This season I will attempt a few hive designs that model “wild” hives, mirroring and taking inspiration from the warré hive model. I’ve designed a few boxes that will utlitize two to three different sizes of frame and thus comb, each box is hexagonal to mimic a tree trunk, but using flat corners will gave places from frames to rest making it relatively easy to inspect comb. I don’t believe warré beekeepers check their frames during the year, or it’s done very non intrusively. I have designed this to ideally be able to inspect frames for brood disease and most importantly, observe mites. By not using any wax foundation I allow the bees to build out their comb to the size they see fit. I am not able to control for genetic make-up, but judging on the coloring of the queens and bees themselves I have selected, I’m working with what appear to be Italian and Carniolan hybrids. After moving the colonies into their new setups, I will keep them at two boxes, using a queen exlcuder and a super to remove excess honey produced during the year. I will compare how their health and especially mite resistance compares to langstroth hives I have going. 

Hives that overwintered strongly and will be good candidates for these hive models.