"How does honey production compare between the Langstroth hive and the
Russian long or chest style hive?   I recently worked a development project
in Tajikistan, where beekeepers were using the chest hive exclusively.   In
some Eastern European countries there seems to be a gradual transition from
the chest hive to the Langstroth hive, while some former soviet republics in
central Asia continue to use the chest hive almost exclusively. 
 
My guess is that honey production is a little higher in the Langstroth hive
and winter losses lower due to better control of heat and humidity in the
Langstroth hive, but I'm only guessing.  Has anyone seen any data or
anecdotal evidence comparing these two types of hives?


I can contribute a little.  I developed a Long DEEP hive for own use 37
years ago and have worked 6 to 20 ever since.  The Dartington hive was
derived from screwing two deep brood boxes (12ins deep) back to back so that
the second brood box needed for splitting for swarm control was always
available to every hive - then I chopped out the central wall and introduced
a movable dummy frame to back the nest as it expanded plus a movable
division board to separate two colonies in the same hive when needed. This
ended up something like a Russian chest hive.   I need only one level of
supers to equal the overall volume of a vertical hive with 3 layers of super
frames.  

Thinking that management of such a deep long box must already have been
worked out  I searched hard but came up with only two Russian books
translated to English.   They suggested that traditional chest hives were
part of mixed farming where bees were kept for pollination and local honey
but specialist bee farmers were switching to Langstroths for the portability
needed to produce honey from migratory beekeeping. 

Which hive enables bees to store more surplus depends partly on bee biology
but mostly on several factors related to the culture of beekeeping - so the
effects of the hive type are not easily compared: 
Bee biology
1. Development of a large nest/foraging force - a colony needs only 9 deep
frames to hold a colony and 40lbs of stores in winter in UK - a long box
allows 3 frames to be added in front and behind the winter nest for spring
expansion from 9 to 15 frames - 15 frames seems a natural depth of nest for
most colonies with an entrance at one end (not central) and they do not draw
foundation further back - but if drawn combs are moved back and foundation
moved forward, colonies continue to work the occupied frames.  Any vertical
hive design restricts the depth of the nest - only a long-deep or chest hive
allows unrestricted expansion. 
Culture of beekeeping
2. With vertical hives, strong colonies are either split to two smaller
units in separate boxes - or the beekeeping takes the risk of losing a swarm
and loses swarms from at least some hives.  Two small lots produce less than
one big one - and losing a swarm reduces the honey crop so either way,
apiary average is reduced.   With a long deep hive, the colony is easily
split TEMPORARILY by putting in the vertical divider (and opening the rear
entrance) and then very easily reunited before the main honey flow by
removing the board after a new queen has been raised in the queenless half.
This keeps the whole colony together for the main flow while still renewing
the queen annually (in theory, queen raising does not always work in
practice of course).   
3. In areas with a strong spring flow, colonies can be re-spit in autumn and
wintered as two nests either side of the division board.  Then the two lots
can be combined before the spring flow. 
4. Keeping some nucs as well as full colonies has many advantages- but
keeping nucs in separate small boxes is unnatural and can take up time and
skill.   Keeping a 6-frame nuc behind a 15 frame colony is easier and more
flexible - remove the nuc queen and combine the nuc to the colony in an
instant without loss of a single flying bee. 
5. In bad periods, bees need to be fed to keep the brood nest working- but
the feed needs to be placed below the supers or sugar will spoil the crop.
Removing all the supers is a job in vertical hives - long deeps need removal
of only one super to access the unused space in the brood box to place a
large tub on the hive floor - so beekeepers are more likely to help bees
with such emergency feeds.
6. If it is felt that bees winter better in the confined space of a vertical
hive, equal confinement can be achieved with a long-deep hive by wintering
with a division board (I have never bothered - but will try anything once!).


I could go on - but the question concerned Asiatic chest hives and I do not
know how they are generally managed. The Russian books do emphasise early
division of a colony to two parts within a long hive to produce more brood
in two nests than in one undivided nest, with recombination before the main
flow - so that seems part of accepted practice. 

Anecdotally, a user of my design of hive averaged 164 lbs last year using
Buckfast queens in his 5 hives - compared with the UK national average of
55lbs where (90+% of hives are vertical - and swarming seems pretty common).
But deep long hives are not convenient for migratory beeping so use is
limited to permanent apiaries - and yields are limited by the extent of
local forage. .  .   

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