Hive Profile:
Country of Origin: Designs date back to the Bronze Age in the Mediterranean, later heavily refined by Celtic, Germanic, and Anglo-Saxon cultures in Northern and Western Europe. Australian Skeps provide an important nest style for honeybees.
Strengths: Allows the queen to lay eggs in her preferred unbroken, spherical brood nest pattern. Cell sizing is entirely dynamic, allowing the colony to freely build drone cells and worker cells based on seasonal needs. Many beekeepers keep a skep to use as highly effective tool to capture swarms.
Material: Wild grasses woven together.
Cavity size: 30 to 40 litres
Mechanism: Free form comb
Acoustics: The continuous comb-to-wall contact allows these subtle vibrational frequencies to travel cleanly
Thermoregulation: Thick, domed walls, can also be rendered, create an optimal thermal boundary layer.
Swarming: Skeps promote natural swarming.
Skeps in Lithuanian Museum of Ancient Beekeeping
