INTRODUCTION

This handbook is not meant to be a definitive guide on how to care for honeybees. We recommend that you study the following web sites and printed material before you stock your hive with bees. Many of these sources have detailed information which is specific to top-bar hives, the general hive design of the Garden Hive. Also, contacting your local beekeeping association will put you in touch with the local beekeeping community—a valuable source of information and experience to help you get started. Beekeepers generally sponsor classes and we strongly recommend that you participate.

Top Bar Web Sites:

• http://thegardenhive.com
• http://www.biobees.com/index.php
• http://www.backyardhive.com/
• http://bushfarms.com/beestopbarhives.htm
• http://www2.gsu.edu/~biojdsx/main.htm

Online Forums:

• http://www.beesource.com/
• http://www.beekeepingforums.com/
• http://www.biobees.com/forum/

Books and Magazines:

• Bee Culture Magazine Kim Flottum editor  (online version here: http://www.beeculture.com/)
• The Barefoot Beekeeper by P. J. Chandler
• Natural Beekeeping: Organic Approaches to Modern Apiculture by Ross Conrad
• The Hive: The Story of the Honeybee and Us  by Bee Wilson
• A World Without Bees  by Alison Benjamin
• The Bee Friendly Garden: Bring Bees to Your Flowers, Orchard, and Vegetable Patch by Ted Hooper

To find your local beekeepers association go to this website – http://www.bees-on-the-net.com/beekeeping-clubs.html – and select your state.

You may find conflicting facts and opinions as you learn about bees and top bar hives. This is normal and to be expected as beekeeping is much more of an art than a science. In fact, beekeepers are some of the most opinionated people you will meet, but we are all united by our passion and concern for our hard-working “girls“.

HOW TO SET UP YOUR GARDEN HIVE

Your Garden Hive consists of a cypress hive box with a removable cypress top and a knock-down cypress stand. Packed within the hive box are the top bars, the stand legs, the feeder bottle and cover, a veil, and a hive tool. Let’s unpack the hive and go through the parts in some detail.

The stand allows the beekeeper to use the observation window and work within the hive comfortably. The stand also allows some protection from the various honey loving critters that may be lurking about. To assemble your stand first set the four-sided stand box on the ground with the wider side up. Notice that there are two right legs and two left legs. You can tell which is which by holding the leg with the metal part facing the metal part on the stand. The bottom of the leg should be parallel to the ground as you slide the two metal connectors together. Gently tap the free end of the leg with a hammer to seat the connection. The top of the leg where it connects to the stand should be reasonably flush with the edge of the stand. If you are having a problem, resist the urge to bang away with the hammer. Simply pull up on the leg while tapping the box down and try again. Once you have the four legs in the right positions you can flip the stand over and set it in place. The best place will be a quiet area where your bees can go about their business without being disturbed. A sunny location is best, or, in very warm areas dappled summer shade is good. Deep shade is not. You should also avoid damp locations. There should be a constant source of water nearby. One end of the stand should point in the direction of the morning sun. It is important that the hive be level. Leveling can be as simple as putting a saucer on top of the bars, adding some water, and raising the lowest corner until the water is centered in the saucer. It is best to put a rock or something similar under each leg so the cypress is not in contact with the soil.

You will notice one end of the hive box has some half-circle openings. These are the entrances. This end should face east. The floor of the hive box extends several inches past the entrances and is where the guard bees will station themselves. The guard bees are the ones who may buzz about your head when you approach the hive. If you are calm they will check you out and go away. If you swat or move quickly you may alarm them and trigger an aggressive defence of the hive which could very well involve stinging. Remember that a honey bee dies when it stings, so bees will not sting unless provoked, unlike yellow jacket wasps. The area just inside the hive is a sort of vestibule. Bees may not build a comb here and instead use this space to gather for fanning the hive and other things. As we move farther into the hive, over the screen, we come to where the bees will build their brood combs. This is the heart of the hive, where the queen lays her eggs and where the workers tend to the developing bees in their cells. The brood comb is also where you might see evidence of the Varroa mite, a pest originally from Asia and probably the most common danger to the honey bee. The brood area is the part of the hive you should pay the most attention to. If you begin to have a problem here prompt attention will save the colony. Extending to the rear end of the hive will be the capped honey combs. Honey is what the bees eat. In times of plenty, the workers store up honey to carry them through the winter and lean times. One of your jobs as beekeeper will be to make sure that the brood nest area does not become restricted or “honey bound.” Moving the capped honey comb bars to the rear of the hive and replacing them with empty bars gives the brood nest room to grow. Mixed honey and brood should not be moved. At the far end of the hive box you will see two extensions of the sides. You can hang the top bar you are working with here.

The glass window along the side of your hive allows you to watch the activity in the colony and to take a quick look at the honey stores. The observation window is not meant to replace close examination of the brood combs for pests. For that you will want to remove each brood comb and inspect it closely.

Our hive now features a fully screened bottom to help with Varroa mite control. Mites which fall through the screen cannot get back into the hive, and by smearing some Vaseline or other “sticky” substance on the white side of the removable bottom board you will be able to monitor the mite population and treat the hive before the pests populate to a dangerous level. Please consult web sites, books, or your local beekeepers for further information about Varroa mites and other bee parasites and diseases. We particularly recommend you learn about integrated pest management (IPM) so you can keep your bees healthy without resorting to pesticides or other unhealthy chemicals.

We have two ventilation holes under our trademark blue and yellow flower. Twist the flower to uncover the ventilation hole. A good way to tell if you need more ventilation in the hive is to watch the observation window for signs of fogging or frosting in the winter. Condensation inside the hive will kill a colony in short order and cold weather is when condensation is most likely.

The feeder consists of a cypress block with a circular cut out that conveniently fits the cap of the included quart mason jar. Fill the jar with 1:1 cane sugar to water and place upside down in the feeder a bar or two to the rear of the brood nest. Remove three of the top bars and set the feeder inside. You should feed your bees when they first arrive to help them as they get established and begin building their brood nest. You should also feed them any time you see that their honey supply is becoming depleted. This can easily happen in times of low honey flow, usually during drought or hard winters. Another time to feed is in late summer, when you should be helping your colony build strength and honey stores for the coming winter. There are lots of products and opinions about feeding, but 1:1 sugar water is fine, along with a pollen patty. Please don’t feed the bees any honey that they did not make. Honey from unknown sources can contain bee-specific viruses and bacteria as well as various medications and pesticide residues. Keep an eye on the feeder because in hard times a hive has been known to go through as much as a gallon a day! When your bees are finding plenty of nectar on their own and are not taking the syrup remove the feeder.

The top bars are the feature that makes the top bar hive special. When you remove a top bar the bees hardly notice the disturbance. This reduces stress not only for the colony but for the beekeeper as well. (As you explore the world of top bar beekeeping you will notice that many keepers wear no protective clothing at all. We don’t recommend this because each colony will have its own “personality” governed by the genetics of the queen. Some hives are calm and easily worked, others are touchy and quickly aroused to defend the colony. You should protect yourself until you become more at ease with the colony, and they with you.) You will notice that one bar is different. This is the divider board and is used to adjust the size of the hive. When you first introduce your bees to the hive it’s a good idea to place the divider 4 or 5 bars back from the front. This is to insure that the queen begins construction of the brood nest in the front of the hive. When the divider is not needed, keep it to the very back of the hive.  Be careful not to block access to the feeder.

The hive tool is a pry bar with a sharp end. If your bees have made some wax attachments to the side of the hive you can slide the hive tool gently along the hive wall to free the comb. Cut away any wax by slicing with an upward motion. The scraper end of the tool is for cleaning away propolis and wax before replacing a bar.

The last item packed in the hive is a simple veil you can use with a broad-brimmed hat. Straw hats or pith helmets are perfect. The wide brim keeps the veil away from your face. One of the ways a keeper can get stung is by having a bee crawl inside the keeper’s clothing. A quite serviceable bee suit can be made by wearing a jacket and trouser made from thick or dense fabric, the cuffs tucked into the socks and the sleeves taped to the wrists. By the way, avoid dark colors or loud patterned clothing around the hive as the bees may identify you as a predator. The veil should be tied so no bees can crawl inside. You will probably want to wear gloves, but be aware that clumsiness around a beehive will get you stung as quickly as anything. Don’t sacrifice dexterity for ultimate protection. As you gain confidence you may find that you don’t need to be so concerned about protection. If you have a mishap and are stung don’t wave your arms about or shout or run. Just move deliberately away from the hive. The bees will soon calm down and you can return and finish your task. This is a good place to mention the value of having an “epi pen” handy in case someone has a severe allergic reaction to bee stings. Your doctor has to prescribe it, and most pharmacies stock them. You could save a life. Benadryl is effective for less severe reactions.

HOW TO INTRODUCE BEES INTO YOUR GARDEN HIVE

The best way to get started with bees is through your local beekeepers’ association. A beekeeper can help you obtain bees and, just as important if you are a novice, you can find a beekeeper who will be present to “introduce” the bees to your Garden Hive. Many beekeepers are hobbyists and welcome the opportunity to mentor newcomers. The bee season is relatively short for bee breeders and sellers, but swarms can happen any time during the warm part of the year, and beekeepers are the ones who remove swarms from homes and other places where they are not wanted. If you strike a deal with a beekeeper for a swarm, ask him or her to help you get your hive going and to show you the techniques of working a hive. If there are no swarms available your beekeeper will know of a trusted local source for “packaged ” bees, bees bought from a breeder/seller. A third method of obtaining bees is to attract a wild swarm. Lemongrass oil, available from many health food stores, is reputed to mimic the “homing” pheromone so closely that it will attract bee swarms for miles around. There are also products available from apiculture supply houses to attract scouts to an available hive. However you get your bees, be ready from the first day to provide sugar syrup to help them get off to a good start.

Make your hive ready to receive your bees by removing the top and taking out five or six bars from the middle of the hive. If you are introducing a swarm that already has a queen, “pour” the bees from their container into the gap in the bars. You won’t be able to corral all of them, but try to get most. Wait until the loose bees go in to join the colony before carefully putting the bars back and replacing the roof. If you have a separate queen in a small cage with a candy plug, put the cage inside at the hive opening and the bees will gradually eat through the plug to free the queen. This process allows some time for the bees to accept the queen. You may want to block the entrance for a few hours but be sure the feeder is set up so the bees can have water.

After your bees are in the hive, don’t disturb them for at least three weeks. You can watch them through the observation window. After three weeks, it’s a good idea to be sure the queen is in the hive and laying eggs. Moving from the rear of the hive to the front, remove the empty top bar next to the first brood comb and try to see if there are any larva growing in the brood cells or if some of the cells are capped. If so, everything is okay.

HOW TO MANAGE YOUR GARDEN HIVE

Bees do a magnificent job of managing their own affairs. If you would like to harvest from the hive you need to learn when it is appropriate to do so. The honey combs are the bees’ food pantry, stored up for the times when the “honey flow” or nectar supply is low. They also need the honey to survive the winter season. Most honey bee colonies fail from starvation. A good general discussion of hive management relevant to the Garden Hive can be found at  http://www2.gsu.edu/~biojdsx/tbmgmt2.htm.

“Working” your bees means that you are removing the roof of the hive and removing or at least changing the position of one or more of the top bars. Any time you are around your bees, the watchwords are “slow,” “careful,” and “gentle.” Bees are not aggressive by nature and will only sting if they feel threatened. Wax comb is fragile, handle it carefully, always keeping it vertical. Remember that beeswax melts at about 140 degrees Fahrenheit. A hot summer afternoon may not be the best time to work your hive. Bees are very particular about the temperature and humidity inside the hive, so it’s best to avoid periods of extreme temperatures when opening the hive.  No discussion of working a bee hive is complete without mentioning propolis. Propolis is a sticky gluey substance the bees make from tree sap and other resins they collect. It has antiviral and antibacterial properties and they use it to seal cracks and small openings in the hive. You will think of it as glue. This is where a proper hive tool can make a big difference. When you remove a bar you will have to gently pry it up and break the propolis seals attaching it to the hive box and to the adjacent top bars. Once the bar is out, you will generally want to use the scraper end to clean up where the bar was removed. It is a chore for the beekeeper, but propolis is the colony’s way of defending the hive from invading pests. Whenever you are working with the bars and their combs the bees quickly repair any “damage” to their home. If you have some crooked, crossed, or ‘burr‘ combs that run between the bars, gently straighten them  or cut them away. Generally the bees get the idea after a while and the problem fades away. The Garden Hive’s bars are rubbed with beeswax to discourage the bees from attaching their wax comb to the sides of the hive. Unfortunately all does not always go as planned and you may have to slide your hive tool up the side of the hive to release the comb for removal. Very rarely will the comb be attached to the bottom of the hive but if so just work gently and deliberately and all will be well. If you do happen to make a bit of a mess in the hive don’t worry, the workers will have it cleaned up and repaired in no time.

When the honey stores are full you may decide to “rob,” or harvest a capped honey comb or two for your own use. Use your hive tool to loosen the honey comb bar you have selected and gently lift it straight up. Be careful to hold the fragile comb vertically, never sideways. Any bees on the comb can be slowly, carefully, gently swept off with a soft brush. Place the bar on the extensions at the back of the hive and consider your prize. If the comb is all honey just break it off and return the now empty bar to the hive. If you would like to trim away some of the comb, a pair of kitchen scissors warmed in a bowl of hot water is ideal. Remember, make your vertical cuts first and horizontal cuts last.

Swarming

Swarming is usually the result of the bee colony outgrowing its nest.  At some point the queen gathers together a good portion of the colony’s workers, they load up with as much honey from the honey stores as they can carry, and off  they go in search of a new hive, leaving behind a population of queenless workers. This is not a problem, for the workers have already begun raising a new group of queens to replace the departed regent. Generally, the first queen hatched will dispatch her rivals but occasionally the queens will fight to the death, with the losing queen being unceremoniously swept out of the hive.

Some beekeepers see swarming as a bad thing to be avoided. After all, much of the stored  honey goes with the departing bees. But swarming is a necessary episode in the history of a colony. There is a new, fertile queen to power the next round of expansion. Of course swarming may also be due to problems in the hive which may cause the bees to leave in search of more suitable quarters. Improper placement of the hive, pest or disease problems or the lack of a dependable water supply all may cause the colony to decamp. Swarming is also an opportunity to stock a new bee hive. Please remember to keep an eye on the original hive – your bees may need some feeding while they adjust to their new circumstances.  For more information go to http://www.beeworks.com/informationcentre/swarming.html.

HARVESTING

Many folks use their Garden Hive primarily for the purpose of promoting healthy bees in the environment and for pollination, but everyone’s favorite reason for keeping bees is the delicious honey made from your local flowers. Once the honey stores fill the hive it’s time to harvest. Remove two or three bars of capped honeycomb, cut the comb off the bar leaving maybe a half inch of wax and replace the bar on the brood side of the honey storage area. It’s a good idea to leave the bees with a full supply of honey for the winter. They may need it.

Honey

Honey is usually considered the principle product of the honey bee hive, but you should always determine that the bee colony has sufficient honey for themselves before taking any out.  As you examine the individual combs in your hive, you will notice that the brood combs are all together, each mixed with honey and pollen stores. These should not be harvested. Farther from the brood, you should find combs of all honey, some capped and some open. It is the capped honey comb that you are looking for. There should be an empty bar or so at the end of the hive that you can pry loose and take off to provide working space to cut free any attachments the bees might have made to the side of the hive. Work your way, bar by bar, until you get to the harvestable honey comb. Once the honey comb is removed from the hive bar, it can be cut into chunks and stored as comb honey. If you would like to separate the honey from the wax comb, you can crush the comb and strain the liquid honey from the wax.

Wax

Beeswax is another product of the bee’s body. It is secreted from the bee’s abdomen when needed and used to build the nest structure. The wax is edible, but has no nutritional value although it is quite valuable for making smokeless candles and beeswax soap as well as furniture polish, cosmetics, and countless other products. If you would rather not deal with the honeycomb you can rinse it well and return some of it to the hive where the bees will use it to build new comb, or remove it if unneeded. It is not a good idea to have a lot of wax in or around the hive as it may attract the wax moth, a serious pest.

Pollen

Honey bee pollen is quite nutritious and highly valued by natural healing advocates. It is vital to the development of the young in the brood nest as it is their major source of protein. We would rather not rob such a vital substance from our colony, in fact if your bees need feeding in the winter you may need to add a pollen supplement.

Royal Jelly

This is another product of the hive prized by natural healing practitioners. It is the substance fed to the developing young in the brood nest to turn them into queens.  Like pollen, royal jelly is only present in relatively small quantities and we would rather not disturb the brood nest.

Propolis

Propolis is yet another fascinating product of the honey bee colony. Foraging worker bees will carry sticky sap back to the hive where the hive workers use it as a glue or caulk. It also has both antibacterial and antiviral properties. Wild bees will completely coat the interior of their hive with propolis, indicating its importance to the colony.

DISEASE, PARASITES, AND PREDATORS

Honey bees have coexisted with diseases and parasites for millions of years. That being said, the world is not always a friendly place for the honey bee. The reasons for the decline of the honey bee in nature are varied and include many factors we are all too familiar with— “imported” pests and heavy-handed pesticide use are at the top of the list.

You should realize that pesticides are a major threat to your bees. If you would provoke a beekeeper, mention Sevin dust or other powdered insecticide–these are mistaken for pollen by the bees. The workers collect the poison and carry it back to the hive where it is fed to their young with devastating consequences. Keep your bees healthy by making sure they are well fed and that they are exposed to pesticides as little as possible.

Another threat is the wax moth that finds its way into the hive through very small openings. Its larvae tunnel through the comb and feed on the developing young honey bees. Other problems include rival honey bee colonies that may attack the hive to rob the honey combs and larger animals including rodents and even bears that try to break in to the hive. There are Varroa mites, tracheal mites, small hive beetles, and a host of other bee parasites, but unless you determine that the survival of the colony is at risk, you should allow the colony to manage these problems without benefit of the modern chemical industry. This is a controversial opinion. We do not advocate medicating your bees or using any kind of pesticide in the hive. If your colony seems to be struggling with disease or parasite problems, you may want to replace your queen, or “requeen,” with a “hygienic” hybrid from outside the colony as a means of introducing resistant genetics into the colony. You may also remove an affected comb, cut out the suspect portions and return the bar to the hive.  Be sure the infested comb is destroyed. Many keepers use their microwave.

Colony collapse disorder, CCD, is a problem affecting primarily large commercial honey bee operations, although it has been seen in backyard hives as well. No single cause has been identified, but we do know that stress has a major part to play. One of the reasons that top-bar hives like the Garden Hive seem to have fewer problems is that the design is the most like the bees’ natural hive. The observation window and the simple construction of the Garden Hive let you monitor conditions within the hive without major disturbances to the colony. The result is a low stress environment in which the bees are free to follow instincts evolved over millions of years. Our belief is that the solution to CCD and the decline of honeybees in general lies in the genetic makeup of the bee. Always use Varroa resistant “hygienic” queens whenever you can. If your colony seems to have a lot of trouble with mites we recommend replacing the queen rather than medicating the hive. As a beekeeper you have a unique opportunity to take part in the global effort to reverse the decline of the honeybee. With your help and an elimination of pesticides dangerous to the honey bee (and us!), we can all continue to enjoy the benefits of this fascinating social insect and important link in our food supply.

Questions? Visit us at thegardenhive.com. We would love to hear from you!

]]> http://www.thegardenhive.com/archives/958/feed 0 http://www.thegardenhive.com/archives/823 http://www.thegardenhive.com/archives/823#comments Sun, 31 Jan 2010 21:59:39 +0000 Bill http://www.thegardenhive.com/?p=823 I have been back and forth with some hard core Langstroth fans and I would like to remind everyone that the Langstroth hive is a commercial design invented in Victorian times (1851 or thereabouts) for the purpose of making beekeeping profitable, while the top bar hive is a wonderfully simple design which has come to us from our forebears and continues to be the best design for gardeners looking for better pollination or for hobbyists who enjoy spending time interacting with their bees.

“Is a horizontal hive unnatural?”   No, honeybees are quite adaptable and will often choose a horizontal space for their hive in the wild. I’ve seen them.

“Is the comb fragile and liable to fall off the bar when you are handling it?”    Well, yeah, that’s why you need to be careful!

“Are top bar hives hard to manage?”  Commercial honey sellers want to spend as little time with each hive as possible. Gardeners and hobbyists love to see what’s going on with the girls. Their time isn’t counted in dollars. Frequent inspections are made easy by the top bar design.

“Don’t people claim that top bars are better for bees?”   Yes, but there is no scientific proof, it is only an opinion. My opinion is that the easier it is for the keeper to monitor hive conditions, the better the chance your colony will survive the many perils it faces.

“Is the honey of top bars better?”    I wouldn’t be surprised. Top bar honey comb is made new with each batch. Garden Hive beeswax is white. Langstroth users only remove the wax cell caps to get the honey out. They use the same wax over and over, accumulating dust, debris and other things you may not want to eat. Again, a matter of opinion, not scientifically proven fact as far as I know.

“But what about swarming?”   The Langstroth’s bees will swarm if the hives are not competently managed. So will the Garden Hive’s.

“It’s harder for a beginner to learn.”  I don’t think so. We all know a top bar requires more attention than a Langstroth, but it would seem to me that the more time one spends with a subject the more one learns. Doesn’t practice make perfect?

“Aren’t top bars smaller?”   Yep, the Langstroth is designed to hold a lot of honey and a big colony. The Garden Hive is designed to be decorative and easy for almost anyone to manage. Kids, old folks, those with bad backs can manage this hive. As the top bar colony expands and begins to outgrow its space, the hive can be rather easily divided and the new colony set up in another hive, or released into the wild. Not every one finds this to be an absurd idea.

“Why are the bees gentler in a Garden Hive? “  Well, gentleness is a relative term and has many components. The breed or even the individual behaviour characteristics of your colony may be aggressive or not. Gentleness also depends on the skill of the keeper. Gentleness can vary with the weather or the time of day. Gentleness depends on how much the bees are being disturbed and for how long. It is in this last category that I maintain the Garden Hive shows an advantage. How much stress does it cause the colony to gently open the observation door? How much to pull, harvest and replace one bar of honey comb? On the other hand, how much disturbance to dismantle the Langstroth hive and then reassemble it? Does it really matter that much? Um, yes, unless you enjoy being in a full bee suit with clouds of stinging bees all about as you try to work your hive. Oh, and be sure your smoker is working correctly. But, perhaps I exaggerate.

“But won’t I need a $15 queen excluder? What about a $90 electric capping knife? Won’t I need a $450 hand cranked honey extractor? (The electric one is a little pricey at $1,200.) And which type of foundation should I choose? “   I feel your pain but you don’t need any of that with a top bar. If you want all the accessories (and who wouldn’t with such an array of professional looking equipment!) the Langstroth suppliers will be happy to take your money.

In sum, the Garden Hive or any modern top bar is the best hive for gardeners and hobby beekeepers. The Langstroth hive is the best hive for a commercially minded beekeeper who hopes to realize a financial gain from his sizeable investment. Whatever hive you choose, thank you. At the end of the day, it’s all about the bees.

1) When you get your packaged bees home, spray the sides with a 1:1 sugar mist to settle and feed the bees.

2) Get your hive ready by removing half the frames or top bars from the middle of the box.

3) Pry off the cover on the top of the bee package if you are using packaged bees, and carefully remove the can inside containing food. Don’t drop the queen cage, which is suspended right next to the can. Replace the cover so the bees don’t leave.

4) Remove the queen cage and suspend it from the top of one of the … top bars, using wire or the tin hanger from the cage. Bring some string with you just in case.

5) Spray the bees again, then thump them down to settle them.

6) Dump the bees into the cavity produced when the top bars were removed.

7) If you have a Garden Hive, fill the feeder and place in back of the hive but in front of the divider board before dumping the bees in, then carefully replace the remainder of the top bars and fit the roof on to the hive box. Be careful not to squash any bees, this is not a good time to upset them!

8) Come back in four or five days. Check the feeder for more feed, take the queen cage out, and NOW remove the cork on the candy end of the cage and replace as before.

9) In 10 days check again. She should be released and laying eggs. You are now a beekeeper.

10) Get a good book and read that, attend meetings, take a class, meet a beekeeper and have fun!

The following is excerpted from an article found on Mr. Chandler’s excellent website, biobees.com. Mr. Chandler is British and a seminal figure in the sustainable beekeeping movement. The brackets and illustrations are mine.

“Whether you approach it from the point of view of conservation, entomology, crop pollination or simply a love of honey, beekeeping is an engaging pursuit and a fascinating window on the natural world. So what does it take to become a beekeeper?

The essentials are simple enough: some sort of hive, a hat and a veil, an old, white shirt and some gloves – and at least the tacit agreement of the people who share your living space. It doesn’t matter whether you are a town or a country dweller, so long as there is an abundant and varied supply of flowering plants from early spring onwards. In fact, bees often do better in well-gardened, urban areas than in the ‘green desert’ of modern, industrial farm land.

Judging by the questions potential beekeepers ask me, they have three main areas of concern: the cost of equipment and bees; storage space for spare hive parts and other equipment, and the difficulty of lifting heavy boxes – especially when full of honeycomb. If you go down the road of ‘conventional’ beekeeping, using the standard ‘National’, the ‘WBC’ [British hives] or one of the other variants of the ‘movable frame’ hive ['Langstroth' in the U.S.], then these concerns are very real. You can expect to spend £250-£300 [roughly $400-$500] on woodwork and basic equipment; you will need a shed or similar space to store spare parts and you – or someone you can bribe – will need to be able comfortably to lift and carry 15-20 kilos [roughly 30-40 pounds] at a time. These three factors discourage people for whom money or space are already tight, and those who have a disability or are simply unable to lift and carry substantial weights. Luckily, there is an alternative.

Like many British beekeeping novices, I began with a ‘WBC’ hive – the kind with sloped-sided outer boxes familiar from children’s books. Soon, I acquired a couple more and began to realize that if I was to continue along this road, I would have to build myself a big shed in which to house all the spare woodwork and other paraphenalia that was rapidly accumulating – and I would have to find a way to pay for all the ‘extras’ I would soon be needing. At this point I asked myself – does it really need to be this way? – and that innocent question led me on an exploratory mission of reading, study and experimentation that showed me conclusively that, no – it does not need to be that way: beekeeping does not need to be complicated, expensive or dependent on machine-made parts and equipment.

My search for an alternative approach led me to the top bar hive – one of the oldest and simplest types of beehive – that requires little skill and few tools to build. A good start on the road to sustainable simplicity, but is it a practical hive for modern beekeeping?

After some years of experimenting and testing various designs, I believe I now have a top bar hive design that is easy to build, practical and productive, while being comfortable and easy to use for both the bees and the beekeeper. So what are top bar hives? The principle is simple: a box with sticks across the top, to which bees attach their comb. Mine have central, side entrances, sloping sides and a pair of ‘follower boards’ to enclose the colony. There are many variations on this theme and all have the essential guiding principle of simplicity of construction and of management. There are no frames, no queen excluders, no ekes, no mouse guards, no supers, no foundation and there is no need for extractors, settling tanks, filters, de-capping knives… in fact no need for any other equipment or storage space, other than that provided within the hive itself. And if you have just spent an hour leafing through suppliers’ catalogues, wondering how you can possibly afford to keep bees, that will come as some relief!

Building a top bar hive is no more difficult than putting up shelves and can be  done using hand tools and recycled wood. Top bar beekeeping really is ‘beekeeping for everyone’ – including people with disabilities, bad backs, or a reluctance to lift boxes: there is no heavy lifting once your hives are in place, as honey is harvested one comb at a time. From the bees’ point of view, top bar hives offer weatherproof shelter, the opportunity to build comb to their own design – without the constraints of man-made wax foundation – and minimal disturbance, thanks to a ‘leave well alone’ style of management.

So where do you get bees from? You can buy them or catch them, or if you are lucky, they will adopt you! Catching or luring a swarm is by far the most fun – and much easier than you might think. Bees swarm in response to their instinct to reproduce – mostly in spring and early summer – and the sight of a swarm in flight is certainly impressive. However, contrary to popular belief, this is the time when they are least likely to sting you: their only concern at that moment is to find a new place to live. So if you offer them the right sort of accommodation at the right time –such as a pleasant-smelling, cosy beehive – they are very likely to move in of their own accord. Many people become beekeepers by enticing a passing swarm using a few drops of citronella or lemon grass oil, or better still, rubbing the inside of  the hive with pure beeswax.

Capturing a swarm is not difficult either – hold a basket or cardboard box under their football-sized cluster on a tree branch and give a good shake! It is not always as easy as that, but it is rarely as difficult as getting a cat out of a tree.

If you think you want to keep bees, I suggest you first get to know a local beekeeper who is willing to let you visit and handle their bees. Most beekeepers’ associations have ‘meet the bees’ days during the spring, giving newcomers a chance to see inside a hive and test their responses to being surrounded by bees. And stings? Yes, you will get stung from time to time, however careful you are. Local swelling, redness and itching is a normal reaction: faintness, breathing difficulties and collapse are true allergic symptoms and are potentially life threatening. Most people who keep bees become less sensitive to stings over time, but sometimes it goes the other way and occasionally an experienced beekeeper may suddenly become allergic. So if you have any reason to suppose you may be sensitive to bee venom (only about one in 200 people are) be sure to carry Benadryl or an Epipen (adrenaline injection) or ensure that whoever you are with is properly equipped to deal with an emergency.

Bees are in trouble right now – from pesticides, industrial farming, pollution, parasitic mites and viruses – and we need all the ‘natural’ beekeepers we can get to build up their numbers and give them a chance to solve their own problems.
So, if you want to keep bees, build yourself a hive before the swarm season, and you could be tasting your own honey by the end of the summer!”

Philip Chandler
www.biobees.com