Why do hive frames have the bottom half tapered. Surely not to tell the top from the bottom LOL
Would seem to me to be a simpler construction just have straight sides.
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Hmmm Busso ! Not sure , never seen them any other way ! They were that way back in the 1950’s ! 
Good luck,
Gerald
That is to make a gap big enough for the bees to be able to go around the ends to get to the next frame.
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Thankz Michael ! Now I think back 55 years ago a beekeeper told me that. Guess I completely forgot ! Appreciate the note.
Thanks Michael. I pictured them coming up from the bottom but that certainly shortens the distance travelled as they work down the frame. I assume they extend the comb out to the 6-9mm gap on the way down.
They were invented by Julius Hoffman in 1889 and have been in common usage since at least the mid 1890s. 
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The gap stays a gap. In the winter, especially, bees are clustered across many combs and when a cold snap hits they need to be able to get around to the next comb by whatever means they can.
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