Hi Mark,

I'm a top bar hive convert. I had been a commercial beekeeper using Langs
for decades. But I found that tbhs better suit my needs when I left the bee
business and became a hobbiest.

I've written the following about tbh advantages on my website:

"Tbhs have many advantages over most modern equipment. They are essentially
self contained. So, there is little need for additional equipment taking up
storage space elsewhere. The bees stay calmer when worked. There's no heavy
lifting. And tbhs are almost dirt cheap as compared to the cost of
conventional beekeeping equipment. A conventional hive, today, will cost
close to $250. A tbh can be built for less than $30. In some cases tbhs can
be free. And a top bar hive beekeeper won't even be tempted to get on the
beekeeper's spending treadmill. Most standard bee equipment simply has no
application in a top bar hive."

One advantage I failed to mention on my site, is the ease with which comb
can be rotated out and regenerated to keep a clean broodnest.

One disadvantage is that a tbh must be built rather than bought. And, so
far, they can't be easily managed vertically for maximum honey production
like a Lang can. But I'm working on it :>)Another disadvantage is that they
take more time to work because the comb is more fragile.

Also, a tbh beekeeper will probably need to learn thb basics by himself as
there are few thb beekeepers around to demonstrate. And Lang beekeepers
aren't much help, as they have perfected some very nasty comb handling
habits that just don't work around tbhs. It took me two years to unlearn mine:>)

Regards
Dennis

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