Very nice. I am a beekeeper, and want to do top bars some day, because they are pretty neat. I know a couple pros and cons to them, but was just curious what you all think about them. And also if you have a few tips or tricks on how to be successful, please share them too. Thanks all.
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histopicker
Swamptalker Extrordinaire Swamp Talker of the Month - 02/2015
Very nice. I am a beekeeper, and want to do top bars some day, because they are pretty neat. I know a couple pros and cons to them, but was just curious what you all think about them. And also if you have a few tips or tricks on how to be successful, please share them too. Thanks all.
I am running three topbar hive right now. I enjoy them very much and think they are a great way to keep bees. I live south west of you about 300+ miles and have a lot hotter climate. Because of this, my bees seem to "outgrow" a normal sized topbar hive very rapidly in the spring. This is the main drawback. You will not get as much honey production in a top bar hive because the bees use up pounds of honey producing wax to make new comb. I feel the bees in the topbars are gentler to work with. This is simply because when working a topbar you only have one small opening that exposes the bees to you. In a Langstroth, when you open the top you have eleven spaces of bees staring up at you. This creates much more opportunity for the bees to get nervous and attack you. I do run both types of hives and like them both. If you have any specific questions I am sure someone here can help you out.
Last Edit: Jun 22, 2016 12:58:17 GMT -5 by histopicker
