Our Hives

Why are we experimenting with hive design?

The beehive is where the bees call home. It is more important than many think. Left to their own devices bees are very specific in what they would select as a nesting site.

In the current beehive the honeybees are “placed” in the hive directly; a hive that prioritizes honey production and efficiency but ignores the health impact on bees. Unfortunately, these industrial beekeeping practices have even been imported into cities and mislabelled as natural.

Since 1850, the Langstroth hive was the only commercial option available in North America. This hive is suitable for industrial-scale beekeeping with Italian bees but has several undesirable characteristics for the bees themselves and for other applications such as backyard beekeeping. As a result, beekeepers and the industry introduced modifications which make the hive less practical and eight-frame version of the Langstroth hive. However, even with these modifications, the Langstroth hive still falls short in meeting the diverse requirements for beehives in different climactic conditions. 

Recent findings show that modern beekeeping introduces stressors to the bees which make them more susceptible to disease outbreaks.

Our goal at Apiguru is to provide the highest quality ‘apitherapy-grade’ products which can only be obtained using natural methods.

We're proud to be the largest experimental apiary in Canada guided by the philosophy of “small hive beekeeping” which shows that nests that are equivalent to a natural tree nest will have fewer stressors. This is why Apiguru has decided to use non-traditional methods in its goal of preserving honeybees but also providing the highest quality products.