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How to Raise Bees With a Top Bar Beehive

Top bar beekeeping is a very old method of housing bees. According to Outdoor Place, top bar hives appeared as early as 1682. The hive is very simple compared to full-framed hives. The exterior of the hive is a simple box. Some top bar hives have sides slanting inward toward the bottom. The bars lie across the top of the box and the bees hang their honeycomb from each bar. The boxes can be any convenient size. The only important measurement is the width of each bar, which must be at least 1 3/8 inches.

Things You'll Need

Beeswax
Protective beekeeping garments
Smoker
Knife

Instructions

- 1
  Place a ½ inch strip of beeswax on the underside of each top bar. According to Mother Earth News, the bees will continue to build their honeycomb where they find the wax.
- 2
  Lay the bars across the top of the hive. Each bar must touch the one next to it.
- 3
  Check the hives frequently. According to the Michiana Beekeepers Association, top bar hives do not have the room for honey storage of larger full-framed hives. If the bees run out of room, they will swarm. Suit up in protective beekeeping garb and smoke the hive before removing any bars from the hive.
- 4
  Carefully remove each bar. Because the honeycomb support is only on the top, the entire comb is more fragile than a full-framed comb. Never turn the bar sideways so that the comb extends next to the bar horizontally. This will break the comb.
- 5
  Cut the comb off the bar, leaving a ½ inch strip of comb for the bee's next comb.

Insects & Science