Top bar hives feature legs that raise their box to waist height, making it easier for you to inspect and handle bees without having to bend over. A queen cage should hang directly underneath one bar. If it begins crooking, rotate both so they become straight again.
When introducing package bees into a top bar hive, start off by giving them only 10 bars of space at first – this will limit their growth as they start constructing combs.
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1. Keeping Bees Healthy
At first, a top bar hive will build three to four combs within its first week, necessitating sugar water as sustenance for bees to feed on. A hive top feeder keeps this supply inside its boundaries to prevent theft by other animals or insects.
A quart size mason jar fits comfortably into a top bar hive and can serve as a bee feeder. Use a nail or drill to puncture 3-4 holes into its lid before pouring 1:1 sugar water into it and sealing it securely.
Beekeepers must conduct weekly inspections on their hives. It is ideal to do this on a warm and sunny day when bees are not flying – this will reduce the chance of being stung! When inspecting, ensure all straight combs exist; if any are crooked simply press gently with your hive tool until straightened as this will also help avoid collapse of any one section of combs in your hive.
2. Keeping Bees in the Hive
Feeding your top bar hive should be straightforward provided the feeder is kept separate from its colony. Doing this will prevent starving bees from depleting their honey stores and looking elsewhere for sustenance if necessary.
Bees quickly begin building comb in new sections of a hive, so if you have designated bars for brood or honey production it’s essential that you keep an eye on their progress in order to ensure they build straight combs – any deviation can affect adjacent combs as well.
To avoid this situation, I made a small modification to my feeder by attaching two short pieces of top bar wood glued as seal bars – one on either side of the bee entrance slit – as “seal bars.” This prevents bees from closing off access to my feeder and keeps it secure.
3. Keeping Bees in the Winter
Top bar hives are popular among those seeking more natural beekeeping experiences and are an excellent solution for people with limited mobility, as the comb can be lifted directly out of the hive without having to bend over. But there are some key considerations when keeping a top bar hive.
Beekeepers often add external feeders that sit atop their hive in order to prevent animals or high winds from dislodging it, and these typically consist of an upside-down mason jar fitted with holes in its lid.
To create this feeder, fill a clean container with 2:1 sugar syrup and cut several slits into its lid for bees to access it. Or a beekeeper could place the syrup inside a ziplock bag over the entrance of their hive – bees will store up the syrup as winter supplies.
4. Keeping Bees in the Spring
Top bar hives are easy to open and allow bees to move about freely. Plus, monitoring is easier with only one body to monitor!
At first, bees will construct three to four combs. At this time, it is crucial that these combs are built vertically as even one misalignment will disrupt their work and affect the whole hive negatively; you can easily correct this by pressing on a crooked comb with your hive tool and rotating it.
Create your own bee feeder using a gallon jar with a screen cover on top. This will prevent bees from drowning in syrup. There are entrance feeders made out of ziplock bags; however, these can be difficult to check and refill without opening your hive. Some individuals have even created clever contraptions mounted to front of their hives; however Wangum points out that medications cannot be added directly without opening them first.
