Q&A for How to Make a Honey Bee Box

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Question

How can I prevent ants from getting into the hive?

David Williams
Beekeeper & Bee Removal Specialist
David Williams is a Professional Beekeeper and Bee Removal Specialist with over 28 years of beekeeping experience. He is the Owner of Bzz Bee Removal, a bee removal company based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Bzz Bee Removal locates, captures, and transports bees to local beekeepers to prevent colony collapse disorder.

David Williams

Beekeeper & Bee Removal Specialist

Expert Answer

Keep the hive on a stand so it's harder for ants to get inside. You can also keep the legs of the stand in containers of water for extra protection from ants.

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Question

What material do I use inside the frames?

Community Answer

This is optional. Some people put foundations to start them building, but foundationless is ideal if you want to cut it up for honeycomb.

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Question

What is the size of a bee frame?

Community Answer

It depends on how big you want the frame to be. Deep frames tend to be around 19 inches x 1+1/16 inches x 9+1/8 inches, medium-sized frames are 19 inches x 1+1/16 inches x 6+1/4 inches, and small, shallow frames are 19 inches x 1+1/16 inches x 5+3/8 inches.

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Question

Did I read that none of the boxes have bottoms? But why do all the pictures appear to have bottoms in each layer?

Community Answer

No bottoms. You want your bees to be able to move freely from box to box, with the exception of the queen (which is why you use an excluder). The pictures aren't exactly what you would build. Close, but if you notice, there are some extra pieces in a few pictures, or lines that turn the top of a board into the side, like an MC Escher drawing.

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Question

How can I collect the bee pollen?

Community Answer

You can collect the pollen with a pollen trap. It's a box that is designed to trap pollen when the honey bee enters the box.

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Question

What are the advantages of adding a super? Can't we use a single box without a super?

Community Answer

A super is just a section of the box that is meant to have frames placed into it. You should always have a deep super separated from the honey super, otherwise the queen will lay eggs throughout the entire hive, meaning you'll have eggs in any honey you may want to collect. It is possible, however, to just have one brood super and one honey super, but the separation is necessary if you plan on harvesting anything

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Question

How do I transfer honey bees from a tree to a box?

Community Answer

What I have found effective is to bring a single super box with half of the max capacity of frames with honeycomb, honey, and lemongrass oil. Set the box on the ground, scoop the bees up, and dump them into the box. Make sure the queen goes into the box and put the lid on. Make a barrier around the box (with about a foot gap) of something sweet that will distract any ants that would otherwise find your hive. Leave the box for 48 hours and return. If you did successfully put the queen in the box, the bees will have followed her into the box and made it their new home.

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Question

Can I make a metal box?

Community Answer

I wouldn't advise that. Because of the humidity a bee hive produces, a wooden box allows for "breathing," meaning the wood absorbs and expels the moisture trying to match the humidity outside the box. Metal would trap the moisture, most likely.

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Question

Is there a name for this bee box?

Community Answer

The generic term for the sections of a hive are called brood boxes.

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Question

Most bee hives I've seen are made of solid wood. Can't plywood be used?

Community Answer

Some plywoods contain toxic, formaldehyde-based resins. For your own peace of mind if you intend to eat the honey, I would use something other than plywood. Cypress and cedar are good choices.

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Question

What should the dimension of these boxes be?

Community Answer

The boxes should be least 2 feet long and 3 feet tall. The wood used for the boxes should be 2 inches thick.

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Question

How much does each part of a beehive cost for a wooden beehive for a school?

Community Answer

Most already-made beehives that are "autoflow" run $300-$400.

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Question

How do I draw the bees to a hive?

Community Answer

You have to catch a couple of bees and place them in the box and they will slowly make it their home.

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Question

How do I insert the frame?

Community Answer

To insert the frame you will need to take it apart and put it back together.

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Question

How thick should the wood be when used for the walls of the supers?

Community Answer

All walls should be 3/4" thick for all size boxes.

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Question

Is there any wood that would not work for building bee boxes?

Community Answer

I would not use Balsa. Cork works very well, and the bees like the smell.

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Question

How do I find the right size lumber for making a honey bee box?

Community Answer

Any home improvement lumber store will carry pine boards. In the US a 1x6 is the name of the board, but the dimensions are 3/4” x 5 1/2”. (All 1x stock is 3/4”.)

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