First of all, I really love Steemit and thank you for reading my post today!
Asking this question another way: "Are you going to be a hands-on, very involved beekeeper or are you going to take a more hands-off approach...letting the bees do what they want to do? Think about that question...and in my opinion there's no right or wrong answer.
Now if you haven't read parts 1 and 2, please do that (and upvote if you think I deserve it). If you have read them you'll recall that I said to find a mentor. Likely you'll be following the style of beekeeping that your mentor does. But, this is important as you'll need to know this before you buy or build your "bee furniture", the boxes where your bees live. Please allow me to explain....
This is a more natural approach which is a lot of fun, especially if you only want a couple of beehives and don't want to go big. That's not to say that you can't "go big" with this approach, but it can be more cumbersome at times. With a hands off approach you would be looking at building or acquiring a Top Bar Hive or TBH. There are many different designs for the TBH, but they break down into two categories: vertical or horizontal.
A very common Vertical TBH is a Warre hive (pronounced WAR-ray). They are easy to build and even easier to buy if you prefer. I have built and use several of these. I have built them with windows also, which is really cool and a feature I would recommend.
My home-built Warre hive with windows...and no, I don't keep bees in my house...I love my wife!
Horizontal TBHs come in all shapes and sizes and are a lot of fun. I have never built or used a Horizontal TBH, but I would also recommend you fabricate one or buy one with a window as well.
For either the HTBH or VTBH, it's a hands-off, less time and more natural method. Many beekeepers believe this to be the best way to keep bees because it leaves the bees alone and lets them do their thing. The only responsibility you have is to feed them if they need it and give them more space to work when they need it. When it comes time to harvest the honey, you have to crush the honeycomb and strain out the wax from the honey. It's a disadvantage because the bees have to expend a lot of effort to rebuild that comb. However, crush and strain is also an advantage because you need very little equipment.
An advantage of a VTBH like a Warre hive over the HTBH is that it has a smaller footprint. If you're low on space to park your beehive(s), a Warre hive would be better. If you have plenty of space either will work.
Personally, I think that the Warre hive is more aesthetically pleasing. What do you think?
Above, Horizontal Top Bar Hive. Below, Vertical Top Bar Hive or Warre.
Here in the US the standard beehive is called the Langstroth hive. In the UK it's the National hive. Most of my beekeeping is done with the Langstroth or the "Langer" hive. Why? Well, guess what my mentor uses? Exactly. Also, it's very conducive to use the Langer for frequent inspections, harvesting and sharing resources. That last item I mentioned, sharing resources, is very important, even more so when you're just starting out. Using standard equipment between you, your peers and your mentor is quite helpful if you were to run out of equipment, lose a queen or need food stores for your hive. Just call your fellow beekeeper up tell him or her what you need, ask them what they need, do a trade...problem solved. Easy peasy!
My Langstroth Hives
Beekeeping is fun, relaxing and environmentally friendly. I love the hobby and you will too. Whatever method you choose is going to be great. My preference is to use the standard Langstroth that we use here in the US. I love to help my fellow beekeepers, we're a family of sorts, weirdos sometimes, but for the most part we all work together and don't keep scores.
A standard beehive like the Langstroth is easy to find replacement gear. It's also better suited (in my opinion) for some more advanced beekeeping activities like queen rearing.
Have fun, it's beekeeping!
