TOP
BAR HIVES
What
is a TBH.
Top
bar hives were originally developed as a cheap
alternative to the standard commercial “Langstroth” hive for developing
countries. The Kenyan TBH can be recognized with its sloped sides and
the
Tanzanian which has vertical side.
Unlike the standard Langstroth hive, the TBH does not have a
standard size, the idea being that you make it from the materials you
have on
hand.
The idea behind the TBH is that you allow the bees to be as
natural as possible, its design allows you to work your bees while at
the same
time causing the minimum amount of disruption. The TBH has become very
popular
with beekeepers who are trying to raise bees as organically as
possible, with
no use of chemicals of any kind and in many cases no supplemental
feeding. The
TBH is designed to allow the bees to build their own comb with no
foundation,
although some beekeepers have modified the concept to use regular deep
frames.
Why a TBH.
Consider
the following when thinking about using a TBH.
- Facilitate
natural beekeeping. Bees build the broodnest their way.
- Disturbed
bees move away from the beekeeper.
- Less
colony disturbance with minimal beekeeper exposure.
- No
heavy, repetitive lifting.
- Inexpensive.
- Produce
the highest quality honey and wax.
- No
extracting equipment needed.
- Self
contained. No additional storage space required.
- Facilitate
comb rotation.
- Easy
to build.
- An
ideal educational hive.
- An
ideal urban beehive.
- Won't
break apart when dropped.
- Weather
tight.
- Low
center of gravity. Won't tip over.
- Adaptable
to local building materials, conditions, needs.
You
may not get as much honey from a TBH (but you could) but
you will have healthier bees that are not chemically treated and if
managed
correctly will over winter with good success.
