THE WARRÉ HIVE, meant for hands-off, minimalist and sustainable beekeeping practices, is used extensively by backyard beekeepers in the United States and Europe and in a number of large commercial apiaries. Abbé Émile Warré experimented with some 350 hives of various designs with the aim of producing a hive that was simple, economical, bee-friendly and which assured a surplus of honey for the beekeeper. The result was a hive whose construction and operation is described in his book (and free e-book) “Beekeeping For All”. Rather than “supering,” or adding empty boxes to the top of the hive, Warré hives are “nadired,” meaning that empty boxes are added to the bottom. This mimics the environment of a wild colony, as bees prefer building downwards from the top of their cavity. A Warré hive is a vertical top bar hive having eight foundationless top bars in each box. As these hives were designed most specifically for overwintering of bees in the cold French climate, they provide a comfortable home for honeybees to flourish in the Pacific Northwest.
PACKING LIST for the Warré hive kit
• 94 #6 Al. ring shank nails (2″ long) and 96 #3 Al. nails (1-1/4″ long)
• Roof: 8 pieces lumber
• Quilt: 4 pieces lumber, 1 burlap bottom and 1 bag of clean shavings
• Boxes: 12 pieces lumber, 6 wooden handles, 3 wooden bungs (makes 3 boxes)
• Bottom: 5 pieces lumber
• Top bars: 24+ wooden bars, 1 burlap cover cloth, and beeswax (for top bars)
NOTES: • Pre-drill 1/8″ diameter for all #6 nails and pre-drill 5/64″ diameter for all #3 nails. • Glue all wood joints for best construction. ‘Titebond III‘ or ‘Elmers Carpenter’s Wood Glue Max‘ are good glues to use for this purpose. • Into groove of warmed top bars, pour melted beeswax for guiding bees where to start combs. • See Warré’s book “Beekeeping for All” for instructions on the cover cloth and burlap bottomed quilt.
This kit does NOT include: wood glue, rye flour for cover cloth treatment, or paint for hive exterior.