Bees are hard working and basically self-sufficient in their hives. However, the manager of a beekeeping operation still faces many challenges, including threats from the weather, disease, mites, and even invasion by other bees. Starting with the right beehive box eliminates a lot of these headaches right from the start. The Little Giant 10 Frame Complete Langstroth Beehive has been designed to be the perfect environment for bees, mimicking, as much as possible, the natural hives bees build for themselves. This box is roomy enough for a very big bee colony and has all the features the beekeeper needs to provide an ideal home for the bees.
The Little Giant 10 Frame Complete Langstroth Beehive arrives fully assembled and ready to be put to use. It just needs a coat of paint. Made of durable Eastern pine and high-quality component parts, this is a quality box that will be a good home for the bees for years to come. The hive is designed to keep out predators while being a spacious, well-ventilated home.
Langstroth Hives Take Advantage Of Bee Space
A Langstroth hive refers to any vertically modular beehive that has frames that hang vertically. A bottom board in each box is the entrance and exit area for the bees. The boxes have two covers, a top cap that provides protection from the elements, debris and critters, and an inner cap that helps with ventilation in the hive. This is the modern standard for beekeeping and stems from a discovery by L. L. Langstroth in the mid-1800s. His original design was patented in 1950 and continued to be manufactured until around 1920. His design stemmed from his discovery of the existence of bee space, a small gap of 0.25 to 0.375 inches where bees would not build combs or cement the space closed with propolis.
The Tradition Continues Today
Today’s Langstroth beehives carry on the basic concept of using the bee space and giving easy access to the beekeeper for good management of the hive. This is the accepted standard in the beekeeping world and is reflected by the design of equipment, starting with the all-important beehive boxes that fit together to form an efficient beekeeping operation. His frame concept took advantage of the bee space to create equipment that the bees couldn’t clog up with honeycomb or propolis.
Langstroth Thwarts Propolis
Propolis is the resinous mixture or bee glue that bees produce by mixing saliva and beeswax with material gathered from tree buds, tree sap, and other botanicals. The bees make the propolis to seal small spaces in the hive and fill larger gaps with beeswax. This process works well in the hives that bees build for themselves, but it would wreak havoc on a beekeeping operation.
The inside of the Little Giant 10 Frame Complete Langstroth Beehive is well-ventilated to prevent moisture accumulating in the hive and help maintain a good temperature. The joints are interlocking for a very sturdy construction. The foundation is made of plastic, which protects the hive from moisture. The hive top is flat. It has a metal cover that keeps rainwater and debris out of the hive as well as a telescopic outer cover and vented inner cover. The combination of these two covers provides excellent ventilation and security for the hive. The hive box has a screened bottom board, contributing to the good circulation for which this box is known.
The body of the box is 9.5 in. deep and holds 10 frames that measure 9.125 in. The wooden frames have black wax-coated foundations. The wooden frames that come with the box have black wax-coated plastic foundations. The hive box also has a screened bottom board. It is built so the bees can move in and out of the hive easily. Inside the hive box is an area especially for the queen, and it is secluded to give her a space free from interruption to promote maximum egg production.
Pricing
Beehive boxes vary in quality and price, starting at around $$ up to around $$$ for the top quality Little Giant 10 Frame Complete Langstroth Beehive. Complete starter kits, which include a beehive box, are also available in a range of around $$$ to around $$$. There is a good selection of the boxes, kits, accessories and replacement parts on Amazon.com.
How It Compares
We picked a few similar products available on the market to see how they compare. All of these boxes are designed for the Langstroth style of hive and could all work as part of a larger beekeeping operation.
- VIVO Complete Beekeeping 20 Frame Beehive Box Kit (10 Medium 10 Deep) Langstroth Bee Hive
- Little Giant Farm & Ag DEEPBOX10 Complete Hive
- Mann Complete Bee Hive Kit, Painted, Assembled, 10-Frame
Buy on Amazon
Priced at around $$$, the Little Giant 10 Frame Complete Langstroth Beehive is not the cheapest box on the market. Its price reflects the quality of construction, high-grade materials, good design and attention to detail, as well as the fact that it is fully assembled.
The Little Giant 10 Frame Complete Langstroth Beehive is well-designed and constructed of high-grade materials using techniques that assure long-lasting and strong construction. They have kept the bees in mind in the design of this model, making it function as much like a natural hive as possible.
This beehive comes fully assembled. It is unpainted but ready for paint or other finish. The inside parts are all interlocking and require no tools to put together.
The interlocking joints, high-quality wood, telescopic cover, and plastic platform all point to a box built for a long life.
This box gets high praise from beekeepers who have used this model. They like the attention to detail, the emphasis on good ventilation, the ease of entrance and exit for the bees, and the protection provided to the queen by the excluder design.
This box is portable and can be moved easily within the apiary as the number of hives grows and other changes are made.
- Comes fully assembled
- A sturdy, well-constructed box made with high-quality materials
- Well-ventilated
- Designed with both the bees and the beekeeper in mind
- Needs paint or other finish to protect from the weather
- More expensive than other frames
This is a complete kit to build a 20-frame beehive box. Made of soft pine, this model is lightweight. It is a Langstroth style beehive box kit with 10 medium frames and 10 deep frames, along with hexagonal surface foundation sheets.
The Vivo HV01 is a beehive box kit priced at around $$$.
This is a 20-frame box, holding 10 medium and 10 deep frames. With the queen excluder and telescopic roof, it offers security for the queen and protection for the entire hive from the elements. The appearance of the finished product is dependent on the assembly process.
This is described as easy to assemble, taking two to three hours, depending on your skill level. It comes with all necessary parts, hardware needed to assemble, and instructions for assembly. Once assembled, it is unpainted. The manufacturer recommends sealing it with tung oil or painting.
This box is made a soft pine. There have been reports of this box swelling after an extended period outside.
This kit is a good value because once completed, you have a 20-frame beehive box at slightly less than the cost of The L.
This is a lightweight box that is easily transportable for moving or rearranging.
- Has queen excluder, fitting between medium and deep frame boxes
- Telescopic roof protects the hive from elements
- Complete kit to make a 20-frame beehive box
- Assembly required
- Reports of swelling after time outside
This is a very basic beehive box that will hold 10 frames. It is made of unfinished pine and comes preassembled. A wax coated black plastic foundation is pre-installed. It will fit in a Langstroth style beehive.
This beehive box is priced at around $$. This is a small box suitable for use as a brood box or honey super.
This box comes assembled. It is made of unfinished pine and will need paint or other protective finish. This box has interlocking joints for maximum strength.
This box comes completely assembled.
This box is well-built and intended to be serviceable for many years.
This box is a good value for a basic unit that will be used with other equipment in the beekeeping setting.
Weighing just over 11 pounds, this box is extremely portable and can be moved easily.
- Arrives fully assembled
- Well-built box
- Fits in a Langstroth style hive
- Limited use
- Holds medium frames
- Needs protection from the elements by other equipment or accessories
This kit contains a hive box that holds 10 frames that measure 9.125 in. It has a yellow waxed RiteCell foundation, solid painted bottom board, and telescoping cover and inner cover. It comes completely assembled and painted, and it is made of quality pine.
The price of this complete bee hive kit is around $$$.
Mann Lake is a company devoted to the beekeeping world. This box follows the Langstroth concept of beekeeping. Users comment on how well-built and sturdy it is.
This beehive arrives fully assembled, painted, and ready for use. It’s ideal for the beginner because they don’t have to do anything to the get the box ready. Experienced beekeepers like it because they don’t have to build their own boxes to have the quality they want.
Users are impressed by the solid construction of this box. It’s made of quality materials and arrives assembled so the construction quality is consistent.
This is a 20-frame box. At a price of around $$$, this is an excellent value.
This hive can be easily moved as needed as the beekeeping operation expands and changes.
- Made by a Minnesota company that has been producing beekeeping equipment for over 30 years
- Fully assembled and painted
- Quality construction
- Doesn’t have a queen excluder
- Bottom doesn’t have a screen
Conclusion
The companies that make beekeeping equipment are committed to an amazing industry and make quality products that are good for bees and beekeepers. All the boxes reviewed here are very good products. The Little Giant 10 Frame Complete Langstroth Beehive is rated as the best by many beekeepers. Bees are attracted to hives that resemble their natural environments. This has been the emphasis of Little Giant in designing and making beehive boxes.
Their boxes have been designed to imitate the natural habit of bees and address many of the problems that bees and beekeepers face. This makes it easier for the beginner to get started and for the professional to have equipment that can be utilized to help grow their business.
We give the Little Giant 10 Frame Complete Langstroth Beehive five stars on a five-star rating system.