Thanks Scott. Interesting about the capillary action, exactly the opposite of what I'd have thought. When I look at pictures of the slurry - I have a hard time...
Hi, I am wondering if anyone can talk about what they see as the advantages of a Top Bar Hive (as pictured on this homepage, with its trapezoidal shape) over a...
It is cheaper and easier to build a TBH than a Langstroth/hoffman hive. However point for point, Foundationless langs have all the advantages of being...
Scott, when you say that you no longer recommend disrupting the brood chamber, do you mean ONLY by turning the bars around? Do you still think it's OK to...
Scot, thanks for the (fast!) input. The guy who built my Top Bar Hives (we don't have a table saw so couldn't do those angles) insists it would be soooo much...
If the frames don't have to have foundations it would be real easy. Just some cut squares of paneling even the fiberboard kind and lay a thin strip of wood...
A tool you might wish to invest in if you want to do several over time would be a trim router. You can get one for under $20 at Homier.com. Couple it up with a...
Sure if the season is right...once the bees stop building brood comb though and start building honey comb in the brood chamber you can give up until late fall,...
Foundation based frames are harder to make actually...foundationless frames don't need anything special. Once you have comb built, it is a simple matter of...
Tools is what makes developmental beekeeping a show stopper. Its not so easy for some people to get tools and maintain them. Scot McPherson McPherson Family...
You are assuming that TBHs need to be made out of wood...However even wood TBHs are easier to make since they don't have to be exacting dimensions like langs...
I've been told to remove brood comb every few years, because the cells can be incubators for mites. When is the right time to do this? I don't want to take...
Well you are half right and half wrong... Old comb can lead to health problem, but not because of mites. Mites in fact are deterred by old combs, because...
Scott is there any reason why old comb could or should not be used in establishing a new colony? Especially if it contains brood? Jim Payne ... From: "Scot...
Well the only disadvantage to using old comb is that you cycle old comb out of a hive with FIFO (First In First Out) so you are seeding the hive with comb that...
Illuminating discussion on old comb and management. Scott, can you elaborate on what health problems you're referring to in connection with old comb? Thanks, ...
Well I can't be specific because I must say I haven't experienced any problems, but it seems it is general knowledge that one should cycle new comb in and old...
Old comb may contain diseases, like AFB spores, and residue from miticides (for those who are dumb enough to use such). In Denmark, we try never to reuse old...
In spring/early summer we move honeycomb that has not been used for brood forward in the nest, so the bees will use that in stead of the old brood comb, which...
Hey Kristin, I started with TBH's this spring and made two slightly different ones. After researching and trying to keep it simple and cheap I ended up making...
It apears you have gotten an overwhelming response to your question. The one feature that I did not see mentioned is the way the trapezoidal shape allows bees...
My take on hive shape has more to do with frameless beekeeping, and the stresses placed ont he combs when the shape is not correct. I am not sure what the...
Good luck in your t-shirt. I started this way too, actually in a long sleeved shirt of my husband. But as the hive ages, the girls get more protective, and...
So if you had put rubber bands around your shirt sleeve cuffs you might have prevented that one too? This is getting interesting ! Jim Payne ... From: "Peter"...
Its not a matter of them aging, it's a matter of resources. When you have more bees, you have more bees to spare. Therefore the stronger the hive the more...
... Your bees have regressed. Re-queen from good stock ASAP -- venlig hilsen / best regards / vy 73 de OZ4PH & 5P1H P.H. Rankin Hansen Stjærvej 15, Storring ...
