Bee spacing

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The bees distance ( English bee space ) of 8 (± 2) mm describes in apiculture a distance margin between surfaces within the hive , of honey bees with either honeycomb still installed with propolis is sealed. It corresponds to the mean width of the natural honeycomb alley, which is covered by honey bees, i.e. the mean distance between the surfaces of two honeycombs.

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The discovery of the distance between bees by the American beekeeper Lorenzo L. Langstroth in 1851 was a milestone on the way to modern beekeeping. It is about the same size as the width of the Wabengasse. In modern beekeeping, the ideal distance between bees is six to ten millimeters, both from the frame to the hive wall and between frames hanging on top of each other in the individual floors of a magazine apiary . If this is adhered to in the construction of the beehive, beekeeping with movable honeycombs in frames ( mobile construction ) is possible without the individual honeycombs / frames being built or glued together by the bees.

Honeycomb spacing

In addition to the bee spacing, there is also the honeycomb spacing. It is the distance between two honeycombs arranged side by side, calculated from honeycomb center to honeycomb center. It is 35 mm on average.

Wabengasse

The free space between the honeycombs is called the honeycomb alley. This is so narrow or wide that the bees can walk over both combs without hindrance and, on the other hand, can still switch from one comb to the other. It is about the same as the distance between the bees. If the distance is greater, for example because the beekeeper moves two frames too far apart, the bees begin to build honeycombs in this space as well, known as wild growing. This also happens, for example, if the beekeeper does not specify any frames with central walls ( e.g. heather beekeeping with straw baskets) or if a colony of bees begins to build honeycombs in the free space of the high underbody of the magazine hive due to its colony. The honeycombs of this wild construction then also have the natural honeycomb spacing of 35 mm on average.

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