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- CommentAuthorRossami
- CommentTimeMar 2nd 2010
Over the winter, I got the crazy idea that I wanted to build a top-bar hive. Don't know why. I don't really have room for it in the backyard but it just seems like too neat an experiment not to try.
After agonizing over design for what seemed like days, I decided on the Kenyan style top-bar hive with the sloped sides (as opposed to the Tanzanian with the vertical sides). Building a rectangular box would have been a bit easier but a couple of sources online suggested that the sloped side somehow reduces the bees tendency to anchor the wax to the side walls.
Since making that decision, I've decided that the Kenyan approach might have other benefits. First, it took about 1/3 less wood. Since one of the goals of the experiment was to see how cheaply you could get into beekeeping in a pinch, that mattered. Second, I wanted to put a screened bottom on the hive. With the Kenyan design, the bottom edges were close enough that I just stapled some #8 hardware cloth across the bottom - didn't have to design any fancy cuts. Finally and I think most optimistically, the sloped sides mean that the top bars rest on a corner of the sidewall rather than a flat surface. When the bees propolize the top-bars down, I am hopeful that a) there will be less propolis to break and b) that the open angle will make a place for the hivetool so I can get decent leverage without tipping the whole mess over.
The two sidewalls were scrap boards from an old discarded bookshelf from my brother-in-law. A third shelf got cut to make the end pieces. As I already said, the bottom is hardware cloth (which deliberately does not come all the way to the end so the bees will be using an open bottom entrance). The legs and top-bars I made from seven 1x2s - the only pieces of bought wood. I cut the top-bars to about 16" length, ran them through the tablesaw twice at 10 degrees to bevel the underside, and then used a dado blade on the radial arm saw to flatten off and make ears that would sit level. Total construction time once I started was something under 2 hours. Total expenditure so far: $9
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- CommentAuthorRossami
- CommentTimeMar 2nd 2010
Weather update:
When I first built the hive, 32 top-bars fit perfectly from one end of the hive to the other. It wasn't by design. I knew that 32 would be right plus or minus one but I deliberately wasn't that careful about sizing. Well, after a few days sitting in the living room, Margie got a little tired of it and I moved the hive to the back porch to wait for spring. We've still got about 18" of snow on the ground and more falling. It got wet but... so what?
Within about 3 days, I noticed the top-bars starting to buckle. They've since absorbed enough water than I can only get 31 and a half across the top. I'm still trying to decide if this is a good sign - that the amount of water now in the top bars is more indicative of the moisture content once the bees are in place - or not.
I should point out that I have not yet designed a top cover. Not sure yet if I need one. It would keep the rain from leaking between the top bars onto the bees. On the other hand, it creates a place for spiders and other unwanted guests. Unlike a traditional inner cover, the bees won't be able to get up there to keep the area clear. Still thinking...
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- CommentAuthorRossami
- CommentTimeApr 11th 2010 edited
Well, it's been an interesting few weeks. Just after the last post, I realized that I cut the top-bars all wrong. I intended to make them compatible with a langstroth hive so I could use established colonies to build comb, etc. Anyway, since the interior of a langstroth is 16" x 19", I cut the top-bars to 16 inches as I noted above. Somehow, I overlooked that the frames run the other way.
After thinking about it for a while, I decided to rebuild the whole thing for 19 inch top-bars. And as long as I had to rebuild the hive, I added a few tweaks. I rebuilt one side from the same 1x12 but made a frame of 2x3s for the other side, then cut some window glass so it will work as an observation hive. I also reconsidered the complete bottom board. That might be too much ventilation this far north. So the rebuilt bottom is solid except for a 1/8" drainage slit along the entire length. I'm hoping to get the best of both worlds - a way for the varroa to drop out and still some ventilation but not too much...
Had to spend another $7 for the 1x2s but everything else was scrap wood I already had laying around. The glass came from a broken window out by the trash. Total cost - still dirt cheap. We'll see how it works.
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- CommentAuthorRossami
- CommentTimeApr 12th 2010
I cut the top-bars a week ago and put them on an empty langstroth super on top of my strongest colony. Figured that they could pre-draw some comb and maybe even fill it with honey and some eggs. If I get lucky, I can run a split instead of needing to buy a package. And even if they don't put eggs in the top-bar frames, it would give them something to do so they don't swarm too early.
On Saturday (a week later), I opened the box and discovered lots of drawn comb. Unfortunately, none of it from the top-bars. The bees started filling the dead space by building burr comb up from the previous combs. Of course, it couldn't support the weight so it twisted and bent over and was a real tangled mess. I cut it all out and used rubber bands to attach the comb chunks to the top-bars. I was originally planning to use string but in hindsight, I wouldn't have had enough hands to hold the top bar, hold the comb and tie the knots. The rubber bands worked perfectly.
The next day (Sunday), opened the box again. The rubber band slipped on one chunk of comb but the rest were already solidly attached to the top-bars. A few were already drifting off-line so I had to bend them back parallel to the bars. Even better, the bees are now using those combs as a template and are building new spots from the top-bars downward.
The concept of using a strong langstroth-based colony to pre-build comb and resources is working beautifully. My only worry now is getting into the hive often enough to keep the comb straight and to pull it before it extends all the way back down to the langstroth frames.
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- CommentAuthorRossami
- CommentTimeMay 18th 2010
Been a few weeks since I last posted. I did get some excellent frames of pre-drawn comb from the langstroth box. Enough that when I pulled them out, I had to trim the edges, giving me some comb to rubber-band onto the next set of top-bars. Ended up with about 15 drawn bars when it came time to transfer the bees. Some even had nectar, honey and even a little pollen.
The transfer itself was a bit more exciting. Got two new queens - one for the top-bar and the other to requeen an existing hive. I also decided to experiment with a push-in queen cage. I've heard good things and thought I'd give it a try. Well, as I was trying to transfer the queen, my hand slipped - a $20+ bug up into the sky.
I said some bad things...
So I put the second queen in - just rubber-banded the queen cage to the bar. Then dumped and shook about 8 frames of bees into the top-bar cavity. Some flew back out but I ended with a couple thousand bees transferred. It seemed like enough. Sealed them in for a few days and just watched through the windows.
Everything looked great. The bees were staying near the queen cage and in a nice cluster (we had a couple of cold days). After about a week, I noticed that the queen cage was empty. She'd been released! Everything was looking great.
A few days later, I had some time to look at the frames. Saw some eggs and even a few small larvae. Then, lo and behold, the queen! I almost never can find the queen so this was a real treat for me. Then I noticed that she wasn't marked. Looked back at the donor hive and discovered supercedure cells everywhere.
I must have accidentally transferred the queen when I split the hive. Then I'm guessing they killed the new queen once she finally got out. $40 wasted on bugs... Ain't beekeeping grand?
On the plus side, the colony seems to be settling in well. They're building some new comb and I see more eggs each time I look in. And the window in the side is way cool.
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