if one opts to treat for mites, nosema, or feed pollen or syrup
> you have to figure out how to do it, since the top bar hive we have has
> no passageways past the bars - so you can't just put a patty, bottle, etc.
> on the bars. Minor point, but one that adds time and effort...
That was a major point for me, bugged me badly that things were so clumsy with a
top bar, the horizontals solved that issue.
> Third, the bees insist on bridging their comb to the side-walls - Scott came
> up with his own tool for breaking them loose so he can pull out the frames
> to inspect. That said, inspection is possible, so the top bar meets the
> legal requirement in our state, but it is slower - one has to be careful
> to cut the combs loose, lift straight up. Don't even think about tipping
> the comb upside down or laying it flat to get a better look. Anything other
> than perpendicular and the comb starts to bends and sag and can fall off
> onto your foot.
There are several points to cover here: If you're feeding, just put a plastic tray/tub in the rear of the hive and provide plenty of flotation material on which the bees can stand and sip. I don't usually feed my bees and, with the TBHs simply go along at willow/dandelion time in spring and take the honey that has been proved to be surplus to their winter requirements.
I prefer my own design of TBH, which is half a cylinder, to the trapezoidal ones. OK, the bees do tend to attach the first couple of inches of new comb to the sides but once it has been cut through with a hive tool it stays cut and they don't often re-join it.
There is too much leverage with heavy combs in the trapezoidal type so you have to be extra careful. With semi-circles of comb they don't have this problem as much. By use of Pi I have found that the comb area of one of my 17" top bars is almost exactly the same as that of a UK National brood comb. They can easily be turned upside down by lowering the hand at one end so the bar is vertical, twisting the bar through 180 degrees and then raising the hand again. In this position it can be placed on top of the hive or even shaken to get most of the bees off to check the brood. If you feel the need to lay a comb flat, then back it with a dummy board to support the weight.
I use 17" top bars as that is the same as nearly all the UK hive types and so I can take out a few bars for a nucleus for example. The entrance is at one end (the sunny end) so one can work from the rear without the bee knowing you're there. I have provided the hives with a dummy board and a (corked) rear entrance for use in making splits but haven't got around to doing so yet.
For Varroa reduction (now I come to think about it, my TBHs don't seem to have much trouble with Varroa) I simply slip a tray of Apiguard (thymol in a gel) under the brood area. As my entrances are on the face of the hive and not at the base, the fumes have to circulate before they escape. For mid winter oxalic acid treatment I simply ease the bars apart and, if there are bees below, squirt them with 5cc of the solution.
When I want a crop of propolis, I simply remove one of the bars and ease the others apart a smidgeon to fill the gap. At the next visit I can scrape the bar edges with a hive tool to collect the propolis.
One other good thing about my design of TBH: they are made from re-cycled pallet wood so all you pay for is the nails!
Chris
***********************************************
The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html
Guidelines for posting to BEE-L can be found at:
http://honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/guidelines.htm
|
