How to Beekeep Using Top Bars

Set up the top-bar beehive according to the instructions. Place the hive in a location where the bees will receive warm early morning sun. If the hive does not have legs, use a pallet or cement blocks as a stand.

Mix sugar syrup feed for the new bees. Combine hot water and granulated sugar in a 1:1 ratio. Allow the syrup to cool and store it in a covered glass jars until the bees arrive.

Obtain honey bees. Beekeeping supply companies sell packaged bees early every spring. A package of bees includes a fertile queen and 2-5 pounds of worker bees.

Receive the package of bees and prepare to add them to the hive. Remove several bars from the top of the hive. Open the package and carefully remove the queen cage from the package. Place the caged queen inside the breast pocket of your shirt to protect her from the wind.

Shake the bees into the hive body. Turn the package upside down and shake it above the open hive until nearly all the bees fall from the package into the hive.

Feed the bees. Install the feeder and pour in the sugar syrup. Peel back the wax paper on the pollen patty and place it inside the hive where it will not fall and where the bees can access it. The bees will stop using this food when enough natural pollen and nectar is available.

Remove the cork from the queen cage and quickly push a piece of soft candy inside the open hole to prevent the queen from escaping.

Place the queen cage between two bars and squeeze them together; friction holds it in place. Ensure the worker bees can access the candy in order to chew through it and free the queen.

Check the hive in a few days. Ensure that the queen is free of her cage. Remove the empty queen cage and make sure the bees are using the sugar syrup.

Monitor the bees' progress throughout the warm season. Open the hive every 10-14 days and check to see that the queen is laying eggs in the brood comb, the workers are building comb and storing honey and pests have not damaged any part of the hive.

Harvest a small amount of honey in late fall. Honey production will increase in the second year if the hive is healthy and well maintained.