Topbar bee hives1/8/2024 However, our overarching goal is instead to promote horizontal top-bar beekeeping as a sustainable option for most beekeepers around the world, and to make these plans available to people of all backgrounds and means, so that anyone, including those who would not otherwise have the means to access these plans or hives, still can start keeping bees in top-bar hives as easily and cheaply as possible. Yes, we do realize we could monetize these plans for our own profit. Please note on the last page there is an Easy-Peasy Method to convert Langstroth colonies and frames into Top-Bar Hive format through a horizontal conversion. We offer the plans below free of charge, because we want to encourage more people to build and use them, and even start a business of their own selling them and/or selling Top-Bar NUCs of bees for their customers (in Texas, those sell for about $350 each for 4/5 bars of brood/food/bees/queen!). Applied properly and in a timely fashion, IPM strategies eliminate and discourage the need for treatments, so in effect Top-Bar hives are a great tool in the fight against Pests and Pathogens, especially Varroa Destructor. Top-Bar hives best adhere to the scientific principles of the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) pyramid, use only natural comb, and facilitate mechanical intervention/manipulations. When using legs (optional), the work is all done at waist level without bending or twisting: this is a back-saver, ergonomically friendly hive. When inspecting, only 3-4 bars are removed and the brood’s nest is never fully exposed, which protects the colony and keeps the bees much calmer than in vertical hives.īars are inspected one at a time, so there is no heavy lifting. In Horizontal Top-Bar Hives, the bees make 100% natural combs from their own wax, building different cell sizes as needed based on the season, so there is no exposure to the heavy chemical contamination from foundation and the colony can best adapt to their specific needs. They are beekeeping at its simplest, easiest and cheapest: a protected cavity, with bars placed across the top and spaced appropriately so the colony may be inspected and managed by the beekeeper easily. Today’s Horizontal Top-Bar hives are the modern version of very ancient and simple beekeeping methods. The concept of Horizontal Top-Bar hive has been around for hundreds of years and has been used all over the world, from Greece to Africa. What are Horizontal T op-Bar Hives? (free, easy plans below)
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