Identified the hive designs for the Indian bee, Apis cerana himalaya, in the NEH region of India

The Asian honey bee, Apis cerana, is a species of honey bee native to South, Southeast and East Asia. A. cerana himalaya colonies are known for building nests consisting of multiple combs in cavities containing a small entrance, presumably for defense against invasion by individuals of another nest. The sole purpose of a hive is to encourage the bees to construct their nest in such a way that it is easy to manage and maintain them. The influence of the hive’s design on the development of the honeybee colonies has been studied. In order to test the suitable design of hives, a total of 21 hives (Apis cerana himalaya colonies) were established, with three hives in each design serving as replications and assigned into seven treatment groups. Based on 2-year analysis from different hive designing experiments, ISI A type with eight frames has the maximum egg laying area of (312.33 cm2), brood area of (1238.99 cm2), honey store of (530.99 cm2) pollen stores of (524.77 cm2) followed by locally made hive with (260.16 cm2), (1216.33cm2), (413.49 cm2) and ( 470.91 cm2) of egg-laying area, brood area, honey store and pollen store respectively and the least was found in Modified ISI A type hive with brood chamber and frame reduced by 2 inch with six frames. This shows that ISI A type with eight frames is a scientific and most advanced hive for A. cerana himalaya. It is recommended that the ISI A type hive be followed by the locally-made hive best for A. cerana himalaya in the NEH region of India.