folding-leg hives for honey bee

abstrac:    in recent years, honey bee products other than just honey such as pollen, propolis, waxes and venoms have gained considerable attention. hive is the most important tool in honey bee industry, the proper construction of which could play a key role in improving honey bee production.  since 1382, investigations have been done on hives made inside the country to eliminate deficiencies seen in these hives. the lack of use of standard sizes in building these hives causes loss of production and severe damages to the colony. finally, by the experiments carried out on the colonies, the best structure to eliminate the deficiencies in current hives and improve the production efficiency of all honey bee products was introduced to be folding-leg hive. the folding leg hives have been designed in 8 models and have the following advantages: pollen, propolis, wax and venom collection capability in one unit without the need for purchasing and installing related facilities.  also, basic changes in body of the hive and the addition of folding legs and fixed syrup bowl to the hive, proper insulation of hives have reduced cost of bee keeping and increased the economic lifetime of the hives. the present paper is a brief review on the 8 models of folding-leg hives and their performance.