The Beekeeper’s Companion Since 1861
Cover for the November 2024 issue of the American Bee Journal. The cover depicts a painting of a bee hive in the foreground surrounded by lavender, with seveal white building with brown roofs in the background. Call-outs: The honey bee is not the enemy - 1185, DWV: Is there a vaccine for that? - 1175, Unlocking the sexuality of the honey bee - 1179

Instructional Materials

Helpful instructions and explanations for the beginner beekeeper.
In this section you will find descriptions on the components of a beehive, woodenware, and foundation. To access this information, please click on the category at the left.

Beehive Components

“The modern bee hive is like a highly efficient multistoried factory with each “story” having a specific function. These “stories” work together to provide a home for bees and a honey factory for the beekeeper.

  1. Hive Cover – Telescoping cover “telescopes” over the sides of the top super to protect the hive. Galvanized covering.Beehive Components
  2. Inner Cover – Creates a air space for insulation from heat and cold.
  3. Shallow Supers – Consist of Super, Frames and Beeswax Foundation for “surplus” honey storage. Bees store their extra honey in the frames for the beekeeper to remove. 6-5/8′ or , 5-11/16” supers, or even hive bodies may be used.
  4. Queen Excluder – Keeps the queen bee in the brood chambers as she is too large to pass through the excluder. Prevents her from laying eggs and raising brood in honey supers placed above the excluder.
  5. Hive Bodies – Consists of Body, Frames and Beeswax Foundation. “Brood Chambers” are the bees’ living quarters. Queen lays eggs in these chambers and brood is raised. Honey is also stored for the bees’ food.
  6. Bottom Board – Forms the floor of the hive. Shown with wooden entrance reducer in
    place to keep mice and some cold out during winter.
  7. Hive Stand – Supports the hive off the ground to keep hive bottom dry and insulate hive

 

Quality Woodenware

A Dadant Manufacturing Specialty

Hive Bodies and Honey Supers

Ponderosa Pine Wood Products
Our woodenware is manufactured from hand selected ponderosa pine. Each board has been carefuly moisture-metered to assure its proper moisture content before it is precision milled into the finished product. All our supers have “pre-drilled” holes for nails to prevent splitting during assembly.

Features

  • Handholds tapered cut for easy gripping
  • Moisture Metering before cutting to prevent warping
  • Uniform Interlocking Joints to preventing
  • Predrilled Nail Holes to prevent splitting
  • Interlocking Joints for superior strength
  • Ponderosa Pine from the Northwest
  • Uniform Frame Rests provides the proper “Bee Space”

Dadant Quality Frames
2 Frame Styles

Dadant Frame Construction
18% more wood in the end bars (full 3/8 inch thickness). Grooved bottom bar stronger and easier to use. Note: Unless otherwise specified frames will be shipped with grooved bottom bars. Solid and Slotted Bottom Bars are available in 100 or more quantity. Please specify bottom bar desired when ordering

Wedge Top Bar

  1. Wood wedge is removed from frame.
  2. Foundation is placed in frame.
  3. Wood wedge is held firmly against foundation and nailed or stapled in place

Grooved Top Bar
Foundation is placed in bottom-bar groove and top-bar groove. This frame works best with a rigid foundation such as Duragilt or Plasticell.

 

 

Foundation

Duragilt

  • Dadant researched & Dadant developed
  • A plastic bonded, beeswax foundation with metal edges
  • Saves Labor & is easy to use
  • Plastic inner core
  • Deep worker-sized cell imprints
  • Precision milled
  • No additional cross wires needed
  • Communication holes located on bottom lower corners of foundation

Medium Brood

  • The Original 100% pure beeswax foundation
  • Our lowest priced foundation
  • Precision even-milled deep walled cells
  • Not affected by weather conditions
  • Pure beeswax sheet
    (We recommend cross-wiring frames with medium brood foundation)

Crimp Wired

  • Developed by Dadant & Sons
  •  Copied by other, but unequalled
  • 9 vertical crimped steel wires radiate strength
  • Perfectly milled cells deep exact walls
    (We recommend adding cross wires in deep frames)

Cut Comb & Thin Surplus

  • CutComb
  • Finest comb honey foundation
  • 100% beeswax
  • Cutcomb is slightly heavier than thin surplus for easier handling
  • Cut comb used for chunk honey
  • Thin Surplus
  • The thinnest beeswax sheet for finest comb honey.
  • Thin surplus for square and round section comb honey
  • Your customers appreciate comb honey with Dadant foundation

Plasticell

  • Injected molded plastec
  • Raised-cell sheet
  • The best plastic foundation available, tested and proven
  • The ultimate in plastic foundation -precise and uniform deep cell walls.
  • Available beeswax coated (unique uniform spray) or uncoated.
    (beeswax coated is recommended)

Plastiframe/ Foundation combo

  • 1 Piece plastic frame and foundation
  • No assembly
  • Strong
  • No wiring
  • Durable
  • Not affected by weather conditions
  • Standard size 9 1/8″
  • Wax moth cannot damage base
    (Frames packed 20 per carton)

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