Alternative to Langstroth Hive Gaining Acceptance in Africa

Please Just Show Me the Money, Honey
By Ted Keenan, Financial Mail (South Africa), 2/3/2006

Challenging the status quo is never easy. Crispin Jackson found this out the hard way when he developed a beehive that would improve on the mighty Langstroth hive - invented in 1853 by the Rev LL Langstroth and the standard hive of beekeepers around the world.

Jackson's design is called the Jackson Horizontal Hive (JHH) and has attracted global recognition as an alternative to the Langstroth. However, the commercial beekeeping industry has been slow to accept it, preferring to stick with conventional standards for producing and extracting honey.

Rather than confront the traditional industry head-on, Jackson has shifted his focus to rural beekeepers and is enjoying growing acceptance from African communities.

That's because Jackson's hive lends itself to rural environments. At 6,5kg it is 22kg lighter than the Langstroth, making it easier for women to manipulate; it costs R360, nearly half the price of the Langstroth; and it's easier to maintain. It incorporates the best of the Langstroth hive, the traditional African log hive and the Top Bar hive in its own unique design.

The hive is made of corrugated plastic, which is lighter than wood, sturdier than waxed cardboard, and more durable than rigid plastic, which becomes brittle under the African sun.

Though the plastic box of the JHH is less traditional-looking than other hives, it is light enough to be suspended from branches on greased wire stays. US-based research reveals that bees perform best in a hive that is positioned about 4m above the ground. This is difficult to achieve with a heavy and unwieldy hive. The height also deters vandals, both human and animal, especially honey badgers, which are particularly partial to bee larvae.

Bees in a JHH hive seem able to produce up to 30% more honey than bees in traditional hives.

The reason, suggests Jackson, is that bees use evaporation in the manufacture of honey and the corrugated plastic is more conducive to it than the wooden Langstroth hives. Up to 80% of the water is removed from the nectar when bees turn it into honey, and the faster this is done the more active the bees are in the collection process. . .