John Mahaffie

This entry is post 7 of 24 in the ongoing series Landing Board beekeeping history posts

In beekeeping, mad schemes, intricate new technologies, and fancy designs sometimes pop up to try to entice the hobbyist.

In recent times we have seen Flow Hives, and other multi-featured new material and format hive equipment.

But we’ve got nothing on the Victorians.

A Victorian English bee house. It’s not at all clear how many houses like this actually came into existence¹⁾Henry Taylor, The Bee-Keeper’s Manual; or, The Honey Bee its Management and Preservation, London: Groombridge and Sons, 1880, seventh edition, frontispiece.

Another multi-hive enclosure, of simpler elegance²⁾Henry Taylor, The Bee-Keeper’s Manual; or, The Honey Bee its Management and Preservation, London: Groombridge and Sons, 1880, seventh edition, p. 150.

Nutt’s Collateral Hive, No. 1. Not only bee houses, but bee hives came with aesthetic flourishes and complex fittings³⁾Alfred Neighbour, The Apiary; Or, Bees, Bee-hives, and Bee Culture Being a Familiar Account of the Habits of Bees, and the Most Improved Methods of Management, with Full Directions, Adapted for the Cottager, Farmer, Or Scientific Apiarian, London: Kent & Co., 1865, p. 17.

Key/explanation for Nutt’s Collateral Hive: Three boxes (C, A, and C) sit side-by-side. An octagonal box B is on top, enclosing a bell glass (a glass vessel for the bees to build and fill comb with honey).

The bees can move laterally amongst C, A, and C through multiple openings. Those openings can be closed. There are two large windows in each of the end boxes, and a smaller one in the center box. The center window includes a thermometer, for monitoring hive temperature.

D and D are ventilators. Zinc tubes project down below the middle for insertion of thermometers for further hive activity analysis. A is the central “stock” box, which receives a swarm. E and E are additional ventilation openings. F is a feeding drawer.

To me beautiful and elegant bee gear is a nice idea, but unlikely to work. Bees and the weather, among other things, take control of the equipment, and it takes on a ‘hard work’ appearance. It cannot have been easy to keep those Victorian bee palaces tidy.

References[+]

References
↑1	Henry Taylor, The Bee-Keeper’s Manual; or, The Honey Bee its Management and Preservation, London: Groombridge and Sons, 1880, seventh edition, frontispiece.
↑2	Henry Taylor, The Bee-Keeper’s Manual; or, The Honey Bee its Management and Preservation, London: Groombridge and Sons, 1880, seventh edition, p. 150.
↑3	Alfred Neighbour, The Apiary; Or, Bees, Bee-hives, and Bee Culture Being a Familiar Account of the Habits of Bees, and the Most Improved Methods of Management, with Full Directions, Adapted for the Cottager, Farmer, Or Scientific Apiarian, London: Kent & Co., 1865, p. 17.