Top Bar Hive Management

Top bar hives require some finesse when it comes to preventing the bees from building comb that can no longer be manipulated easily.

Top bar hive management. Hives that have frames or that use honey chambers in summer but which use similar management principles as regular top bar hives are sometimes also referred to as top bar hives. However instead of frames there are only bars from which the bees hang their combs. Unless you are running a truly mite proof bee stock you can expect the same sort of buildup of mite populations as in langstroth hives in late summer and i have seen plenty of top bar deadouts with clear signs of. Like the langstroth hive it allows for inspection and manipulation of individual combs.

Essential to know is that the. Your best option is prevention through regular management. As the colony grows move the divider board down the hive cavity and add empty bars. In a tree hive for example the bees will create two basic spacings.

Top bar hives do require more visits to ensure the colony always has ample space for honey storage but with the use of the window and simple bar manipulation the maintenance is quick and efficient. How to manage a top bar hive. Basic management of a top bar hive requires frequent monitoring to ensure your bees have adequate space. In a top bar hive bees tend to attach their comb to the walls of the inner hive cavity.

No one really knows who invented the top bar hive but we know it s been used in one form or another for centuries. Bees in natural habitats do not create equally spaced combs. The top bar hive. Top bar hive management.

Mite management of top bar hives the varroa mite does not care that you re keeping your bees in a top bar hive colonies in top bar hives are just as susceptible to the mite.