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Subject: Orange County, NC Beekeepers

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  • From: Tom Wright <twright AT vicksburg.com>
  • To: "Orange County, NC Beekeepers" <ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [ocba] Top Bar hives
  • Date: Sat, 08 May 2010 13:41:40 -0400

I am just curious if any on the OCBA folks have tried top bar hives.

One of the beekeepers in VBurg did and I was impressed. He made them out of scrap lumber so cost was virtually none except for the bars themselves. They were 1X2's that he split lengthwise and cut a groove in to insert a one inch strip of foundation to get them started. You have to be careful of bee space between the frames and frames and walls.

Harvesting was a snap. Used little, if any, smoke. Lid was in sections and as he worked he moved frames with brood and most of the bees in the shade under them, where they stayed virtually undisturbed.

You can't extract the honey and have to handle the combs carefully. He just cut them off, leaving a one inch or so strip on the bar for them to buil on. No hassle with wire in the foundation, queen excluders or brood. He just put the comb honey in jars and covered with extracted. Got a nice price for it as a gourmet item.

Lots of plans and info on the net on top bars.

Tom




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