The Beehive & Bee Equipment Patent Archive

The patented pursuit of the perfect hive

19th century apiculture

Three patent line drawings show a rectangular wooden drone-trap box attached to the side of a beehive, featuring a sliding glass front, an inclined reticulated metal tube with hinged valves labeled F, G, and H, and escape passages marked A, B, C, D, and E for working bees.Drone Trap for Bee Hives.Clark Wheeler · May 9, 1854Patent drawing of a wooden beehive showing a front elevation with a sliding door operated by cords and levers, a plan view of the supporting platform, a cross-sectional view revealing copper and zinc strips lining the hive's base, and an underside plan of the hive body.BEEHIVE.Aaron W. Geaheart · February 14, 1860Patent drawing of a large wooden beehive with a hinged lid, front doors open to reveal twelve labeled square drawers arranged in a four-by-three grid, each with a small round entrance hole, alongside smaller detail drawings of a bee-feeder, tin box, slitted board, ventilator cap, and litter-removal slide.IMPROVEMENT IN BEE-HIVES.Samuel McClanathan · March 24, 1863Patent drawing of a wooden beehive with a sloping bottom, a rear knapsack extension, a glass-covered inspection window with sliding door, a moth-poison trough at the base, and interior sections showing rows of removable comb sashes.IMPROVEMENT IN BEE-HIVES.H. C. Boyers · July 19, 1864Patent drawing showing an exploded perspective of a wooden beehive with labeled side boards, a central partition, glass-paned frames, a metallic entrance plate, and a removable cap, alongside a smaller cross-section detail of a single frame and a complete assembled hive view.IMPROVEMENT IN BEE-HIVESJohn Montgomery · January 4, 1870Patent drawing of a wooden beehive in cross-section showing stacked honey boxes labeled O and N above a larger main hive chamber F, with sloped bottom boards, side ventilators, and a horizontal sectional view below showing a grid of round bee-passage holes.IMPROVEMENT IN BEE-HIVESHiram Hatfield · November 28, 1876Isometric line drawing of a rectangular wooden bee-hive with a peaked roof, a cord and spring-catch fastening system wrapped around it, and labeled internal frames, end boards, and entrance notches, accompanied by smaller detail drawings of individual comb frames and a screen insert.IMPROVEMENT IN BEE-HIVESAllen T. Wright · October 2, 1877Patent drawing of a wooden bee-hive on splayed legs with a tapered wedge-shaped base, an alighting board leading to a bee entrance, and a cutaway section showing the plaster lining and hanging comb-frames inside.IMPROVEMENT IN BEE-HIVESCharles W. Sappenfield · November 11, 1879