How to Attach a Honey Comb to a Top Bar

Top bar hives are an alternative to traditional frame hives for beekeeping. In a top bar hive, the bees build so their honeycombs hang from parallel bars hanging along the top of the hive. Top bar hives have the advantage of being cheaper to build than frame hives and are easier to construct. To harvest the honey, a bar is lifted out of the hive and the honey is extracted from the comb. Your bees will build the honeycomb themselves, but you must first encourage the bees to build downward from the bar with a starer strip of wax.

Things You'll Need

  • Top bar hive
  • Beeswax sheet
  • Knife
  • Extra beeswax
  • Small pot
  • Portable stove
  • 1-inch natural bristle paintbrush
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Instructions

    • 1

      Cut the beeswax sheet using the knife into 2-inch-wide strips. Trim the length of the strips so they are .8 to 1.5 inches shorter than the length of your top bars.

    • 2

      Put the extra wax in the pot and use the portable stove to heat the wax until it melts. Keep the heat low so the wax doesn't catch fire.

    • 3

      Brush a thick coat of the melted wax onto the underside of one top bar. Working quickly, press the long edge starter strip into the hot wax.

    • 4

      Hold the strip in the bar until the wax cools slightly. Set the bar aside to allow the wax to cool completely.

    • 5

      Repeat Steps 3 and 4 with the other top bars and starter strips.

    • 6

      Place the top bars with the starter strips hanging into the hive. The top bars must be spaced correctly for the type of bee you are keeping. The spacing between bars is 1.38 inches for European honeybees.