Lesson 23: Choosing a Hive Style

Standard, 8-frame, all-medium, horizontal (long), top-bar and Warré, and what each asks you to lift

The standard 10-frame Langstroth hive (lesson 17) is the most common hive in the United States, but it isn't the only choice. Before you buy, it's worth knowing the options. One of the biggest differences between them is how much weight you have to lift, and that matters more than many new beekeepers expect.

Why weight matters

In a stacked (vertical) hive, the brood is at the bottom and the honey supers are on top. To inspect the brood, you have to lift the top boxes off, often full of honey, and set them aside, then put them back. Some real numbers from university sources:

• A full deep box can weigh more than 80 pounds. (Another guide says more than 70.) That's why deeps are rarely used for honey.
• A full 10-frame medium super weighs about 50–60 pounds.
• A full 8-frame medium weighs about 40–48 pounds, roughly 20% lighter.
• A full shallow super weighs about 40 pounds.

For many people, especially with bad backs or as they get older, repeated lifting of 50–80 pound boxes is the hardest part of beekeeping. Choosing a hive style with that in mind can make the hobby easier to keep up for years.

How it looks: What each hive style asks you to lift. Weights are for boxes full of honey.

The options

Standard 10-frame Langstroth

• The industry standard for about 150 years; the most common hive in the U.S.
• Easiest to buy, easiest to find help and advice for, and easiest to buy or sell equipment for.
• More room per box for bees, brood and honey.
• Drawback: heavy lifting (deeps and 10-frame supers), and storage space for spare boxes.

8-frame Langstroth

• Same frames, narrower boxes, about 20% lighter per box.
• Popular with people who'd rather lift lighter boxes, including older beekeepers.
• Some beekeepers think the narrower, taller hive is closer to a natural tree cavity and helps the winter cluster move up.
• Drawbacks: a taller stack (more boxes to handle); boxes, lids and bottoms don't fit 10-frame equipment (frames do); some parts can be harder to find.

All-medium Langstroth

• Use medium boxes for everything: brood and honey. Three mediums ≈ two deeps in volume.
• One size of box and frame to keep on hand, and lighter boxes.
• Drawbacks: more frames to handle in a full inspection; most nucs are sold on deep frames, so start with a package or find a medium-frame nuc.

Horizontal ("long") hive

• One long box at working height, with frames hanging side by side instead of stacked. You expand the colony sideways, not upward. Designs include the Layens hive and long Langstroth hives (which take standard Langstroth frames).
• In the words of the University of Arkansas course: the entire hive fits in a single box, "with no supers, heavy lifting, or other seasonal manipulation."
• You lift one frame at a time, never a full box.
• Drawbacks: fewer beekeepers use them, so less local advice; a single long box has fixed space, so it has to be managed with that limit in mind; it isn't practical to move.

Top-bar hive

• A long, horizontal box with wooden bars instead of frames; bees build natural comb hanging from each bar, without foundation.
• Inexpensive to build, comfortable to work, no box lifting, more beeswax.
• Drawbacks: comb is fragile and easily broken during inspections; lower honey yield; honey can't be spun in an extractor; harder to feed, especially in winter; bees may abscond (leave) more often; less support for beginners; may need more frequent inspections to keep enough space.

Warré hive

• Small boxes with top bars, stacked like a tower, with new boxes added underneath (mimicking how bees build downward in the wild).
• Fewer inspections; natural comb.
• Drawbacks: combs can't be inspected easily, and some states don't allow them because state rules require movable frames so bees can be checked for disease.

A note on the law

Because of bee diseases, managed colonies must be kept in hives with movable combs that let the brood nest be inspected. Frame hives (Langstroth, horizontal Langstroth) and top-bar hives meet this; check your state's rules before choosing anything else (lesson 4).

So which should you choose?

Beekeepers disagree, and you'll hear strong opinions. Here's what the sources say:

• Many extension guides recommend starting with a standard Langstroth hive, mainly because equipment, nucs and advice are easiest to find, and trying other styles later.
• The University of Arkansas course presents horizontal and other hives as real options and makes the key point: "none of them are perfect," and hives are mostly for the convenience of beekeepers, not bees. Honey bees can make themselves at home in almost any suitable cavity. Choose a style that fits your body, your budget and your goals.

Questions to ask yourself:

• Can I safely lift 50–80 pounds, repeatedly, for years? If not, look hard at 8-frame, all-medium or a horizontal hive.
• How much help will I need? Standard Langstroth equipment is the easiest to get help with.
• Where will my bees come from? Nucs usually come on deep Langstroth frames; make sure your hive can take them.
• Do I want to spin honey in an extractor? Top-bar comb can't be extracted.

What to remember

• Weight is a real difference: full deeps 70–80+ lb; 10-frame mediums 50–60 lb; 8-frame mediums 40–48 lb.
• 8-frame and all-medium hives mean lighter boxes; horizontal hives mean no box lifting at all.
• Top-bar and Warré hives are more "natural" but have real drawbacks, and Warré hives aren't legal everywhere.
• No hive is perfect; many guides suggest starting standard, but pick what you can manage for years.

Quick check

1. Why do you have to lift heavy boxes in a stacked hive, even when you only want to look at brood?
2. Roughly how much does a full 10-frame medium super weigh? An 8-frame medium?
3. Why are Warré hives not allowed in some states?

Show answers

1. The brood is at the bottom, so the supers above must be lifted off to reach it. 2. About 50–60 lb; about 40–48 lb. 3. State rules require movable frames so colonies can be inspected for disease, and Warré combs can't easily be inspected.

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Adapted from: University of Arkansas, Complete Beekeeping Short Course, Part 2: The Bee Hive (Zawislak), including the "Beekeeping Woodenware" and "Alternative Bee Hive Types" handouts; Utah State University Extension, Thriving Hives: The Apiary, Beekeeping Essentials (Okoh & Walker Bravo, 2024); Montana State University Extension, Housing Honey Bees (O'Neill); Mississippi State University Extension, Beginning Beekeeping in Mississippi (P3594).

Diagram: Forge Guides, drawn from the sources above.

Adapted from university Extension sources. Experienced Georgia beekeepers are reviewing these lessons. See something that doesn't match your experience? Tell us.