author
L. L. (Lorenzo Lorraine) Langstroth
1810–1895
Best known as the pioneer behind the modern movable-frame beehive, this inventive 19th-century beekeeper helped change apiculture from a rough craft into a more careful science. He was also a minister and teacher whose close observation of bees made a lasting impact on American agriculture.
1 Audiobook
Langstroth on the Hive and the Honey-Bee: A Bee Keeper's Manual
by L. L. (Lorenzo Lorraine) Langstroth
About the author
Born in Philadelphia on December 25, 1810, Lorenzo Lorraine Langstroth became one of the most influential figures in the history of beekeeping. He studied at Yale, worked as a teacher and school principal, and served as a clergyman, but he is remembered above all for the way he transformed practical beekeeping in the United States.
Langstroth is widely known for identifying the importance of what beekeepers call “bee space,” the small gap that bees usually leave open rather than sealing with wax or propolis. That insight led to the development of the movable-frame Langstroth hive in the early 1850s, a design that made it far easier to inspect colonies and harvest honey without destroying the comb. His book Langstroth on the Hive and the Honey-Bee helped spread those ideas to a wide audience and became a classic in the field.
His life also included periods of ill health and depression, and several accounts note that beekeeping offered him both purpose and relief. He died in 1895, but his name still lives on in the standard hive design used by beekeepers around the world.