Working

So, let's work a top bar hive. A veil and smoker are used as a normal precaution when working any beehive. A serrated knife, a bee brush(the yellow plastic bristle kind) and a clean bucket to hold extraneous comb are necessities. A top bar stand, some water and a hive tool are useful.

Opening the Hive

In a top bar hive, the beekeeper starts work at the far end of hive, away from the entrance. Bees come and go without realizing the hive is open. In a standard hive, the beekeeper works near the entrance. This attracts the guard bees attention. And smoke is constantly used to keep them distracted. Normally, in a tbh, only a little smoke is needed. Lightly smoke the hive entrance.

Remove the cover to expose the top bars. The cover isn't propolized or glued to the hive. The bees don't have access above the top bars. So, the cover isn't pried or broken loose when it's removed. there's no jarring. And no hive tool is needed.

Starting at the hive's rear, remove the spacer cleat or several the empty top bars. This gives rear access to the comb. Top bars, with comb, are found nearer the entrance.

Push additional combless top bars toward the hive's far end until a working space is created next to the rear most comb. This narrow slot allows access to the comb without much disruption to the hive interior.

Only a small open area is needed to inspect a top bar hive. Most bees continue working with limited bee flight coming out the narrow opening. When larger areas are opened, the bees quickly retreat to the dark, safe, broodnest area toward the hive's front.

In contrast, a lot of surface area is opened up when working standard hives. The bees are exposed to radical changes in temperature, humidity, light, odors and movement. This gets their attention. Then, they often get yours, unless you smoke them. :>)

Slightly attached brood comb.

Cutting Attachments

The bees attach comb to the sidewalls. Most attachments are small. But they extensively attach all heavy comb to the hive. They know when and where more comb support is needed. Attachments aren't a problem. They are an asset. But even the smallest attachment must be cut before a top bar or comb is moved.

Before moving a top bar or comb, cut it free of all attachments. Inspect every comb carefully. If attachments are left uncut, moving the top bar tears the comb. Even the smallest attachment can cause big problems. A torn or damaged comb almost always fails. It unzips from the damaged area. This failure can happen instantly if the comb is new, hot and heavy. Or it can slowly fail, before the bees repair it, leaving a surprise for the next inspection.

Comb damage also occurs if the attachments aren't carefully and gently cut. Take your time. Don't tear the comb free. Instead gently cut it loose. If the attachments are torn instead of cut, the comb is damaged and can fail.

Completely attached honey storage comb.

Cutting attachments with a hive tool often causes comb failure. A hive tool is blunt. It tends to bulldoze the comb rather than cut it. When cutting attachments with a hive tool, the force is directed toward the hive's bottom. This creates additional stress in the comb. I've entirely abandoned my hive tool for this purpose.

A serrated knife is a much better tool for cutting attachments. It's longer, thinner and sharper than a hive tool. Work from the bottom of the comb upward. Don't saw the comb with the serrated knife. The horizontal forces created stresses a comb. Rather than saw the comb, move the knife slowly upward while slightly withdrawing it. Allow the knife to 'melt' its way through the comb. Don't pull the comb backward, even the tiniest amount, as you withdraw the knife.

Top bar hive beekeepers are innovative. One beekeeper bent a stainless steel auto radio antenna into a 'J' shape. Then fixed some thin wire across the gap. It's works like a cheese slicer for cutting attachments.

After the attachments are cut, don't scrape them off the hive's sides. When the comb is returned, the bees quickly repair the attachment, which greatly strengthens the comb.

Top bar stand.

Removing Top Bars

Once a comb is cut free from all attachments, the top bar is slowly separated from its neighbor and gently removed from the hive. Don't yank it upward. That acceleration can cause a heavy comb to fail.

Keep the plane of the comb vertical. If the top bar is even slightly rotated out of its natural hanging position, this stresses the comb and the comb fails. Rather than grabbing the top bar and holding on to it like one would do with a standard frame, let the top bar ends rest freely in the hands, hanging naturally from its own weight. When held like this, any movement causes both the comb and the top bar to roll, which is much less stressful to the comb.

After inspecting a comb, gently set it down in a free space toward the hive's far end or use a top bar stand. I consider a top bar stand a necessity, as handling a top bar with its comb requires two hands. It's almost impossible to do anything other than observe a comb without one.

Be aware that a strong wind could stress the comb when using the stand. The top bars rest solidly on the stand but the wind can cause the comb to flap, ever so slightly. This flapping produces the same effect as rotating the top bar. It causes the comb to fail. The wind can do it. And rapid or careless comb movement can also do it.

Some top bar hive guys have extended the top boards on each side of the hives. These provide a built in comb stand and hive carrier. It's a neat idea.

New, hot and heavy honey comb is very fragile. If there's room and the hive is healthy, it's best to leave such comb alone for a season. Beekeepers using standard frames, often set aside newly drawn comb for the same reason.

There's no beespace between these top bars.

Inserting Top Bars

To maintain proper broodnest structure, keep the top bars in the same position and orientation when placing them back in the hive. Some beekeeper number the top bars so they don't get confused and rotate or switch top bar positions.

Top bars must be set down gently and slowly. The comb is only attached at the top and if a heavy comb is dropped in place, the sudden stop causes the comb to fail. Take your time. Give bees, which might be cleaning up honey on the attachments, time to move out of the way. Only a despot kills the workers that feed him. And one of those bees might just be the queen.

Unlike standard frames, top bars don't have a bee space between them. If top bars are set down quickly or carelessly slide together, bees are crushed. Once the hive is closed up, the bees don't have access to these areas. Crushed bees are preserved for the next inspection. It's a grizzly sight if one is careless or hasty.

There are two methods to avoid squashing bees. One method, a more horizontal approach, involves slowly setting the top bar in the hive. Then carefully moving one end closer than the other end to create a V shaped space. The end with the widest opening is gradually moved to close the gap. It's moved carefully enough so that any bees feeling squeezed can move toward the wider part of the gap and escape the squeeze. Eventually the gap is closed. It normally takes less than 30 seconds and works well for heavy comb. I sometimes establish the V, then use a few puffs of smoke and a bee brush on the bees in the gap.

The second method involves a more vertical approach. The leading edge of a top bar is aligned with trailing edge of the top bar in the hive. The top bar is carefully slid down the trailing top bar edge in the hive. This pushes the bees out of the way. Some bees end up below the top bar and some end up above. It's fast, takes less than 5 seconds, and works well with light comb.

Smoke can be used to hurry the bees along. But it seems about as many bees scurry into trouble as scurry out of the way.

Comb Failure

When a comb fails, or a piece is cut out, don't worry. Bees construct natural comb easily. Damaged comb is quickly replaced. Put the cut off comb in a container at the hive's rear. The bees salvage it. Make sure the container is large enough. Honey flowing down the bottom board disrupts hive ventilation and can cause a catastrophic meltdown.

Hot Weather Precautions

Standard bee equipment is safely worked during very hot weather. Frames are pulled, set in direct sunlight and even sag from the heat. Burr comb can melt. Yet, those sagging frames are put back in a super without comb failure.

That's not so with top bar comb. Without the wooden frame, wires and plastic inserts, the comb is more fragile. As combs are cut free and removed from the hive, they are exposed to the sun. Combs moved toward the hive's far end continue to warm. They are displaced from cooling which the bees provide toward the hive's front.

In contrast to the worked comb, the comb the beekeeper is actively working is in the coolest part of the hive, where the bees control the temperature. Its wax is stiff and requires a serrated knife to cut. But worked comb, which is moved toward the hive's far end or set in a top bar stand, can be overheating and suddenly fail. This comb won't sag to warn a beekeeper that things are getting too hot. Instead, it suddenly collapses into a pile of mush, much to the surprise of the beekeeper.

It's easy to lose track of time when working a top bar hive. There's no heavy lifting. Hive parts aren't scattered all over the place. And there are no angry bees to move the beekeeper along. These very characteristics, which make them so attractive to work, become a deceptive liability when the weather is too hot. The heating effects become cumulative and are compounded by the longer working time required by a top bar hive. New, heavy comb becomes very weak under such conditions.

What more can I say! It was too hot, the comb too new,
and I took too long.

Collapsed comb, in a closed hive, is the precursor to a catastrophe. Honey flows down the bottom board. The bees retreat toward the entrance. Ventilation is lost and other hot, weak combs also fail. This process continues until all the combs in the hive have fallen like Dominoes.

I lost a top bar hive this way :>(.

When it's too hot, go to the lake or sit on the patio. Enjoy life. Drink some mead or lemon aide seasoned with fresh mint leaves from the garden. The bees are OK. They have extra room and access to water. Your early season management has prepared them for this time of year. The hive is now running like a finely tuned engine. Bees have survived for millennial without mans help, right?

Well, if you aren't sure, make any inspection very brief. Forget cutting all those attachments. It takes too long and new comb can't take the stress. If additional room is needed, quickly harvest a few top bars from the hive's rear. Then get out.

Set a time limit. Use a watch to keep track of the time. It's too easy to get diverted. Well, it's too easy for me to get diverted. Am I getting too old, too hot or just having too much fun? :>)

What temperature is too hot? Solar intensity is probably more important than an absolute temperature in my climate. I live at a high elevation and latitude. The air is thin, humidity is low, and the sunlight is intense. It's common for burr comb to quickly melt in direct summer sunlight, even when the temperatures are relatively cool. Is the hive in the shade? Is it cloudy? How long is the hive's exposed and accumulating heat? What's the angle of the sun? Is it early morning, or late in the evening? Is the wind blowing?

Here's an interesting experiment. Get a small, scrap piece of newly drawn, empty top bar hive comb. Notice how stiff it is. How easily it's handled. Did you have to cut it free from the hive? Now, let it set in the sun. At 30 second intervals, squeeze a edge and attempt to pick it up. How does its current physical state compare to its state when first removed from the top bar hive? How long before you can't even pick it up to examine it? For me, at early summer, two minutes is the maximum time it takes for the comb to loose all its mechanical strength and turn to mush.

The comb's age is another factor. Newly drawn comb is extremely fragile. Beekeepers using standard equipment set aside new frames, for a season, before extracting them. Extra caution is used by top bar hive beekeepers with new comb. As comb ages, it becomes much stronger.

No beekeeper would open a hive and rummage about when it's too cold. Top bar hive beekeepers can't do it when it's too hot either. It's too risky. So like much of beekeeping, it's more art than science. But when in doubt, stay out.