The Design of the Warré Hive

The Warre Hive (also known as the People’s Hive) was developed in France by Emile Warré (1876?-1951).

Emil Warré’s careful research resulted in a hive that promotes the well being of bee colonies. His design maximizes warmth and scent retention, and promotes good ventilation. It is easily adapted for winterization, and optimizes hygienic conditions for the bees. This supports the bees in their work by minimizing temperature and humidity fluctuation helping them maintain the constant conditions needed for the care of the developing young.

The modern Warré hive has no frames, but uses movable top bars. This allows bees to build comb in the shape and form that is natural to them. The boxes are small for warmth regulation, with inner dimensions 12” x 12”. They are added at the bottom in the spring to allow the colony to expand with the nectar flow, as is their nature in the wild.

The boxes comfortably accommodate a typical bee cluster. In the fall, the upper box(s) are removed and the comb is cut from the top bars for honey extraction.

Through this practice, the comb is renewed at least every two years promoting hygienic hives conditions, while providing clean, fragrant beeswax for candles or other uses.

If the nectar flow has been good, the top boxes will be full of honey. Warré stresses leaving ample stores for the bees for overwintering, to avoid having to feed the bees overwinter or in the spring.