The hive that is most common in our area seems to be the 10 frame Langstroth hive or commercial hive that uses brood boxes and honey supers.
Langstroth brood box
Which is the type of hive I will use to raise bees. As a beginner, I will use the standard equipment and practices available in my area, which allow me to expand my beekeeping education beyond books and the internet to include local beekeepers and supply stores. In the event that something breaks or is lost, I can easily replace it locally too. But I am sure I will start to experiment as many beekeepers do, with equipment and styles as my experience level grows.
Different types of hives include traditional skeps, top–bar hives, William Braughton Carr (WBC) hives and the National hive used in the UK.
The WBC shown in the thumbnail at left is similar to a pagoda style of architecture. Although, the exterior of this hive structure is different, the inside resembles the standard frame and foundations found in National hives.
An interesting style of bee hive can be found at the following link: http://warrebeehive.com
The Warre Hive resembles a WBC hive but uses a top–bar frame internal structure to encourage a natural formation of wax cells from the top–bar down. As the bees construct the comb, it grows in a downward direction. Boxes are added to the bottom with new top–bars in each. The bees will stop the comb just above the next set of bars. This style of natural beekeeping is further explained by following the link. It also includes plans for building your own hive.
Thank you Dan Richards for the link and information about Warre Hives!
You write: “The Warre Hive resembles a WBC ”
The Warré is about as far from a WBC as a WBC is from a skep.
Sorry for the confusion David, by resemble, I meant ‘is similar to in appearance’ and the box with a peaked roof we call a Warre hive looks like the box with a peaked roof called a WBC hive on the exterior and top only. The article is called ‘Different Types of Hives’ and when you continue reading the sentence I had thought the difference of the inside structure would indicate they are different types of hives. Thanks for the Warré link.