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Concept
Beehive
Summary
A beehive is an enclosed structure in which some honey bee species of the subgenus Apis live and raise their young. Though the word beehive is used to describe the nest of any bee colony, scientific and professional literature distinguishes nest from hive. Nest is used to discuss colonies that house themselves in natural or artificial cavities or are hanging and exposed. The term hive is used to describe an artificial/man-made structure to house a honey bee nest. Several species of Apis live in colonies. But for honey production, the western honey bee (Apis mellifera) and the eastern honey bee (Apis cerana) are the main species kept in hives.
The nest's internal structure is a densely packed group of hexagonal prismatic cells made of beeswax, called a honeycomb. The bees use the cells to store food (honey and pollen) and to house the brood (eggs, larvae, and pupae).
Beehives serve several purposes. These include the production of honey, pollination of nearby crops, housing supply bees for apitherapy treatment, and trying to mitigate the effects of colony collapse disorder. In America, hives are commonly transported so bees can pollinate crops elsewhere. Several patents have been issued for beehive designs.
Honey bees use caves, rock cavities, and hollow trees as natural nesting sites. In warmer climates, they may build exposed hanging nests; members of other subgenera have exposed aerial combs. Multiple parallel honeycombs form the hive with a relatively uniform bee space. It usually has a single entrance. Western honey bees prefer nest cavities approximately 45 liters in volume and avoid those smaller than 10 or larger than 100 liters Western honey bees show several nest-site preferences: the height above ground is usually between and , entrance positions tend to face downward, equatorial-facing entrances are favored, and nest sites over from the parent colony are preferred. Most bees occupy nests for several years.
The bees often smooth the bark surrounding the nest entrance and coat the cavity walls with a thin layer of hardened plant resin called propolis.
Official source
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