Episode-227- Part 2 Check The Top Bar Hive Before Winter

Here is part 2 of the November 2nd pre-winter check of the top bar hive. In this video you will see more of the honey stores these bees have prepared for the long cold winter. A good clean up job of old unused comb and the addition of fondant will help these bees through the winter. At least that's the plan. We'll see how it goes. The update I provided on December 22 describes what I saw and did...

Feed The Bees During This Warm Winter Break

It was 70 degrees Fahrenheit in northern Virginia today the Saturday before Christmas 2013. It is supposed to be 70 and rainy all day tomorrow through Monday and the bees were out and active and I was too as a good check inside the hive revealed their shallow stores for the remaining winter. They had already plowed through the frame of fondant I put in the hive on November 2nd and they were...

Episode-196- Inspect The Top Bar Hive For Eggs And More

This is a pretty cool video of the latest top bar hive inspection. I show how I inspect and manage the hive and it is wonderful to see so many active bees raising brood and making a real home sweet home. The other two hives in the yard are Langstroth hives and they are struggling with raising new queens in both. But this hive is the Thrive Hive. It is a kick ass colony really gearing up for...

Episode-179- Inspect Top Bar Hive For Queen, Larvae And Eggs

This video shows how to inspect a top bar beehive for the queen, larvae and eggs. It also depicts my methods for feeding the colony and controlling pests. The video begins with a view from the plexiglass window and then how I replace the feeder which is located inside the hive but set outside one of the follower boards. I begin by sliding a follower board back to get some working space and then...

Episode-165- Install Bees To Langstroth and Top Bar Hives Part 2

Here is Part 2 of installing the new packages of honey bees. In this video I show the preliminary steps for putting bees in the top bar hive. This is a first for me but I have been preparing for it since before the hive was built in January. These bees were dusted with powdered sugar in the screened box just like the first package and then dumped into the top bar hive. The Queen cage was placed...

Episode-164- Install Bees To Langstroth and Top Bar Hives Part 1

Today is the day the bees came! Two packages of bees came in the mail and the post office called my home twice while I was at work to come get them. My wife graciously went and picked them up. She's amazing! She was a little freaked out because there were some stragglers outside the two cage contraption the bees came in. They weren't in the screened box but outside it. She tried to explain the...

Episode-144- Build A Top Bar Hive Part 2

I have completed my first top bar hive and this build cost less than $100 and took a week of evenings to complete. Not bad for an amateur woodworker. The Makita Magnesium hypoid circular saw made it easy as it did for the kiwi arbor I built in November. All that is left to do is to add the bottom screen when it arrives. i could not find any 2.5mm - 3.5mm wire mesh locally but I did find some...