top-bar beehive

[bee_pipes]

Got inspired by Jarrett D. Kelly's article "Build a top-bar beehive" (Nov/Dec 2005, issue #96). Materials needed were 1 sheet 3/4" plywood ($26), 3 pieces 2x4 ($2.99 ea), scrap lumber on hand, 1 5/8" screws and 1" screws, 3/4" nails, primer, paint and wood glue (all on hand). Tools: jigsaw, circular saw, electric drill. Work on top bars done by a friend with a table saw and planer.

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http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o120/bee_pipes/beehive1ends.jpg
Cut the ends first. We tried to follow directions. Some dimensions didn't quite jive. Now that we know what we are doing and how pieces fit together, we can shoot from the hip.

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3/16" spacers on ends to maintain bee space between ends and first & last top bar.

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Assembled hive body.

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Completed hive body and roof ready for painting.

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First coat of paint. Top bars made - holds 32 top bars as promised.

Left to do - spline (already cut from scrap lumber and waiting) glued into kerf on bottom side of top bars. Paint spline with bee's wax to encourage bees to draw comb.

Bees arrive on the 14th of April, will put bees wax on just before installing bees so the wax moths don't get to it first.

More pictures when we get the top bars ready, the base built, and bees installed. We will also be running two conventional Langstroth hives too - didn't want to jump into top-bar hives without covering my bet.

Figure total cost for materials around $30 - maybe more if paint and screws were not already on-hand. Pessimistically, maybe $50 for a new hive. Compare to $150-$200 for a new Langstroth.

Took about two days to build - I'm no carpenter. But with one done, I think I could do it in a day (not counting paint).

Regards,
Pat

[AlchemyAcres]

Excellent!

Looks great!


~Martin

[bee_pipes]

Getting the yard ready for bees - three packages coming in next weekend. Cap stones for the langstroth hives, and timbers for the top-bar. Hoping the top-bar works, left room to add more hives at a later date. Used two sacks of quickcrete to keep the posts in. Measured comfortable waist-high level to make it convenient to work on the hive - just a little over three feet from the ground to the to top of the hive. Decided to leave the langstroths on the ground - don't think hive bodies will get piled too high, but the son-of-a-guns can get so heavy on such a small footprint, I'd rather bend over than have the hives topple.

A few t-posts and chicken wire to keep the dogs, chickens and other critters from stumbling into the hives.

The spot is high ground, morning sun, facing east southeast. Stands have a slight slope forward for draining condensation to the entrance.

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http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o120/bee_pipes/beeyardinmorningsun2.jpg

Regards,
Pat

[bee_pipes]

The notches on the edges of the roof - strictly ornamental, gave the impression of a gingerbread house. With all the blank painted lumber, I decided to decorate. Have seen simple bird houses that were jazzed up a little with paint, this is just a big bird house. Went to the crafts conferences and asked around, got steered to a few places and given a few terms to look up, and this is my first attempt at decorating with paint:

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Front view

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From the front

http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o120/bee_pipes/hive_decorated_1.jpg
From the rear

Regards,
Pat

[AlchemyAcres]

That's a masterpiece...you do good work!!

None of mine looked anywhere near that good! LOL

I made a few with wood....but most with split 30 gallon plastic barrels and scrap wood....less than $10 each...but that was back in the 80's.


~Martin :)

[Briarhill]

very nice, I've been thinking about adding a topbar to my beeyard ;D

[bee_pipes]

We got the bees yesterday. A fellow on another list we subscribe to put us in touch with someone in Kentucky that has bee yards down in Mississippi. He passes through this way constantly when the bees are flying, and we made arrangements to meet him on the road and take delivery of three packages.

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good healthy package. Hardly any bees in the bottom. They were chilled after traveling. We set them in the greenhouse for a spell and painted the screen with sugar water.

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Opening first package. Can of sugar water sits in well on package. Queen cage suspended by wire stapled to top of package.

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uncorking candy end on queen cage

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queen in place, shaking package into hive

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queen in place, bees in hive

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placing feeder

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hive buttoned up, package in front of entrance to allow stragglers to enter

I had seen langstroths installed before, but this was my first attempt with a top bar. I read a reference on the internet that recommended putting the feeder towards the back of the hive, so that's where I put the queen cage too. She was out a bar from the back to allow the bees to cluster around her, and the feeder was placed forward enough to be sure she was not hanging over the feeder. I decided the bottom of the hive was too narrow and the whole arrangement was a bit top-heavy. Before installing the package we built out-riggers out of scrap lumber to help keep it upright in a strong wind.

http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o120/bee_pipes/08topbarqueenplaced.jpg
queen placed in top bar hive

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shaking package into top bar hive

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three packages installed - it's miller time

All seems to have gone well. We have not had the best flying weather, but it did stop raining today and we got some sun this afternoon. Bees were out making orientation and evacuation flights. I checked the feeders (jars in the langstroths) and they seem to be drawing pretty heavily on the syrup. Tomorrow they will need to be refilled, and I think they will be replaced with larger jars. The top bar feeder was a plastic bowl small enough to sit in the bottom of the hive without tipping. Hardware cloth strips were cut to make ramps into and out of the feeder, and wood shavings were placed inside to provide floats. In the past I have used division board feeders and wound up with lots of drowned workers. The floats seemed like a good idea. With these frosts and freezes, I expect to be feeding for a while until the weather stays warm enough for annual weeds to get going again.

Regards,
Pat

[bee_pipes]

I haven't mowed this one yet, since it's new, but in the past I have been able to mow so long as I stay out from in front of the hives. For mowing directly in front of the hives, use a weed wacker from the side.

The fencing is 5 foot poultry wire. Four feet of it is above ground, the remaining foot has been buried in a shallow trench. Sunflower seed has been sown over it to anchor the wire to the ground with the roots. The fence won't need to be trimmed where the sunflowers are - on the inside of the fence. Outside the fence, the entire area can be mowed because it is far enough away from the front of the hives.

Normally we would bury the fencing on the outside of the area, but with chickens roaming around, they won't let the sunflowers grow - the chickens eat the seedlings as soon as they show themselves above ground. The idea was to discourage critters from trying to dig under the fence.

Regards,
Pat