National 14×12 WBC Commercial Smith
National
The National hive, sometimes called the British Standard National (but British Standard no longer exists) or Modified National. This single walled hive is widely used by beginners as it has long lugs on the frames which make the frames easier to handle. The brood box takes 11 frames 14” wide by 8½” high. It is most convenient to adopt a self spacing Hoffman frame and take up the space left in the brood box with a dummy board.
| HIVE DATA | NATIONAL | NATIONAL 14×12 | W B C | COMMERCIAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brood frame | 14″ x 8½” | 14″ x 12″ | 14″ x 8½” | 16″ x 10″ |
| Super frame | 14″ x 5½” | 14″ x 5½” | 14″ x 5½” | 16″ x 6″ |
| Frames / brood box | 11 | 11 | 10 | 12 |
| Cells / brood box | 54,000 | 80,000 | 49,000 | 80,000 |
| Lug length | 1½” | 1½” | 1½” | 5/8″ |
This amount of comb is adequate for a moderately strong colony but not sufficient for a very prolific colony. However, you can always use two brood boxes, which may make colony inspections more difficult but provides more convenience for swarm control and other hive manipulations.
Alternatively you could use a ‘brood and a half’, that is, a brood box plus a super used for brood (not recommended as the two frame sizes are not interchangeable) or you could upgrade to 14” x 12”, a Deep National. The extra depth yields a comb area similar to a Commercial (see 14 x 12 and Commercial pages).
This model of hive therefore has plenty of options to suit your beekeeping.
Nationals usually have a flat roof which can be turned upside down and used to rest hive parts on. The hive is square so hive boxes can be warm way or cold way, i.e. frames sit parallel (warm way) or at right angles (cold way) to the entrance.
The majority of National hives are bottom bee space but they can be manufactured with top bee space.
The National hive
Click below to show/hide the exploded hive
Buying second hand equipment
Do you know what to look for? The drawing below shows critical dimensions for National hives.
National 14×12 WBC Commercial Smith
National 14 x 12
The National 14 x 12 is based on the Standard National. It has long lugs on the frames making them easier to handle. The brood box takes 11 frames 14” wide by 12” high and uses Hoffman spacing.
The brood area is about half as much again as the standard National hive and is therefore adequate for a prolific colony. This means you will only ever have to inspect 11 brood frames per colony.
| HIVE DATA | NATIONAL | NATIONAL 14×12 | W B C | COMMERCIAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brood frame | 14″ x 8½” | 14″ x 12″ | 14″ x 8½” | 16″ x 10″ |
| Super frame | 14″ x 5½” | 14″ x 5½” | 14″ x 5½” | 16″ x 6″ |
| Frames / brood box | 11 | 11 | 10 | 12 |
| Cells / brood box | 54,000 | 80,000 | 49,000 | 80,000 |
| Lug length | 1½” | 1½” | 1½” | 5/8″ |
The supers are identical to those on a National hive.
The 14 x 12 eke is a simple device which fits on top of a National brood box to provide space for 12″ high frames (see below). You can even buy a kit to convert National brood frames to 14 x 12.
Diagram of a 14 x 12 brood chamber with two National supers. These hives are sometimes referred to as Deep Nationals.
National 14×12 WBC Commercial Smith
WBC
The WBC hive was designed in 1890 by William Broughton Carr. It is classified as a double walled hive and is the iconic image of a hive, usually painted white.
The inner boxes are made of thinner timber than the National, making it lighter.
The WBC brood chamber takes 10 long lug frames compared to 11 in the National hive. The frames are identical. Similarly, the WBC supers take up to 10 National super frames.
| HIVE DATA | NATIONAL | NATIONAL 14×12 | W B C | COMMERCIAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brood frame | 14″ x 8½” | 14″ x 12″ | 14″ x 8½” | 16″ x 10″ |
| Super frame | 14″ x 5½” | 14″ x 5½” | 14″ x 5½” | 16″ x 6″ |
| Frames / brood box | 11 | 11 | 10 | 12 |
| Cells / brood box | 54,000 | 80,000 | 49,000 | 80,000 |
| Lug length | 1½” | 1½” | 1½” | 5/8″ |
The outer boxes or lifts act as protection for the inner hive. Thus there is double the amount of work moving boxes during inspections. This is offset to some extent by the extra protection afforded by the lifts.
WBC hives have the same capacity problem as Nationals so it is not surprising that a WBC brood box may be purchased to take 14 x 12 frames (note that an extra lift will be required). Or you could use double brood boxes for prolific colonies.
Other points to take into consideration:
- The pitched roof makes it difficult to turn upside down and rest hive parts on, but the lifts can be removed, stacked to one side and used instead.
- The protected inner boxes do not need paint or other wood preserver.
The drawing below is a typical WBC hive with sliders to vary the entrance width.
Click the hive below for an internal view
Buying second hand equipment
Do you know what to look for? The drawing below shows critical dimensions for WBC hives.
