Story about bee space and hive equipment

Quite a few years ago I was thinking about increasing my hives in Yaqara, Fiji.

I heard that a local Fijian vocational school was making equipment for sale. Good, I thought, I can get the equipment from them and help the students at the same time.

I visited the school and was taken to the workshop where there was a good number of bee boxes freshly painted and ready to go. Due diligence required that I make a spot check of the hive dimensions.

To my disappointment none of the equipment were made to standard bee hive specifications. The dimensions of each box was different from the next box. Then I had a close look at the frames. These were even worst off than the boxes.

  • The frames were of inconsistent sizes.
  • Some of the frames were deeper than the hive box.
  • The bottom of the frames hung below the bottom of the box.

Upon enquiry I was told that the school had ask the schools handyman/carpenter to make the equipment. They had given him samples then told him to make the equipment.

The fellow was not a bee keeper and knew nothing about bee space and the requirements of a bee hive. He was told to make boxes so that is what he did. I learned later that the equipment was sold to the co-ops people to be given to new beekeepers.

Trying to keep bees in this kind of equipment is hopeless.

I doubt that anyone that received this equipment are beekeepers today.


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