50 Beehive Terms Every New Hive Owner Should Know
Owning a beehive comes with a range of new tools, techniques, and terminology.
For beginner beekeepers in South Africa or elsewhere, it is important to understand the technical terms used in beekeeping so you can manage your colony effectively, inspect your hive properly, and communicate clearly with other beekeepers or suppliers.
This list of 50 items covers essential beekeeping terminology related to the structure and components of a beehive.
This article is part of our complete guide to Starting Beekeeping in South Africa.
1. Hive Body
The main box or boxes where the bees live. Also called a brood box when it contains the queen and developing bees. It houses frames where bees build comb to raise young and store honey.
2. Brood Chamber
The section of the hive where the queen lays eggs and brood (eggs, larvae, pupae) is raised. Usually the bottom-most hive body in a Langstroth hive.
3. Super
Short for honey super. A box placed above the brood chamber where bees store excess honey. Beekeepers usually harvest honey from this section. Supers are typically smaller in height than brood boxes.
4. Frame
A wooden or plastic rectangle that fits inside the hive body or super. Bees build their comb on frames. Frames can hold foundation to guide comb building.
5. Foundation
A thin sheet of wax or plastic placed inside frames to guide bees in building straight comb. It may be wax-coated and embossed with a hexagonal pattern to resemble comb cells.
6. Comb
The wax structure bees build within frames. Combs contain cells used to raise brood or store honey and pollen.
7. Cell
Individual hexagonal compartments in comb. Different sizes are used for worker bees, drone bees, and queens. Cells also store honey and pollen.
8. Queen Excluder
A metal or plastic grid placed between the brood chamber and honey super. The openings allow worker bees to pass through but prevent the larger queen from entering the honey super to lay eggs.
9. Entrance Reducer
A wooden or plastic strip used to reduce the size of the hive entrance. It helps control ventilation and makes it easier for bees to defend against pests or robbing.
10. Bottom Board
The floor of the hive. It can be solid or screened. A screened bottom board improves ventilation and can help monitor pest levels like varroa mites.
11. Inner Cover
A cover placed directly over the topmost box. It provides insulation, improves ventilation, and prevents bees from gluing the outer lid to the frames.
12. Outer Cover (or Telescoping Cover)
The weatherproof lid that protects the hive from rain, sun, and wind. It fits over the inner cover and top box, usually with overhangs.
13. Crown Board (UK and South African term)
Equivalent to the inner cover. Often used interchangeably, especially in British-style beekeeping.
14. Feeder
A device that provides bees with supplemental food, usually sugar syrup. Types include entrance feeders, frame feeders, and top feeders.
15. Smoker
A device used to puff smoke into the hive. Smoke calms bees by masking alarm pheromones and encouraging them to eat honey in preparation to flee.
16. Hive Tool
A metal tool used to pry apart hive components, remove frames, scrape wax, and handle propolis. It is a beekeeper’s most-used hand tool.
17. Propolis
A sticky resin collected by bees from tree sap. Bees use it to seal cracks and disinfect the hive. It is highly antimicrobial.
18. Bee Space
The precise space (about 6–9 mm) bees naturally leave between combs. The Langstroth hive design uses bee space to allow removable frames.
19. Langstroth Hive
A popular modular hive design with removable frames. It was developed in the 1850s by Rev. Lorenzo Langstroth. It uses bee space principles and is common worldwide.
20. Top-Bar Hive
A horizontal hive with bars (not frames) across the top, where bees build free-form comb downward. Common in natural beekeeping and hot climates.
21. Layens Hive
A deep horizontal hive designed for minimal intervention and strong colony insulation. It is less common in South Africa but gaining popularity.
22. Queen Cell
A large vertical cell built by bees to raise a new queen. It looks like a peanut shell and can indicate swarming or supersedure.
23. Drone Comb
Larger cell comb designed for raising drone (male) bees. Often found at the edges of the brood nest or when foundationless comb is built.
24. Swarm Cell
A queen cell built during swarm preparation. It is typically located at the bottom or edge of a frame. Presence suggests imminent swarming.
Langstroth beehive shows the following structural components, listed from top to bottom:
- Outer Cover (Telescoping Lid)
The weatherproof lid that protects the hive from rain and sunlight. - Inner Cover
Sits just below the outer cover to provide insulation and ventilation. It also prevents bees from sealing the lid shut with propolis. - Queen Excluder
A flat grid (horizontal dark layer in the image) that allows worker bees to pass through but keeps the queen in the brood chamber. - Honey Super
The box just below the queen excluder. This section is where bees store surplus honey. It contains removable frames filled with honeycomb. - Hive Body (Brood Box)
This is the main living area of the colony. It houses frames where the queen lays eggs and young bees (brood) develop. - Bottom Board
Forms the floor of the hive. It includes a landing board and supports hive ventilation. Some beekeepers use screened versions for pest monitoring. - Entrance Reducer (shown as a horizontal gap at the base)
A wooden strip that controls the size of the hive entrance to manage traffic, temperature, and pest entry.
These components are essential for a modular hive and are typical in both commercial and hobbyist setups.
25. Supersedure Cell
A queen cell made to replace an old or failing queen. These are usually found in the middle of the frame, not at the edges.
26. Absconding
When an entire colony leaves the hive due to stress, pests, or poor conditions, not to be confused with swarming, where only part of the colony departs.
27. Swarming
A natural colony reproduction event where the old queen and about half the worker bees leave the hive to form a new colony.
28. Robbing
When bees from other colonies invade a weak hive to steal honey. This usually happens during dearth periods when nectar is scarce.
29. Nucleus Hive (Nuc)
A small colony consisting of 3–5 frames, often used to start a new hive or raise a queen. It’s a mini version of a full hive.
30. Observation Window
A transparent panel in some hives that allows viewing the colony without opening the hive. Found in some top-bar or Flow Hive models.
31. Flow Hive
A commercial hive design with plastic frames that allow honey extraction without opening the hive. Popular with hobbyists but controversial among traditional beekeepers.
32. Comb Drawing
The process of bees building wax comb from foundation or bare frames. It requires a nectar flow or supplemental feeding.
33. Burr Comb
Irregular or excess comb built in open spaces, often between frames or above the top bars. It can make inspections difficult and is usually removed.
34. Cross Comb
Comb that is not aligned within the frames but runs across them. Common in top-bar hives or when bees are not guided with foundation.
35. Queenright
A colony that has a healthy, laying queen. The absence of a queen (queenless colony) leads to stress and behavioral changes.
36. Brood Pattern
The layout of eggs, larvae, and pupae in the brood chamber. A solid, consistent pattern indicates a healthy queen and colony.
37. Bee Veil
Protective mesh headgear worn by beekeepers to prevent bee stings on the face and neck.
38. Bee Suit
Protective clothing worn by beekeepers, often made of cotton or ventilated mesh, covering the whole body to prevent stings.
39. Apiary
A place where beehives are kept. It can be as small as a backyard or as large as a commercial bee farm.
40. Chalkbrood / Foulbrood / Nosema
Common brood diseases that affect beehive health. Early identification is important to prevent spread and colony loss.
41. Varroa Mite
A parasitic mite that affects honey bees, weakening colonies by feeding on developing brood and spreading viruses. One of the biggest threats to beekeeping globally.
42. Bee Bread
Fermented pollen stored by bees in the hive. It is their primary protein source and is fed to developing brood.
43. Royal Jelly
A nutrient-rich secretion fed to queen larvae. It determines whether a female larva will become a queen or a worker bee.
44. Forager Bees
Worker bees that collect nectar, pollen, water, and propolis. Usually the oldest bees in the colony.
45. Guard Bees
Bees stationed at the hive entrance to inspect incoming bees and defend against threats like wasps or robber bees.
46. House Bees
Young worker bees that perform tasks within the hive such as nursing brood, cleaning cells, building comb, and processing nectar.
47. Orientation Flight
A short flight taken by young bees to learn the location of their hive before they begin foraging.
48. Pollen Trap
A device placed at the hive entrance to remove some pollen from returning foragers. Used to collect pollen for sale or analysis.
49. Honey Bound
A condition where the brood nest is crowded by too much stored honey, leaving little space for the queen to lay eggs.
50. Supersedure
The process where bees naturally replace their queen without swarming, usually due to declining queen performance.
This list of beehive terms should help any would-be beekeeper to understand the conversations about beekeeping and honey farming taking place in local meetings and on social media.