The habitat of bees is diverse and varied. It can be a natural shelter, a cavity, a protrusion in a rock, a hollow tree, a disused building and a beehive. There are several models of beehives, made of fir, pine or spruce.
The beehive is an artificial construction created by man with the aim of attracting a swarm in order to produce it and therefore to harvest the honey. The first beehives were made from hollowed-out tree trunks, or made of straw.
Dutch beehive
A more "wild" hive
Another kind of beehive
They are more modern today and look like small houses. It consists of a bottom on which is a flight board, a body, one or more supers, a frame cover and a roof. Each element has a specific function. The support isolates the hive from the ground. The flight board is the airport area of the hive. The body is the domain of bees.
It is in this space that the colony lives and that the food reserves and the brood are located. A small notch in the base of one side acts as a flight hole and allows the bees to access the flight board. The supernatant (s) serve as additional food reserves and are harvested by the beekeeper at the end of the honey flow. The frame cover delimits the part dedicated to bees and acts as a heat shield. The roof, still in sheet metal, protects the hive from the vagaries of the weather.
