Abstract:
A beehive according to this disclosure includes a plurality of modular sections that are configured to be positioned adjacent to one another in a manner that enables simplified, even automated, extraction of honey. Such a beehive may include, or even consist essentially of, a plurality of interchangeable rings, or plates, that are configured to be stacked relative to one another in an assembled relationship, and to be secured together in the assembled relationship. In some embodiments, a beehive may consist of a plurality of rings and a mechanism for securing the rings in an assembled relationship (e.g., tie rods, etc.).

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    A claim for the benefit of priority to the Apr. 23, 2014 filing date of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/982,988, titled BOX-LESS BEHIVE OR ‘BEE BARREL’ FOR MONITORING THE HEALTH AND WELFARE OF THE BEE COLONY AND IMPROVING THE PRODUCTION AND EXTRACTION OF HONEY (“the &#39;988 Application”). The entire disclosure of the &#39;988 Application is hereby incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0002]    This disclosure relates generally to beehives and, more specifically, to beehives with rings, or frames, that comprise modular structures that may be tailored to perform various functions, including housing the honey comb, the colony and the queen. Even more specifically, the rings of a beehive according to this disclosure may be stacked together to form a complete structure for a beehive. The modular rings may yield a fully functioning beehive without an external casing or box. 
       BACKGROUND OF RELATED ART 
       [0003]    Beekeeping is a well-known and an extremely ancient art. The configurations of beehives have varied widely over time and from one location to another. In ancient times, some beehives were constructed in such a way that beekeepers could only extract honey from them by totally destroying the beehives. In more modern times, beehives have been designed to enable inspection and the removal of honey without significant harm to the beehive or the colony of bees that lives in the beehive. Such a beehive may also provide sufficient space for the colony and its honey to enable the colony to continue to thrive in a healthy manner from year to year. 
         [0004]    Although a wide range of specific beehive structures has been proposed and developed over time, current commercial beekeeping operations typically use the Langstroth beehive, which has been in use for many years. The Langstroth beehive itself has been subject to many modifications, such as the Aspinwall anti-swarming hive, but, on the whole, with or without modifications, the Langstroth beehive continues to serve as the standard in the beekeeping industry, for both commercial beekeepers and hobby beekeepers. 
         [0005]    Despite its wide acceptance, the Langstroth beehive suffers from a number of disadvantages. Among these is the cumbersome and time-consuming disassembly required for a beekeeper to inspect the interior of the beehive and to extract honey therefrom. In particular, disassembly of the Langstroth beehive is a hands-on process that requires removal of the external cover from the remainder of the beehive, along with removal of the inner cover, if one is used. In addition, supers (which are boxes) are typically removed from the beehive to gain access to the frames therein and to the honeycomb and honey on each frame. If access to a hive body (which is a box) is desired (e.g., for inspection of the brood chamber, or bee space, etc.), further disassembly of the beehive may be required (e.g., the removal of additional supers and/or hive bodies, etc.). Disassembly of a Langstroth beehive may also be hard on the frames, which typically fail about a tenth of the time during typically inspection and honey extraction processes. 
         [0006]    A summary of improvements to, variations on and accessories to the Langstroth beehive follows: 
         [0007]    U.S. Pat. No. 620,859, titled OUTER CASE FOR BEEHIVES and issued on Mar. 7, 1899 to J. N. Taylor, discloses a chaff-hive, or outer case, for a beehive. The chaff-hive, which is configured to protect the beehive from the elements, includes a set of telescopic sections that are configured to accommodate and encase beehives of various heights, while shielding the entrance to a beehive from drafts of air while providing the beehive with sufficient ventilation. 
         [0008]    U.S. Pat. No. 2,584,305, titled TEMPERATURE RESPONSIVE VENTILATOR FOR BEEHIVES and issued on Feb. 5, 1952 to M. I. Taylor, discloses a ventilators for beehives and, more specifically, ventilators that are automatically controlled by the ambient atmospheric temperature. Control of the temperature within a hive is an important consideration with beekeepers. During excessively hot weather, the temperature within a hive may become so excessive as to cause the colony of bees to swarm. The provision of adequate ventilation is not in and of itself a serious problem, but, when such ventilation is aired, the temperature within the beehive may become too cold, particularly at geographic locations and/or during times of the year when temperatures change rapidly (e.g., during cooler seasons, etc.). As a result, the beehive may be overcooled, which may cause the bee cluster within the beehive to contract in size, becoming so dense that many of the bees may be suffocated. 
         [0009]    U.S. Pat. No. 2,709,820, titled BEEHIVE COVER and issued on Jun. 7, 1955 to L. F. Wahl, provides:
       “There are many problems connected with the keeping of bees for the commercial production of honey. In order to obtain maximum output of honey at the proper season and to insure maximum propagation of the bees, the hive should be insulated against high external temperatures during the day, and to prevent the hive from cooling off too much at night. When the hive is not protected in some way against relatively wide changes of temperature, the bees waste a large amount of their energy in protecting themselves from colder temperatures at night, and they are sluggish by day.”       
 
         [0011]    U.S. Pat. No. 4,199,832, titled MOLDED POLYURETHANE BEEHIVES and issued on Apr. 29, 1980 to Glasscock et al., discloses the preparation of beehives from a synthetic resinous material that exhibits the requisite physical properties to provide a desirable beehive, that is safe for and acceptable to bees and that resists attacks by vermin The synthetic resinous material may include a urethane that is not rejected by the bees, does not make the bees nervous or does not otherwise interfere with the normal habits of the bees (e.g., secreting honey in the beehive, etc.), and may be foamed and molded into panels. 
         [0012]    U.S. Pat. No. 3,071,784, titled BEE OBSERVATION DEVICE and issued on Jan. 8, 1963 to Kolb et al., discloses improvements in the art of handling bees, and more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to an improved device for observing the working and living habits of bees. 
         [0013]    U.S. Pat. No. 3,704,471, titled BEEHIVES and issued on Dec. 5, 1972 to Bielby, discloses a beehive with a hive body that includes a brood chamber with a catenary contour. A device in the outer wall of the hive body may selectively control the entry of bees (e.g., no bees, bees that are smaller than a certain size, all bees, etc.) into the brood chamber. 
         [0014]    U.S. Pat. No. 7,686,672, titled BEEHIVE LID and issued on Mar. 30, 2010 to Katsampis, discloses a beehive with a top that includes a pair of horizontally adjacent sections. One of the sections includes containers, while the other section provides immediate access into the interior of the beehive. A lid covers the two sections. The top of the lid includes shutters that open and close to enable adjustment of the air flow into and out of the beehive. A folding takeoff board on the bottom of the beehive may reduce the space occupied by the hive during transportation. 
         [0015]    European Patent Application No. 82303865.8, titled MODULAR BEEHIVES and filed on Jul. 22, 1982 by Z. Shlomo, discloses a modular beehive with horizontally extending framed honeycomb foundation units secured between hive end units by coupling means to form an element-proof beehive. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0016]    Reference throughout this specification to features, characteristics and/or advantages is not intended to imply that all of the features, characteristics and/or advantages of the disclosed subject matter are present in any single embodiment. Rather, reference to any disclosed features, characteristics and/or advantages is intended to indicate that a specific feature, characteristic or advantage may correspond to at least one embodiment of the disclosed subject matter. One of ordinary skill in the art may also recognize additional features, characteristic and/or advantages that are not expressly disclosed by this specification. The features, characteristics and/or advantages of the disclosed subject matter may be combined in any suitable manner. 
         [0017]    The disclosed beehive, which is also referred to herein as a “bee barrel,” more simply as a “barrel,” and as a “modular hive system,” has been developed in response to various deficiencies in existing beehives, including, without limitation, problems and needs in the art that have not yet been adequately addressed by currently available beehives. 
         [0018]    A beehive according to this disclosure may provide a permanent abode for a bee colony. The beehive may be configured for ready transport (e.g., to and from a bee yard, etc.). A beehive according to this disclosure may also be designed to accommodate inspection (e.g., of the health and welfare of the colony, etc.), even frequent inspection, with minimal disturbance to the bees. 
         [0019]    In various embodiments, a beehive according to this disclosure includes a plurality of modular sections that are configured to be positioned adjacent to one another in a manner that enables simplified, even automated, extraction of honey. Such a beehive may include, or even consist essentially of, a plurality of interchangeable rings, or plates, that are configured to be stacked relative to one another in an assembled relationship, and to be secured together in the assembled relationship. In some embodiments, a beehive may consist of a plurality of rings and a mechanism for securing the rings in an assembled relationship (e.g., tie rods, etc.). 
         [0020]    Each ring of a beehive according to this disclosure may provide a particular function in the beehive. Without limitation, one ring may comprise an entrance cap (through which bees may enter and exit a beehive), one or more rings may comprise honey rings (each of which may also be referred to as a “super ring” or as a “foundation ring”), one or more rings may comprise brooding rings (each of which may also be referred to as a “super ring” or as a “foundation ring”) and another ring may comprise a feeder ring, or end cap. Collectively, when these and, optionally, other types of rings are assembled with each other and secured to one another, they form a barrel. 
         [0021]    In some embodiments, a super ring, or foundation ring, may be configured to receive an insert, which may define a function of the super ring. Such a ring is said to be “configurable.” As an example, an insert may have features that enable a super ring with which the insert is assembled to function as a honey super. As another example, the features of an insert may be configured to impart a super ring the functionality of a brood super. Other types of inserts may be configured as queen excluders, bee gates, carriers for queen bars, feeders and foundations. 
         [0022]    Each ring may have a shape that reduces or eliminates excess or unwanted (by the bees) space within a beehive. For example, the rings of a beehive according to this disclosure may have a shape that eliminates square corners (i.e., corners with 90° angles), providing greater angles or, in some embodiments, no angles. By providing corners with larger angles, the presence and the collection of burr comb, propolis and debris within the beehive may be reduced. The elimination of square corners and/or provision of corners with larger angles may also reduce the space(s) within which invasive insects, such as hive beetles, can hide, live and/or breed. 
         [0023]    Each ring and the insert(s) therefor may also have dimensions that eliminate undesirable gaps, or bee space, within the beehive. More specifically, each ring and its insert(s) may be precisely configured with specified dimensions (e.g., to provide bee space of less than 1 cm at locations where comb and propolis are not wanted). 
         [0024]    The thickness of each ring, or the distance from an outside surface of a ring to the inside surface of the ring may be twice the thickness of a Langstroth beehive. The thickness of each ring may prevent warpage of the ring and, thus, may enable to spaces within each ring and between adjacent rings (when the rings are assembled into a beehive) to be precisely maintained. Thus, bees may maintain proper cell depth and bee space may be precisely maintained and, as a consequence, occurrences of burr comb and cross-comb within the beehive may be significantly reduced or even eliminated. As a result, the configuration of each ring may reduce or eliminate the “binding” or “gluing” of adjacent rings to one another, as may occur between frames of a conventional beehive when bees create burr comb or cross-comb that bridges adjacent frames. Thus, the elimination of undesirably large gaps between adjacent rings may enable the rings to come apart quite easily during inspection and extraction. 
         [0025]    When relatively thick rings are assembled to form a beehive, the thickness of the beehive may impart it with improved strength and rigidity over the strength and rigidity of a conventional beehive, such as a Langstroth beehive. This increased strength and rigidity of a beehive according to this disclosure may reduce or eliminate the likelihood of breakage and/or foundation failure during inspection and/or extraction. 
         [0026]    Any of the above-identified features, as well as combinations of the above-identified features, may reduce stress on the beehive during inspection and extraction. In turn, a beehive that includes one or more of these features is less likely to be damaged during inspection and extraction. Additionally, stress on the bees that occupy the beehive may also be reduced, as may the amount of time and effort a beekeeper spends repairing his or her beehive(s). 
         [0027]    Embodiments of a beehive that include thick rings and, thus, thick walls may also protect its inhabitants (e.g., a bee colony) with protection from extreme environmental conditions. More specifically, the thickness of each ring of the disclosed beehive may increase an insulation factor of the beehive and enable more controlled regulation of climate conditions (e.g., temperature, humidity, etc.) within the beehive. 
         [0028]    A beehive according to this disclosure may be configured to receive one or more sensors or other devices, which may be used for any of a variety of purposes, including monitoring the health and welfare of the colony, monitoring conditions (e.g., climate conditions, etc.) within the beehive or for any other suitable purpose. Sensors could even be used to obtain more information about the behavior of a bee colony within the beehive. Such information could be used to further improve the beehive, or to give provide the scientific community with information that could be used to improve overall conditions of bee colonies. 
         [0029]    In another aspect, a beekeeper may configure and customize a beehive with any combination of rings, and with various numbers of rings. Of course, an entrance ring and a feed ring may also be positioned at opposite ends of the beehive. Honey rings and brood rings may be arranged in a desired manner, with any number of honey rings and any number of bee gate rings. As a non-limiting example, the honey ring(s) and brood ring(s) of a beehive according to this disclosure can be stacked in the same manner as the supers of a conventional beehive, with one or more brood rings on the bottom and one or more honey rings on the top. 
         [0030]    In addition, one or more bee gate rings may also be included in a beehive to control the manner in which bees may access specific locations within the beehive or to limit access of bees (e.g., to certain types of bees, or certain sizes of bees, etc.) to specific locations within the beehive. In some embodiments, a plurality of honey rings may be positioned directly adjacent to one another. In other embodiments, a bee gate ring may be positioned between a pair of honey rings (e.g., in shuffled, or alternating, sequence, etc.). In some embodiments, bee gate rings may be introduced into a beehive just before extraction to force bees down and out of the honey rings. 
         [0031]    The flexibility provided by the modularity and/or interchangeability of the rings may enable the beekeeper to tailor a beehive to one or more specific needs, as well as the flexibility to reconfigure a beehive to address and resolve one or more problems with the beehive and/or one or more problems that are experienced by the colony. 
         [0032]    When the beekeeper determines a suitable combination and arrangement of rings, he or she may obtain and arrange the rings in the desired manner, and secure the rings in that arrangement. As a non-limiting example, the beekeeper may insert tie rods through aligned locator holes on each side of the assembled rings, and secure the tie rods in place to secure the rings in their assembled relationship. 
         [0033]    A variety of other features (e.g., ports, holes, etc.) in the rings and/or the beehive may serve as access points where smoke, medication or other media can be introduced into the beehive at one or more desired locations without unnecessarily disturbing the structure or arrangement of the beehive. 
         [0034]    Any number of barrels can be stacked and, optionally, secured to one another to form a colony. In some embodiments, the manner in which the rings are secured to one another may also be used to secure one or more stacked beehives, or barrels, to one another, and even provide stability during transportation. 
         [0035]    In some embodiments, the feeder ring, or end cap, of a beehive may include slots or other openings that enable bees from a beehive below the feeder ring to move between the upper and lower beehives without exposure to the environment in which the beehives are located. 
         [0036]    Because the beehive may lack a box, or an outer container, inspection and extraction may be achieved by simply unsecuring adjacent rings from one another (e.g., by removing tie rods, etc.). Once the rings are unsecured from each other, they may be individually handled or manipulated. Thus, one or more rings may be removed from the assembled relationship of the beehive. In a specific embodiment, one or more honey rings may be removed from a beehive according to this disclosure, and then the honeycomb carried by each honey ring may be de-capped and honey removed therefrom. Once the honey has been removed, the honey ring(s) may be cleaned, and then the beehive may be reassembled and the rings again secured to one another. 
         [0037]    The ring(s) of a beehive according to this disclosure may also be unsecured from one another and disassembled to enable inspection, and then be repositioned and re-secured to one another following inspection. 
         [0038]    Other aspects, as wells as features and advantages of various aspects, of the disclosed subject matter will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art through consideration of the ensuing description, the accompanying drawings and the appended claims. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0039]    In the drawings: 
           [0040]      FIG. 1  is an orthogonal view of an embodiment of an assembled beehive, which includes a plurality of rings in an assembled relationship, in which the rings are stacked relative to one another and secured to each other; 
           [0041]      FIG. 2  is a front view of an embodiment of an entrance ring of a beehive of this disclosure; 
           [0042]      FIGS. 3A and 3B  are top and front views of an embodiment of a super ring of a beehive of this disclosure; 
           [0043]      FIG. 4  is an exploded side view showing two adjacent rings of a beehive according to this disclosure; 
           [0044]      FIG. 5  is an exploded view of a super ring and a ring insert of a beehive of this disclosure; 
           [0045]      FIG. 6  is a front view of an embodiment of a queen excluder insert for a ring of a beehive according to this disclosure; 
           [0046]      FIG. 7  is a front view of an embodiment of a foundation insert for a ring of a beehive according to this disclosure; 
           [0047]      FIGS. 8A and 8B  are front and side views of an embodiment of a bee gate insert for a ring of a beehive according to this disclosure; 
           [0048]      FIG. 9  is a front view of an embodiment of a feeder insert for a ring of a beehive according to this disclosure; 
           [0049]      FIG. 10  is a front view of an embodiment of a queen bar insert for a ring of a beehive according to this disclosure; 
           [0050]      FIG. 11  is an orthogonal view of an embodiment of a queen bar that may be included on a queen bar insert, such as that depicted by  FIG. 10 ; 
           [0051]      FIG. 12  is an orthogonal view of an embodiment of a queen cell; 
           [0052]      FIG. 13A  is a bottom view of an embodiment of a queen door for use with a ring of an embodiment of a beehive according to this disclosure; 
           [0053]      FIG. 13B  is a side view of the queen door of  FIG. 13 ; 
           [0054]      FIG. 13C  is a side view of a cage attached to the queen door of  FIG. 13 ; 
           [0055]      FIG. 13D  is a side view of the queen door of  FIG. 13 , showing a an embodiment of the manner in which the queen door may be associated with a queen bar insert, such as that depicted by  FIG. 10 ; and 
           [0056]      FIGS. 14A and 14B  are front and side views of an embodiment of a beehive system that includes two stacked beehives, or barrels. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0057]    In the following detailed description of the invention, reference is made to the drawings in which reference characters refer to like elements, and which are intended to illustrate specific, non-limiting embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. 
         [0058]    Although the ensuing description relates to a single beehive, it is not limited to one beehive, or to systems that include only one or two beehives. 
         [0059]      FIG. 1  illustrates an embodiment of a beehive  20  according to this disclosure. The beehive  20  includes, in sequence (from left to right in the horizontal orientation of the beehive shown in  FIG. 1 ), an entrance cap  30 , three brood rings  51 , a queen excluder ring  80 , two honey rings  100 , a bee gate ring  120 , three more honey rings  100 , and a feeder ring  140 . Of course, beehives with numbers of rings and/or with the rings in other sequences or arrangements are also within the scope of this disclosure. The configuration shown in  FIG. 1  could be modified by simply rearranging of changing the number of rings, the type of rings and/or the sequence of rings. 
         [0060]    The beehive  20  shown in  FIG. 1  is held together with an embodiment of a securing mechanism that includes two tie rods  32  and complementarily threaded bolts  33 . The number of tie rods  32  and bolts  33  could vary in design, material or location. In addition to tie rods  32  and bolts  33 , the embodiment of securing mechanism depicted by  FIG. 1  includes locator holes  38 . The locator holes  38  are located in the entrance cap  30  and in each of the rings  51 ,  80 ,  100 ,  120 ,  140  that constitute the beehive  20 . When the entrance cap  30  and the rings  51 ,  80 ,  100 ,  120 ,  140  are properly aligned and assembled, the locator holes  38  through the end cap  30  and each ring  51 ,  80 ,  100 ,  120 ,  140  align with locator holes  38  in the other rings  51 ,  80 ,  100 ,  120 ,  140 , enabling the tie rods  32  to be introduced therethrough to secure the end cap  30  and the rings  51 ,  80 ,  100 ,  120 ,  140  together. 
         [0061]    As illustrated, the beehive  20 , its entrance cap  30  and its rings  51 ,  80 ,  100 ,  120 ,  140  may have the shapes of hexagonal prisms. A hexagonal prismatic shape may impart the beehive  20  with a stable base, as well as surfaces that enable multiple beehives  20  to be positioned adjacent to one another and to be stacked on one another. 
         [0062]    The entrance cap  30  is the front plate of the beehive  20  and, as its name suggests, it provides the main point of entrance into (and exit from) the beehive  20  for the bees. That main point of entrance may be referred to as a “hive entrance  36 .” In some embodiments, a gate  34  may be associated with the hive entrance  36  of the entrance cap  30 . The gate  34  may be configured to modify a size of the opening or to completely close the hive entrance  36  (e.g., to prevent bees from escaping the beehive  20  during transport, to keep bees inside the beehive  20  during the night to protect the bees from animals attempting to raid the beehive  20 , etc.). In the depicted embodiment, the gate  34  includes a movable plate, or closure slide, that may be pivotally secured in place (i.e., in a manner that provides the hive entrance  36  with a desired opening size, or accessibility) with a screw  35 . A position of the gate  34  may be adjusted or controlled manually (e.g., with a knob, etc.) or automatically (e.g., with an electric motor, etc.). Although the gate  34  is shown as being located on an exterior surface of the entrance cap  30 , it may be positioned elsewhere (e.g., within the entrance cap  30 , on an interior surface of the entrance cap  30 , etc.). 
         [0063]    In some embodiments, a beehive  20  may also include one or more ports  40 , which may extend through the entrance cap  30  or elsewhere in the beehive  20  to enable a beekeeper to insert smoke, medications or other media into the beehive  20 . The ports  40  may be configured to enable the introduction of media into the beehive  20  without disturbing the structure of the beehive  20  (e.g., disassembling part of the beehive  20 , as is required when media is introduced into a conventional Langstroth beehive, etc.). In some embodiments, the port holes  40  may be configured to receive a tube, which may deliver the desired media into the beehive  20 . 
         [0064]    An entrance cap  30  or another location on the beehive  20  may include a queen closet assembly port, or a “queen door  44 .” The queen door  44  is an optional port that can be used to introduce a queen bee into the beehive  20 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , which provides a front view of the entrance cap  30 , the queen door  44  may be configured to receive a queen bee closet  45 , which can be used to introduce a new queen bee into the beehive  20 . 
         [0065]      FIG. 2  also shows two mounting pins  46 , which are located on an outer periphery of the entrance cap  30  (at the surface appearing at the top of  FIG. 2 ). These mounting pins  46  may be configured for receipt by corresponding mounting cavities  48  recessed in an opposite surface of the outer periphery of the entrance cap  30  (the surface appearing at the bottom of  FIG. 2 ). The mounting pins  46  and mounting cavities  48  may ensure that adjacent beehives  20  are properly aligned with one another, and to enable the beehives  20  to be secured to one another (e.g., with locking clips, etc.), which may impart an arrangement that includes a plurality of beehives  20  with stability. 
         [0066]    Turning now to  FIGS. 3A and 3B , an embodiment of a foundation ring  50  is depicted. The foundation ring  50  may be referred to as such because, by simply changing an insert that is inserted into a cavity  65  of the foundation ring  50  and secured to the foundation ring  50 , it can be used to provide a variety of different configurations of rings, e.g., a queen harvesting ring, a brood ring, a queen excluder ring, honey ring, a bee gate ring, a feeder ring, etc. 
         [0067]    Ports may extend through a perimeter (i.e., from an outer periphery to an inner periphery) of the foundation ring  50 . In the depicted embodiment, the foundation ring  50  may include a top port  56  and bottom port  54 . The top port  56  and the bottom port  54  may remain open or an insert  52 ,  58  may be positioned therein.  FIG. 3B  shows two types of inserts: a blockage insert  52 , which may completely close the top port  56  or the bottom port  54  within which the blockage insert  52  is positioned; and an open insert  58 , through which a passage  60  extends, and, thus, that may effectively reduce the size of the opening through the top port  56  or the bottom port  54  within which the open insert  58  is positioned. 
         [0068]    If two beehives  20  ( FIG. 1 ) are stacked, the top port  56  on the bottom beehive  20  and the bottom port  54  on the top beehive may be opened (i.e., inserts may be removed therefrom) and aligned with one another. Alternatively, an open insert  58  may be introduced into one or both of the top port  56  of the bottom beehive  20  and the bottom port  54  of the top beehive  20 . Such arrangements may enable bees to move between the beehives  20  without entering into the environment in which the beehives  20  are located. 
         [0069]    When two beehives  20  ( FIG. 1 ) are stacked, a blockage insert  52  may be inserted into the top port  56  of the upper beehive  20 . The blockage insert  52  may protect the beehive  20  from environmental elements (e.g., rain, snow, hail, wind, etc.). Optionally, a blockage inset  52  may be inserted into the bottom port  54  of the lower beehive  20 . 
         [0070]    If a beehive  20  is not stacked, or if the beekeeper does not want to enable bees to travel directly between adjacent, stacked beehives  20 , (a) blockage insert(s)  52  may be introduced into the top port  56  and/or the bottom port  54  of one or more of the beehives  20 . 
         [0071]      FIGS. 3A and 3B  also show an embodiment of foundation ring  50  that includes a queen port  62 . The queen port  62  and a queen insert  180  for the queen port  62  are described in further detail in reference to  FIGS. 13A through 13D . 
         [0072]    As shown in  FIGS. 3A, 3B and 4 , a foundation ring  50  may also include one or more ring spacers  64 ,  66 . In particular,  FIGS. 3A, 3B and 4  illustrate an upper ring spacer  64  and a lower ring spacer  66 , which are located on opposite sides of the foundation ring  50 . Each of the upper ring spacer  64  and the lower ring spacer  66  protrudes from half (i.e., the upper half and the lower half) of its respective surface of the foundation ring  50 . When two foundation rings  50  are positioned adjacent to one another and assembled with each other, the upper ring spacer  64  and the lower ring spacer  66  on the opposed surfaces of the foundation rings  50  may facilitate proper rotational alignment of the adjacent foundation rings  50  (see, e.g.,  FIG. 4 ), and may together define a complete spacer ring between the foundation rings  50 . 
         [0073]    Turning now to  FIG. 5 , assembly of an insert  70  and a foundation ring  50  is depicted. No attachment means is provided in this embodiment; however attachment and securement could be accomplished via a variety of techniques, including, but not limited to an interference fit, a press fit, a spring-loaded ball connector, a screw or bolt fastener, complementary threading on an inner periphery of the foundation ring  50  and an outer periphery of the insert  70 , a threaded bayonet style attachment, and adhesive or any other suitable attachment mechanism. 
         [0074]      FIGS. 6 through 10  illustrate various embodiments of inserts that can be inserted into a ring cavity  65  ( FIGS. 4 and 5 ) of a foundation ring  50 . This interchangeability of inserts  70  makes a beehive  20  according to this disclosure not only modular in configuration, but configurable for any requirement. It is anticipated that additional ring inserts will be developed, as the need arises. These additional insert could include sensors and/or hive monitoring devices. 
         [0075]      FIG. 6  shows an embodiment of a queen excluder insert  82 , which may be assembled with a foundation ring  50  to provide a queen excluder ring  80 . The queen excluder insert  82  may be configured not to allow a queen bee to pass therethrough and, thus, may prevent passage of the queen bee into certain areas of the beehive  20  ( FIG. 1 ). The queen bee is larger in size than other bees and, thus, by provided a screen wherein the screen openings  86  are smaller than the queen bee, but larger than a normal bee, the queen bee is excluded passage through the queen bee insert  82 . In the specific embodiment depicted by  FIG. 6 , the queen excluder insert  82  includes slats  84  and support structure beams  88 . The queen excluder ring  80  is an optional ring. 
         [0076]      FIG. 7  shows an embodiment of a honey ring  51 , which may include a foundation ring  50  and a honey insert  106 . The honey insert  106  is inserted into the ring cavity  65  of the foundation ring  50 . This same honey insert  106  may also be used to define brood ring  100 . The honey insert  106  includes a honey comb base  102  that may be used by bees to build their honey storage or to house eggs and bee larva. Passageways  104  may be located around the outer periphery of the honey insert  106  to enable bees to move through the honey ring  51  or the brood ring  100 . Honey rings  51  and brood rings  100  are required to establish a proper beehive  20  ( FIG. 1 ), and any number of honey rings  51  and brood rings  100  may be included in the beehive  20 , based on the beekeeper&#39;s desires. 
         [0077]      FIGS. 8A and 8B  show an embodiment of a bee gate insert  124  and the bee gate ring  120  defined by the bee gate insert  124  and a foundation ring  50 . The bee gate insert  124  is inserted into the ring cavity  65  of the foundation ring  50 . The bee gate insert  124  is configured to enable bees to pass therethrough in a first direction, but prohibit the bees from returning, or passing therethrough in an opposite, second direction. The bee gate insert  124  may include a plurality of cone ports  126 . A bee may enter a cone port  126 , as shown by the direction arrow  130 , crawl or fly through the cone hole  134  in the cone port  126  and exit the cone port  126 , as shown by the direction arrow  132 . Each cone port  126  may be oriented horizontally (i.e., directly through a thickness of the bee gate insert  124 ), as shown, or vertically (not shown). The bee gate insert  124  may facilitate removal of bees from a section of the beehive  20  ( FIG. 1 ). As an example, in order to extract honey from a honey ring  51  ( FIGS. 1 and 7 ), it may be desirable to first remove bees from the honey ring  51 . A bee gate ring  120  may be introduced into a beehive  20  just prior to extracting honey to force the bees down and out of the honey rings  51 . 
         [0078]      FIG. 9  depicts an embodiment of a feeder ring  140 , which includes a foundation ring  50  and a feeder insert  146  within the ring cavity  65  of the foundation ring  50 . The feeder ring  140  may be located at a back end of a beehive  20  ( FIG. 1 ) to provide a beekeeper with ready access to a fill port  142  that extends through the feeder insert  146 . The feeder insert  146  may comprise a tank  144  that can be filled with food for the bees. The bees can access the bottom of the feeder insert  146  via a feeding area  150 . Once the bees are in the feeding area  150 , they may access food or other substances within the tank  144  through feeding holes  148 , which may comprise a membrane or any other suitable dispensing elements. 
         [0079]    In  FIG. 10 , an embodiment of a queen bar insert  162  is depicted. The queen bar insert  162  may be inserted into the ring cavity  65  of a foundation ring  50  to form a queen harvesting ring  160 . The sides of the queen bar insert  164  may be notched to accept one or more queen bars  166 .  FIG. 11  provides a perspective view of an embodiment of a queen bar  166 . The queen bar  166  includes slots  170 , which may be configured to receive queen capsule holders  172 . Each queen capsule holder  172  may comprise a hexagonal protrusion  174  that may be used by bees to build a queen egg sack (not shown). When the queen egg sack is ready for harvesting, the queen capsule holder  172  can be removed from the notches  170  in the queen bar insert  164  and subsequently used by the beekeeper to cultivate new bee colonies, and/or to revitalize existing bee colonies. 
         [0080]      FIG. 12  illustrates an embodiment of a queen cell  176 . The queen capsule holder  172  with a ready-to-harvest queen sack (not shown) is attached to the queen cell  176  via a receiving slot  179  in the top of the queen cell  176 . The queen cell  176  with the queen sack may be placed directly into a queen closet  45  on the entrance ring  30  ( FIG. 2 ). The queen cell  176  is placed with the open box surface  177  facing inward, thus allowing the queen to exit the queen cell  176  and enter the beehive  20  ( FIG. 1 ). 
         [0081]      FIGS. 13A through 13D  show an embodiment of a way in which a queen bee can be introduced into a beehive  20  ( FIG. 1 ) according to this disclosure.  FIGS. 13A and 13B  are, respectively, bottom and cross-sectional views of a queen insert  180  for a queen port  62  (see also,  FIGS. 3A and 3B ).  FIG. 13D  illustrates a manner in which the queen insert  180  may be associated with a queen port  62  of a foundation ring  50 . Without limitation, an attachment element  188  may movably (e.g., pivotally, slidingly, etc.) secure the queen insert  180  to the foundation ring  50 , over the queen port  62  in a manner that selectively provides access to a bottom, or interior, surface of the queen insert  180  and that introduces the bottom, or interior, surface of the queen insert  180  into the queen port  62 , sealing side surfaces of the queen insert  180  against corresponding portions of a port wall  190  of the queen port  62 . 
         [0082]    When the bottom surface of the queen insert  180  is accessible, it may accept a queen cage  186  (e.g. a standard, commercially available, etc.), as shown in  FIG. 13C . More specifically, the queen insert  180  may include a mounting hole  182  for receiving a portion of the queen cage  186 . The queen cage  186  may include a screen  184  within which a queen bee that is being introduced into the beehive  20  may be initially contained. The screen  184  may allow bees interact with the caged queen bee, enabling the bees to contact, care for, feed and become accustomed to the new queen bee. When the queen insert  180  first introduces the queen cage  186  and the queen bee therein into a beehive  20 , a hole  192  at a bottom of the queen cage  186  may be covered by a plug  194  (e.g., a marshmallow, another material that may be removed over time, a material that will degrade over time, etc.). After sufficient time has passed for the bees in the beehive  20  to become accustomed to the new queen bee, the plug  194  may be removed (e.g., once bees have eaten the marshmallow, etc.), and the queen bee may exit the queen cage  186  and enter the beehive  20 . 
         [0083]    As shown in  FIGS. 14A and 14B , an assembly  10  that includes a plurality of beehives  20  is depicted. The beehives  20  are stacked, one atop another, and may be secured to one another with a suitable securing mechanism  200 ,  202 , such as the depicted tie rods and bolts, respectively.  FIGS. 14A and 14B  also depict a base plate  204 , which may stabilize a beehive  20  to which it is secured, as well as an assembly  10  of which that beehive  20  is a part. 
         [0084]    Although the preceding disclosure provides many specifics, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of any of the ensuing claims. Other embodiments may be devised which do not depart from the scopes of the claims. Features from different embodiments may be employed in combination. The scope of each claim is, therefore, indicated and limited only by its plain language and the full scope of available legal equivalents to its elements.