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Langstroth-style bee box (Indian 'bee box')

The Indian "bee box" is a Langstroth-pattern movable-frame hive standardised by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and produced by KVIC, ICAR institutes and private suppliers. It is the standard equipment for commercial apiculture in India and the basis on which the National Bee Board's apiary management practices are written.

Function

A Langstroth hive provides bees with vertically arranged, removable wooden frames carrying wax foundations. Bees build comb on these frames, store honey and rear brood in defined cells, and the keeper can inspect, harvest and treat the colony without destroying the comb. This is the technological foundation that allows movable-frame beekeeping with Apis Mellifera and Apis cerana indica.

Design and specifications

  • ISI 'A' Type: 8-frame single super, sized for Apis cerana indica
  • ISI 'B' Type / standard 10-frame Langstroth: used for the larger Apis mellifera
  • Material: typically pinewood about 20 mm thick, with cross joints and an anti-corrosive metal-clad top
  • Components: brood chamber, super box added during honey flow, telescoping outer cover with a vented inner cover, and a stand to keep the colony off the ground and away from ants

Frames sit on rabbet rests at the top of the brood chamber. The super is added above the brood chamber during the honey flow to give the colony additional storage space.

Operation

The box is mounted on a stand with legs placed in oil-filled ant cups. Routine inspection involves smoking the entrance, lifting the telescoping cover, and removing frames one at a time to assess brood, food stores, queen presence and disease. Frames are interchangeable between hives of the same ISI type, which supports queen rearing, splits and equalisation operations under Apiary Management Commercial.

Subsidy and adoption

KVIC and the National Beekeeping and Honey Mission subsidise Langstroth hive distribution under their beekeeping training and entrepreneurship programmes. The box is the default hive type supplied to trainees and self-help groups.

See also: Apis Mellifera, Apiary Management Commercial, Subabul Pollinator Forage.

References

  1. Bee Keeping Accessories. TNAU agritech portal.
  2. Beehive Frames for Apis cerana indica. One Bee Organic supplier specification.
  3. Beekeeping - KVIC Project Profile. Ministry of MSME.