Modern beekeeping puts beehive frames of different kinds to use. Beehive frames allow bees to make full use of the space inside the hive that is available. For various sizes of hives, the finest beehive frames for sale are suitable and give your honeybees a head-start in their honey production process. It is easier to use beehive frames to make honeycomb attached to the sides of the hive than to leave bees. They make it easy for the beekeeper to collect honey and other beehive items that are of interest.
What are Bee-Hive Frames?
A hive frame or honey frame is a structural element in a beehive that holds the honeycomb or brood comb within the hive enclosure or box. The hive frame is a key part of the modern movable-comb hive. It can be removed in order to inspect the bees for disease or to extract the excess honey.
Different Types of Bee-Hive Frames
- Frames are primarily built using wood and plastic for modern beehives, and make a breeze for beekeeping. With foundation or without foundation, beehive frames can be used.
- The base used by beekeepers is either wax or plastic framework. In their beekeeping, some beekeepers often use a plastic base coated with wax.
- The discrepancies between beehive frames often apply to the form of the frame’s upper portion. It can be wedge-shaped or smooth.
- To beekeepers, the depth of frames is also a significant factor. Frames for deep beehive boxes stretch further downwards than in medium or shallow beehive boxes for use.
- The basic length and width of all wooden or plastic beehive frames for Langstroth beehives are.
Also, See 10 Essential Honey Harvesting Equipment for Beekeeping
Honey Flow Frames
The Flow frames were created by advances in beekeeping technology. These are frames that make use of the Flow technology that is proprietary. Without taking frames out of the beehive feeders and without the need for a honey extractor, this technology helps beekeepers to harvest honey. This causes minimal bee disturbance and decreases the risk that beekeepers face during the harvesting of honey. Flow frames often give bees less work to fix honeycomb after extracting honey.
- Using flow frames in beekeeping has the added benefit of observation windows that help beekeepers keep an eye on the condition of the beehive while less regularly opening up the beehive.
- For brooding, flow frames are not appropriate. Using them in honey storage in super boxes is best.
- Flow frames are not susceptible to damage by the wax moth and beehive beetle larvae that burrow through honeycomb because they are made of plastic.
With that said, let us now discuss the best beehive frames for sale right now.
Best Bee Hive Frames
Honey Keeper Beehive 10 Deep Frame Kit
Honey Keeper makes this set of 10 frames and they are designed for deep beehive boxes. The frames reflect outstanding craftsmanship in their design and are made of high-quality wood and plastic. The exterior portion of the frame is made of wood, while the base is made of plastic.
10 deep frames of the Honey Keeper Beehive are sold unassembled. The purchasing kit contains all the parts required. Also included are nails for applying reinforcement to joints. It is best if you pre-drill holes for the nails when putting together these frames. This helps you prevent the frames from separating the wooded pieces. The frames can be quickly put together by both beginners and experienced beekeepers with a few home equipment. There is also no-wax coating on the foundation offered.
These frames, when fully assembled, are perfect for deep beehive boxes. They are perfect for super boxes with brood boxes and deep honey. In size, the frames are 10. This allows a 10-frame Langstroth beehive box to be filled entirely with photos. The 2 additional frames are great as spares for beekeepers with 8-frame beehive setups. They can be used in your beehives to repair broken frames.
- These are many frames sold in a single pack. The pack is enough for a beehive box and leaves extra frames when you are using an 8-frame Langstroth beehive setup.
- Honey Keeper beehive frame 10-deep frames are self-assembly frames. They are shipped unassembled and rarely suffer damage to the individual parts.
- Foundation supplied for these frames is not coated with wax. Beekeepers have to coat the foundation with beeswax before placing the frames in the beehive. Bees take to plastic foundation coated with wax quickly and start making honeycomb on the foundation.
Little Giant Beehive Medium Frames
The MFRLite beehive frames from Little Giant Farm & Ag come in a set of 5. They are produced using unfinished pine wood that is very appropriate for beehive use. With solid joints strengthened with nails, the frames are nicely put together. They display exceptional craftsmanship and are ready to use.
For a standard 10-frame Langstroth beehive, the MFRLITE frames are designed. In the package, each frame measures 9-1⁄4 x 7 x 7 inches. The medium depth of these frames makes them ideal for medium-sized beehive boxes.
These frames from Little Giant Farm & Ag MFRLITE come with installed plastic foundations on them. To make it readily accepted by bees, the base is coated on both sides with wax. This gives a fast start for your honeybees to create honeycomb and then store honey. For your honey super boxes, the Little Giant Farm & Ag MFRLite beehive frames are ideal for use.
Little Giant Farm & Ag, which is a manufacturer and distributor of many beekeeping goods, produce the frames. Owing to Little Giant’s strict and effective quality assurance steps, beekeepers using these beehive frames are assured of quality. The frames last for a long time without cracking and can take some rough handling.
The MFRLITE frames are assembled and nicely put together using high-quality materials. In your medium-deep beehive boxes, they match well and are readily embraced by bees. The frames are fully assembled so that you do not need extra instruments or work on the frames.
- The MFRLITE frames are assembled and nicely put together using high-quality materials. In your medium-deep beehive boxes, they match well and are readily embraced by bees. The frames are fully assembled so that you do not need extra instruments or work on the frames.
- Such frames come with a wax-coated plastic base. The base makes the frames robust as it does not crack even when exposed to high RPMs of your honey extractor during honey extraction.
- In these frames, the base used makes bees build cells of a predetermined scale. There is no choice between beekeepers wishing to have larger or smaller cell sizes. To install your own base in your desired cell size, it is not advisable to take the frames apart.
- To fill a 10-frame beehive box with these frames, beekeepers have to buy two packs.
Flow Official Frame Classic 7 – Beehive Frames
The Official Flow Frame Classic 7 is designed specifically for quick honey harvesting. They save the beekeeper from having to open the hive and remove the honey extraction beehive frames. Such frames make use of Flow tools. In a 10-frame Langstroth beehive setup, the 7-frame pack is ideal for use. Beekeepers buying this package of 7 flow frames get a Flow key for use and honey tubes
It’s convenient for both experienced and inexperienced beekeepers to use these Flow frames. The frames come with a written manual describing their use of the Flow key to harvest honey and how to work it. When used with a Flow Hive with observation windows, these frames are perfect. When bees have filled the frames with honey ready for harvesting, beekeepers can readily observe.
Using plastic, these official Flow frames are made. To keep the honey obtained using the frames safe for human use, the plastic is food grade. These frames are very helpful to bees because they reduce the need to open the hive and to remove beehive frames. During honey extraction, they see very few bees squashed and they reduce the chance of bees being stung.
- For honey collection and harvesting, these frames are perfect. They can easily be included in the beehives of Langstroth. The frames allow the honey to be extracted easily and quickly. Since they cause minimal disruption to bees, beekeepers are therefore safer. The bees hardly notice their room interference.
- For the production of the official Flow frame classic 7 beehive frames, food-grade plastic is used. Beekeepers are certain that healthy honey for human consumption is being harvested and sold. As they are not always handled and are thus less prone to potential pollutants, these frames are therefore very hygienic.
- These honey flow frames are only built for one beehive type. To use these frames, beekeepers with Langstroth beehives that have not been designed to be Flow hives are not suited.
Pierco Inc. 9″ Deep Plastic Frames DOUBLE Waxed
These 9-inch long beehive frames for Langstroth beehives are made by Pierco Inc for beekeepers. To make them readily accepted by bees, the frames are waxed on both sides. They are manufactured with a patented plastic mix that is healthy for food. It ensures that your beehive items are safe for human consumption. These Pierco beehive frames are intended for use in deep beehive boxes and are grey.
A great measure against beehive beetles and wax moth larvae is beehive frames with plastic foundations. The larvae are unable to burrow through plastic and infestations are thus confined to one side of the frame. This makes infestations of these honey bee pests easier to detect and control. There is a consistent cell size of 5.2 mm in the photos. This provides large bees with higher co-productivity.
These frames are useful as spares for repairing broken frames, and for exchanging pest and disease control rotations with your other frames.
- Wax provides bees a fast start when constructing honeycomb on both sides of the Pierco frames. The wax is sourced from the USA and is all-natural wax from bees.
- In manufacturing the panels, food-safe materials are used. The frames demonstrate excellent construction, are durable, and last for a long time.
- For both beginners and more experienced beekeepers using Langstroth beehive setups in their apiaries, these frames work well.
- It uses plastic to make Pierco frames. In their beehives, beekeepers who prefer natural materials may find the frames not very suitable for their preferences.
Little Giant Deep Hive Frame Black Deep Beehive Frames
The DFRBLACK Little Giant frames are wooden frames with a plastic base. To make it readily accepted by bees, the base on the frames is covered with wax. These frames come in a set of 5 frames with deep hive boxes. For beekeepers who want to fill beehive boxes with frames or want to have some extra frames to replace broken frames, the pack is perfect. These frames come fully set, ready to be placed in the box of the beehive. To get the frames ready for use, you do not need further setup or equipment.
For deep beehive boxes, the DFRBLACK frames are made for In a 10-frame Langstroth beehive set up, they are suitable for use. Two sets of these frames need to be purchased by beekeepers filling an empty beehive box. This is because it sells the frames in packs of 5. It uses unfinished pine to render the sides of the Little Giant Farm & Ag DFRBLACK frames. It is a type of timber that is suitable for bees to use.
In the DFRBLACK pictures, great craftmanship is shown. They have nice reinforced joints and are well put together. Black and well inserted into the frames is the foundation used. It does not move across the surface or have dips in it. The black base used on these deep beehive box frames makes it easy to see the operation of the brood. It makes the frames particularly suited to honeybee brood boxes for their use.
- These frames come in a 5-frame set. Beekeepers have the option to use them as replacement frames, or they can purchase 2 packs to fill the frames with a 10-frame deep beehive box.
- The black wax-coated plastic base used in these frames makes it easy for bees to embrace them and helps the beekeeper to see brood activity well.
- In the beehive, DFRBLACK frames are ready for use. The frames are perfect for use by beginning beekeepers who might have a hard time putting beehive frames together.
- To fill a 10-frame beehive box with these frames, beekeepers have to buy two packs.
Mann Lake WW926 10-Pack Assembled Commercial Frames
With Mann Lake’s Rite-Cell base, these frames are fully assembled. It is waxed so that bees can easily start drawing a comb over it. On their perimeter, the frames feature bars that are well joined and precision cut. The joints on these frames are fused and stapled together. After purchase, you can further strengthen them with small nails or screws, if you so wish.
There are 10 frames in every pack of the Mann Lake WW926 frames. These are enough to fill a Langstroth beehive box with 10 frames. They are also a good number of beekeepers looking for their beehives to have replacement frames. For many beekeepers, frames are a common option. If you want to quickly put bees to work in a honey super box and do not have the time to put them together, they are a good option.
The assembled frames of the Mann Lake WW926 are standard size frames that fit well with uncapping equipment. They measure 19 inches in length and are 1.38 inches in width. 6-1⁄4 inches is the height of each frame.
Mann Lake is a reputed beekeeping equipment manufacturer, so beekeepers are assured of consistency when purchasing these frames. In medium-depth super boxes, the frames-work well. They can be used by professional beekeepers as well as by beginners.
- With foundations built on them, the Mann Lake WW926 frames are fully assembled. The base is waxed and ready for departure.
- Such frames are designed and assembled well. They demonstrate outstanding craftsmanship and fit well into Langstroth beehive boxes of medium depth. The wood and other frame materials are precision-cut to ensure that they match together and that the frames are of the correct type.
- These frames are made by a reliable beekeeping equipment manufacturer and they last long.
- It is not sufficient to put wax on the base used in these frames. Beekeepers have to apply beeswax using the frames.
Check here for more products on Bee Hive Frames
Things to look’s When Select Bee Hive: Buying Guide
What makes a beehive a nice one? This guide will get you started if you are curious why we have picked the things we have reviewed above or would like to explore more beehives.
There are a number of things to remember in general; below are some of the main elements to keep an eye on:
Material quality
Among other variables, the beehive material will decide its usability, protection, efficiency, and durability. In general, most beehives are built from various wood types.
Cedarwood and pinewood are widely used types of wood for beehives. Cedar is better when contrasting the two. Whatever type of wood you select, make sure that your bees are high quality, durable, and clean. It should also be resistant to rot, decay and corrosion, as well.
Design
The beehive’s construction style also matters a lot. A good beehive design should ensure proper air circulation and temperatures for your bees. For example, against severe weather conditions, such as heavy rainfall, sunshine, and temperatures, the beehive should have a protective element. More efficiency can lead to a conducive climate for the bees.
Frames
Most beehives with 8 to 20 frames are planned. Generally, the regular units for bees are known to be ten frame kits. Getting more frames, though, doesn’t mean you’ll have more efficiency. Currently, having frames at all isn’t even compulsory. The number of frames you select should depend on the bee colony’s size. If you’re just getting started, a beehive of eight or ten frames is perfect.
Honey extraction
Remember, it’s the honey in the first place that makes you want to hold the bees. A good beehive should therefore have a simple, safe, and fast method of extracting honey. Some recent hives have advanced flow technology that allows the honey to be readily collected. It’s better for you because it makes sure the bees are not at all upset.
If you are expected to draw the bees away for collection by the honey extraction method for your beehive, then it is not right. Less productivity may result from disturbing the bees.
Also, See The Best 10 Beekeeping Honey Extractors of 2021 – Buying Guide
Setup
The right beehive, particularly if you are just a beginner, should have a hassle-free installation process. The joints must be pre-cut and should be well interlinked. The beehive should also be accompanied by an easy-to-read manual that follows the instructions.
If you don’t want to deal with assembly problems, then you should go for a fully assembled beehive. Only take it to the field and begin to make honey.
Considerations for the New Beekeeper
To the new beekeeper, this may all sound really significant. And that’s it. But what is a new beekeeper to do with claims from both sides of the foundation vs. foundationless debate?
Next, the decision is essentially taken if you use a Top Bar or Warre hive – you’re going without foundations! The essence of these hive designs is this. Compared to Langstroth, one consideration is that the base is smaller in size, thus reducing the likelihood that it will fall off when removed from a hive.
In general, the Langstroth is used with foundations, but it doesn’t need to be. The size of the foundation is considerable, particularly in a deep box, and the fragility of the freshly drawn comb, combined with the pull of gravity, means that there is a risk of the foundation breaking up as it is pulled for inspection from the hive.
At some point, PerfectBee encourages beekeepers to consider groundless beekeeping. It has many benefits, not least that it is actually a more normal way of living for bees. The new beekeeper, however, has many, many things to learn and the emphasis should be on learning what happens in the hive in the first year. “Foundation collapse” may be one of the most dishes collapsing with a delicate comb
For this cause, PerfectBee recommends that new Langstroth beekeepers start with foundations at least, with a view to considering them a little later without foundations. Nevertheless, this is by no means a must, so options abound, like anything in beekeeping. Many new beekeepers have begun successfully with frames without foundations, too.
Final Thoughts
For both beginners and experienced beekeepers, using beehive frames is easy. They come in sizes suited to all the typical depths of the beehive box. If it’s an 8-frame or 10-frame beehive, the number of frames that can fit into a beehive box depends. You may use any of these best beehive frames for sale in order to get the best beekeeping yields. They make the management of the beehive simple and give you good value for your investment.
Also, See The Best Manuka Honey Brands of 2021 – Buying Guide