Kerkoff Beehive

Rare, unique beehive that has 2 queens

There are several things that make this beehive rather unique. First is there is no place that I know that you can buy one. Secondly the beehive contains two queens and the third is that the walls of the beehive are double for insulation. Basically the beehive is two beehives side by side. If you look at the photograph on the right you seed that one side of the beehive has an entrance and the 3 supers above that all contain one colony. The other colony resides on the other side with the entrance 180 degrees away. Above the 3 supers a queen excluder is placed and then more supers are placed above that. The supers above the queen excluder are situated 90 degrees from the lower supers so half the super is over each colony. That way the worker honeybees can go through the queen excluder and enter this "common shared space" for the placement of honey. The second unique thing about this beehive is that is is double walled which gives it much better insulation. In addition there is excellent ventilation with knobs that can be rotated to allow more or less airflow into the hive. I have built about 8 of these Kerkoff beehives and have used them for about 7 years. I do like them and I think they have some real advantages but I think they are a little higher maintenance. If one colony dies it is more difficult to start the colony over where you have one really strong colony in place. I am still learning about how to use these hives and find them very interesting. If there is anyone that has experience on using these hives I would be very interested in hearing from you.

Different Types of Beehives

There are many different types of beehives. The three types that I currently have are Langstrom, Kerkoff, and Topbar.

Topbar Beehive

Inexpensive and very simple.

In developing countries this is the main type of beehive that is used. It is a very simple design and is much less expensive then all of the parts of the Langstroth beehive. It basically is an open cavity with wooden slats on the top that the beehives attach their wax comb. In theory this is a very easy way of keeping honeybees. I have found this challenging at times to keep the honeybees building wax combs where they are supposed to putting them. You can not put these frames through and extractor so getting honey is more difficult unless you just use the comb honey as it comes out of the Topbar beehive.

Langstroth Beehive

Most common beehive in the US

The Langstroth beehive is by far the most common beehive in the US. This is the one that almost all commercial beekeepers use. It is easy to use, easy to transport, and works well. This beehive is the one I have the most experience with and the one I use the most.