# My top bar honey bee hive



## pokeyjeeper (Sep 5, 2013)

I was able to catch a bee swarm in one of the swarm boxes I built on 5/6/17 so I'm a bee keeper now lol I had to get a hive built and get all the bee keeping gear and get them in their new home here are some pictures


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## pokeyjeeper (Sep 5, 2013)

And here's the queen


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## glenway (Mar 27, 2011)

I guess a person must really love honey. Sure looks like a lot of work. Do the bees stay there permanently?


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## pokeyjeeper (Sep 5, 2013)

Yes unless I don't manage them right glen and I'm just doing my part to help the bees not in it for the honey if I get a little it's cool but the girls come first as they need it to get through the winter


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## hassell (Feb 9, 2010)

Great project, thanks for sharing.


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## Larry (Dec 2, 2010)

Pokey that is just cool. Grandma K never used sugar for baking she always used Sue Bee honey. Keep us posted!


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## pokeyjeeper (Sep 5, 2013)

Thanks guys Larry I'll keep this going I've spent too much time studying up on honey bees to quit now and the bees need all the help we can give them as far as I can tell these are wild bee and that is getting to be a rare thing so I'm going to study up and see if I can graft some queens and keep the blood line going


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## Larry (Dec 2, 2010)

Pokey, with all the stuff I hear about dead bees. Is there anyplace you know of I can send some. I ask as often Ill be drinking my coffee or looking at the flowers and I see one that is confused and barely able to fly.

I pick it up and I know it sounds stupid but Ill blow on it. I get up early and I figure the little guy maybe wet or just cold. Usually it works and it will fly away after awhile. But my question is why is it not at the hive as I thought they returned each day?


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## Bigdrowdy1 (Jan 29, 2010)

Pokey shoot me your email addy in a pm and I will hook you up with a friend who does this for a living if your interested. He knows more about bees than any one I have met to date. This is what his main income stems from.

:cowboy:

Rodney


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## catcapper (Feb 11, 2010)

Your headed in the right direction. I kept bees for quit a few years. Best thing ya can do, it to build some standard bee hives that have brood supers and honey supers with a queen excluder. Bee hives control how they build in the hive and will produce an environment that will have them make it through your cold winters. A good hive of 30,000 to 50,000 bees--- and yes--- your small catch can grow that large before the cold season--- will make more than one swarm in the spring. I think your hobby of save'in bees (if you do it right) will pay off big. Not only with some honey--- but in great personal satisfaction.

Take up BigD on his offer--- you can only go forward from here.

awprint:


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## pokeyjeeper (Sep 5, 2013)

Ok Larry my guess is the bees left the hive too early and they are cold ,big d pm sent and cat I like the top bar hive as I can control how much of the hive is open on inspection with a lang the whole hive is open the top bars don't produce as much honey but they are great bee producers and they will winter well just got to get the comb all built up in it and yes next spring I'll have to keep after it or it will swarm but I'm hoping to split the bees and build one or two more hives out of it as this queen is a layer seem to fill every cell would like to keep her blood line


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## 220swift (Mar 2, 2011)

Great work Pokey, I'll also be following this topic........very interesting.


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## pokeyjeeper (Sep 5, 2013)

Well I checked on the girls today and all is well they have 8 bars mostly fill out now I'd like them to have 16 going into winter there's a little nectar flow going on now and they seem to be putting up some and that is great they also have a lot of capped brood so I will have a lot of bees soon we get a big nectar flow in the fall with golden rod so I think they are getting ready for that I got a bee suit coming for my wife so she can be with me and take pictures so on the next inspection I'll get some more pictures


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## glenway (Mar 27, 2011)

Some good progress, Pokey.


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## pokeyjeeper (Sep 5, 2013)

Checked on the girls today and they have 10 bars built out now and 2 more with a grapefruit size comb on them I put in 3 more bars for them to build on we are in a good nectar flow right now and they will build comb fast and fill it with nectar to make honey there was a ton of brood also so I'm going to have a lot more bees soon sorry no pictures this time as I was by myself


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## 220swift (Mar 2, 2011)

:thumbsup: :thumbsup:


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## murphyranch (Dec 9, 2015)

I had a neighbor that kept bees. He's went on ahead of us here on earth awhile back, but he told me that bees have a strong connection to more things than people think. When the bees are all gone from this earth, mankind won't be too far behind them. Makes ya think and wonder.


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## glenway (Mar 27, 2011)

No doubt, MR. I've had yellow jackets make "strong connections" with me at times. Bastages!


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## pokeyjeeper (Sep 5, 2013)

Murphyranch your friend is right they say 3 years after the bees are gone all plant life will bee gone Glenway them yellow jackets/hornets are mean and wasps also and can give us and the honey bee a hard time for $.10 you can make a trap take a 2 liter pop bottle cut the top off turn it over and put it back in the bottle and put some apple cider vinegar it the trap or a banana peel works great


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## Bigdrowdy1 (Jan 29, 2010)

Pokey was my buddy able to help you any?


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## pokeyjeeper (Sep 5, 2013)

Yes big d thank you


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