Natural Beekeeping International Forum

[exmar]

Hi Folks,

New to beekeeping. Have one Langstroth hive that a guy has been taking care of for me, but due to age he's giving it up. I'm taking over and found another beekeeper who will work with me in exchange for placing some of his hives here on the farm.

I'm building a TBH "generally" per the "Barefoot Beekeeper" plans and dimensions. "Generally" means I'm following closely as to dimensions, but using surplus material I have in the barn.

My question is the actual construction of the top bars. Per the "Barefoot Beekeepers" discussion and other online sources, there are a variety of possibilities for the top bar. Saw kerf with beeswax, saw kerf with cord and beeswax, various wood shapes attached to the top bar and rubbed with beeswax, short sections of comb starter, even popsicle sticks....

I was thinking of a "mix and match" of sawkerf with cord and wax, and half round molding with beeswax then see what the bees prefer. Easy enough to rework the "unpopular" ones.

Remember I'm a novice, am I setting myself up for disaster?

In this area, acquiring bees seems to be only a matter of setting up a clean hive with beeswax inside. e.g. The "Lang" hive I have now was placed here empty during the winter, I noticed the following spring that it had a thriving colony. Other folks have reported similar occurrences.

Thanks for your time,

Ev

[biobee]

I think that is a reasonable idea, although I would suggest placing them in series, so ABCABCABC rather than AAABBBCCC as their position in the hives will have some effect on tendency to cross-comb, or not.

[exmar]

biobee, thanks for the response, will definitely alternate as you suggest. Provides good insight into bees moving into their new home.

Be well,

Ev