TOP BAR BEEHIVES
The following pages are a compilation of useful information to help beginning TBH Beekeepers. Some information repeats from page to page depending on the topic. This site is still a work in progress.
To return to a natural state of harmony with the honey bee man must change his entire approach and abandon bee keeping altogether and adopt a practice of bee handling.
This site is dedicated to compiling information about beekeeping in top bar hives. I would like to thank some of the people who I have turned to for advice.
First, James Satterfield has graciously given his permission to use his research as we attempt to further TBH beekeeping. To view James' web site . Two more guys which have been a great source of guidence are Dennis Murrell ( ) and Michael Bush ( ) these guys dedicate a great deal of their personal time guiding new beekeepers and asked nothing in return.
I despise the use of chemicals in any situation where Mother Nature will be affected. However all aspects of TBH beekeeping will be discussed.
In the picture a swarm moves into an abandonded hive. 
Currently the Honey Bee is in quite a bad predicament. The Varroa mite is wreaking havoc on colonies all over the world. Mite infestations are greater than the colony can handle causing the transfer of a number of nasty viruses, commonly known as PMS (parasitic mite syndrome). The most likely cause can be traced back to man's interference in the natural activities of the colony. Man has attempted to alter the size of the honey comb cell in an attempt to raise larger bees which in turn would store more honey for a bigger harvest. With the advent of “foundation” came breeders attempts to breed larger bees which worked fine until the Varroa mite showed up and found larger cells to be ideal for raising more offspring. The colony could not tolerate the additional stress cause by the larger mite load. Typically the colony would not make it out of its second winter.
All current research no matter who is conducting it points to smaller cell sizes being the answer to the problem. The smaller cell sizes occur in natural brood nests which are allowed to develop without the stresses added by foundation or constant manipulation by the keeper. Bees which are left to build a natural nest have instincts which tell them when to build different cell sizes and where to locate them according to what the colony needs at that particular time, in that particular environment! Bees that are allowed to make the decisions on their own also will clean the brood nest and remove infected larvae. It is when the beekeeper interferes in the natural development of the core brood nest the colony looses direction and focus in an attempt to counter what the beekeeper is doing. The natural chain of events that must occur to insure a low mite load going into the winter cluster fails and thus the colony collapses.
There is not much hard information collected about TBH's except for what individual beekeepers are publishing on web sites. Information from Langstroth hives must be incorporated into the research and a happy middle ground found in order to begin to understand the advantages the TBH hive offers.
There are some “experts” in the “beekeeping” world that believe that we are all split into 3 different categories bee havers, bee killers, and finally beekeepers. It’s the beekeepers that criticize the others and preach “the right way” to keep bees. These are the same “experts” that have followed practices that were handed down from generation to generation, the same practices that have driven the honey bee into the predicament it is in today.
There is a fourth group, a group that is more interested in the preservation of not only the honey bee but the purity of the hive product as well. This group is known as bee handlers. A group that wishes to work in harmony with the bee, willing to sacrifice the huge harvest in order to have strong healthy colonies that do not require harsh chemicals to survive, A bee handler takes colony needs and puts them before his own.
The following pages are information on colony biology Bee Behavior, Honey bee life history, Honey bee nutrition, Suppressed mite reproduction and Seasonal cycles. These pages are informational only and included as the basics. The rest of the information comes from research and my own experiences, hope it helps.
If you get nothing else from the information on this site at least understand this- Regional climate, daily temperature and weather are the dictating factors that drive the bee calendar. To be successful you must match your management practices to these conditions and to what the bees are doing LOCALLY. The only people that can tell you if screened bottoms work well through winter or how much honey to leave on are beekeepers with experience in your area!
New pages added = Treating Varroa w/o Chemicals (2 April 08)
Bee Biology
Basic Bee Biology for Beekeepers The Biology of theHoney bee, Apis Mellifera Honey Bee Biology 101
Honey Bee Biology PPT
NEW TBH HIVE DESIGN
Colony Collapse
see the following articles:
CRS report for congress- Recent honey bee colony declines Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD)
Bee researchers close in on Colony Collapse Disorder Friday, September 7, 2007
THE SUSTAINABLE BEEKEEPING PROJECT
Project Aims
To create a publicly accessible research and educational facility for the breeding, conservation and sustainable management of honeybees (Apis mellifera). The conservation of the various bumble bee species (Bombus sp.) and other wild bee species will also be addressed.
Background
Bees play a vital role in our ecological system. As well as maintaining the fertility of a multitude of flowering wild plants and trees, they are by far the most important pollinators of agricultural crops. When suitably accommodated and managed, honeybees can also provide us with honey, beeswax, pollen and propolis. Bee venom, widely used in eastern Europe for certain medical conditions, is little-known in Britain but may have therapeutic potential as yet largely unexplored.
see the rest of the article here
Towards Sustainable Beekeeping
"Usually, terrible things that are done with the excuse that progress requires them
are not really progress at all, but just terrible things."
Russell Baker
It seems to me that beekeeping is no longer sustainable in its present form. We need to re-think our management methods from top to bottom, or face an unprecedented decline in the health and strength of the bee population and the end of honey – at least in the public perception - as a pure, healthy food.
see the rest of the article here
The Top Bar Beekeeping Forum -sustainable, small-scale beekeeping for all
Check out the ultimate natural hive. Phil Chandler hosts David Heaf and the
Abbe Warre' hive here:
http://warre.biobees.com/
Click to join warrebeekeeping
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SITE LAST UPDATED 2 April 2008
Copyright © 2002-2007 Gary Piantanida- Free for Private Use. - All Other Rights Are Reserved.