used alu-
from doing so.
minium-alloy printing plate, Apart from the aluminium
which protects it from the
roof plate and the queen
elements.
excluder all the components
Both chambers have no
of a Langstroth hive are
floors or ceilings, which
made of wood. To prevent
means the worker bees can rotting, especially given that
move freely from the top to the interior of the hive can
bottom of the hive to
become moist through
perform their tasks.
condensation, the wood is
Fitted in each chamber are a coated in a non-toxic
set of frames, up to ten per
preservative such as Waxol
chamber, which hang
before use.
vertically, equidistant from
The outside of the hive is
one another, almost filling
often painted, usually white
the chamber, but allowing a or a light colour, to aid the
little space at the bottom.
bees in their orientation to
The brood frames are
and from the hive.
deeper than the super
K If you would like to
frames.
become a beekeer, contact
Each frame has a series of
the beekeeping association
stainless steel high-tensile
nearest to you for help and
wires running horizontally
advice.
across it. To these, and into
~ Eastern Highveld
a groove at the top of the
Beekeepers Association
frame, is attached a sheet or covers the East Rand and
strip of beeswax on which
Mpumalanga,
the bees build their combs. ~ Southerns Beekeeping
The sheets and strips are
Association covers greater
embossed with a honey-
Johannesburg, the West
comb pattern which the
Rand and the South Rand
bees follow as the template ~ Northern Beekeeping
when building their combs. Association covers Centurion
Although it is possible to
and Pretoria.
save a bit on beeswax by
fitting only a starter strip of
wax at the top of the frame
and expecting the bees to
build up the rest, many
beekeepers fit sheets which
fill the frame completely,
making it easier for the bees
to construct their combs so
that they can start to store
honey quicker.
In the bottom (or brood)
chamber resides the queen,
whose job it is to lay eggs to
secure her succession as
leader of the hive. To ensure Depending on the strength of the
swarm, any number of super
that she doesn't wander and chambers can be added. This
hive contains both size chambers
lay in the supers many
in use as supers.
beekeepers place a queen
excluder between the top of
the brood chamber and the
bottom super. This is a fine
steel mesh plate, the
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