Beehives

A beehive comprising a body and a removable solar unit mountable on and supportable by said body, said unit having a slanting top wall, a component which is transparent to radiant energy through which solar energy can accordingly penetrate to the interior of said unit, means supporting said energy transmitting component from and incorporating it into said slanting top wall, means providing a seal between said energy transmitting component and said support means to keep air from penetrating therebetween, an internally housed, passive collector means for intercepting and absorbing said solar energy and for thereupon emitting radiant energy into the upper reaches of said beehive body, a vertically extending rear wall faced by said slanting wall, and an opening in the bottom thereof and said passive collector means comprising a reflecting portion adjacent said rear wall and a portion spanning the opening in the bottom wall for intercepting energy reflected onto and impinging thereon and for thereupon emitting energy as aforesaid into said beehive body.

A beehive comprising a body and a removable solar unit mountable on and supportable by said body, said unit having a rectangular parallelopipedal configuration with vertically orientable side and end walls, a bottom wall with an opening therein, radiant energy transmitting means through which solar energy can penetrate to the interior of said unit, and an internally housed passive collector means with a boxlike configuration for intercepting and absorbing said solar energy and for thereupon emitting radiant energy into the upper reaches of said beehive body, one of said vertically orientable walls having an opening therein, said radiant energy transmitting means being mounted in and spanning said opening, and said passive collector means having a bottom wall in and spanning the opening in the bottom wall of said solar unit and a vertically extending wall spaced from said radiant energy transmitting means on which solar energy penetrating to the interior of the solar unit therethrough can impinge.

A beehive comprising a body;

• a solar unit mountable on and supportable by said body which comprises radiant energy transmitting means through which solar energy can penetrate to the interior thereof and an internally housed passive collector means for intercepting and absorbing said solar energy and for thereupon emitting radiant energy into the upper reaches of said beehive body;
• and a bottom board for supporting said beehive body, said bottom board having a floor and side and rear walls directly supporting said beehive body and providing a gap between said body and said floor at the front side of said beehive body, there being forwardly facing ledges at the inner sides of said bottom board side walls at locations corresponding to the front of the beehive body, and said beehive further comprising a removable member for sealing said gap which is seatable against said ledges on said floor, said member spanning said side walls and extending from said floor to the bottom of the hive body.