How to install bees in a top bar hive

[DavidTexen]

can't believe I'm watching this, he did no research, he has no protective gear, he has his young children standing inches away from the open cage with no protection. It's like a Jim Carry movie waiting to happen. It just beautiful to watch the stupidity of some people.

[themall1314]

I'm a long time beekeeper looking at trying out some TBH's this year, so i stumbled on this video. great to see your kids so involved and unafraid. I know I'm a little late, but you do realize nicotine is one of the most toxic substances on earth? The last thing you wanna do is poison your queen. I cringed a lot watching, so I had to say something. Tobacco also hosts an awesome amount of virus's, so handling it, then handling bees (and most plants in the solanacea family) is risky. Guess i sh

[dflocks80]

Just installed a package on my top bar last Sunday! Just out of curiosity, how long did it take for your bees to build up comb?

[dragonhlm]

@dflocks80 watch my Top Bar Beehive Inspection video ten days later

[dflocks80]

@dragonhlm Wow, they built all that in 10 days?

[jcims]

Great video! I just started my second year with a Langstroth hive but this is very intriguing. How are the girls doing? Great seeing the kids involved? Mine were jumping about a bit too much and one got nailed...lol. She's a trooper though and still loves to check them out.

[jcims]

@jcims OCD'ing on myself here, that should have been an exclamation at the end of 'Great seeing the kids involved!', well, because it is! :)

[dragonhlm]

@jcims Well from this lone hive we built up to four last summer. Unfortunately two hives didn't make it through this winter. When the drones start flying we will just do a couple of splits and we will be back in business.

[jrc048]

@jcims That was a joke smoking the queen with a tobacco pipe? Bees only sting when they have a hive to protect

[ANNAKAY295]

I watched your video a year ago. How are the hives doing? I purchased a TBH from the GardenHive, the top bars are all the same width. would you recommend that I remove a couple of bars, just so that I can allow extra room? I have not hived my TBH yet, but will be doing so at the end of this month I hope. I am in Texas and am very excited about taking the approach you have demonstrated.  I really liked the removable bottom you designed.

[dragonhlm]

@ANNAKAY295 You don't want any spaces between the top bars. If the bees start making comb too thick you can add a 1/4 inch (6mm) spacer to give them more room. I will do more videos this summer so "bee" sure to subscribe.

[jozelmer]

Thank you so much, your videos are great! I'm going to be installing my bees into a top bar hive this spring for the first time. Your videos are so helpful.

[tincan1230]

Nice job on the instillation! I would recommend misting the bees with sugar water rather than smoking them when they first arrive. Without honeycombs and a hive, smoke doesn't really do anything since they can't gorge themselves (unless you got stung, in which case you should smoke em up). Nice Kenyan top bar too.

[Farmnwoman]

Got the cage out with no problem. Thanks a lot for the help, it is really appreciated. It is nice to be able to talk to someone who has been there & is just a person who wants to have bees & honey, not a big commercial operation.

[dragonhlm]

@Farmnwoman No problem. Glad I could help someone enjoy the hobby.

[boxcarfarm]

This is such a fun video... I love you guys AND your kids. :)

[Farmnwoman]

Did you have any problem getting the queen cage out? Does it get stuck in the comb they are building & do they get upset if you pull it loose?

[dragonhlm]

@Farmnwoman You remove the queen cage after only a few days. When I removed mine they had only started building comb, so it wasn't stuck yet. If it was I would just cut it out the best I could. They will fix the comb behind you.

[Farmnwoman]

Your video really impressed me, so I installed my package bees in my top bar hive today the same way you did. It worked out great. Fantastic work! How long did it take the queen to come out of the cage?

[dragonhlm]

@Farmnwoman I left the hive alone for about a week and she was out before then.

[magprob]

You have nice bees, a beautiful family, and you look just like Fred McMurry with that pipe. Hey, what more could you ever ask for? Good Luck!

[agassizbeekeeper]

Our bees show up on Thursday the 15th. Two weeks earlier than we expected! I hope we have as good a luck as you did.

[dragonhlm]

@agassizbeekeeper I hope you do too! I just built another hive today for a split I plan to do this summer. Good luck let me know how it goes.

[musketman2008]

Very nice family involvement. You must be very proud of your wonderful family!

[5handman]

You are the man! Glad to find this video as I have 4lb of bees coming in April and really wanted to see someone else do this.

THANKS

[ke6gwf]

Child Endangerment!

(they are in danger of learning to love nature instead of video games like proper normal kids are supposed to do... :)

Good video, keep up the good work with the bees and the kids.

Oh, and a peaceful attitude/spirit and gentle movements usually works better than smoke.

The smoke distracts the bees from their normal routine (which can takes days to fully recover from in some cases) much more than opening a TBH, and often does more to calm the Beecaretaker than the bees!

[Duboisi]

I liked the "Bob method" with the pipe.

[NineBitByte]

That was too sweet - I loved the kids' comments, especially about the queen... "She's enormous! She's Beautiful!" Thanks for the video!

[MrDage]

I'm favoriting this because it shows either exceptional courage and trust in the bees, or the most Mr. Magoo-like demonstrations of blithe ignorance I have ever seen! Either way, it's 5 stars of awesome! The kids getting up in there is an added bonus. I'm also subscribing as I'm interesting in perhaps TBH beekeeping.

[phantomcreamer]

...and I'll tell thee... I might be bloody omniscient but I boogady if I can figure out why...

[baukiki]

How much does each colony cost ?

[dragonhlm]

A queen and 3lbs of bees cost me $80, but prices vary and you may need to pay shipping costs too.

[countrycruisers]

Good Stuff.

[GreenLearning]

That looked easy enough. Are your bees building and living in the hive still?

[dragonhlm]

The bees are doing great they have built comb out 12 bars. Everything is filling up (brood, honey, pollen)

[xBARNES187x]

UR Tha smoker lol - wats ur water 2 suger - sugerwater solution ?

[dragonhlm]

The sugar water is 1:1 (1 cup to 1cup) and I hate the pipe, but I do not have a hive smoker yet.

[xBARNES187x]

well it Definatly was youtube worthy-did my install- only 2 indirect stings

[dragonhlm]

That sounds great . Keep me posted about how they are doing.

[xBARNES187x]

yea- saw a wood lizard by my hive 2day--should i worry 2 much

[dragonhlm]

Not sure if you should be worried. We don't have many wood lizards around here.

[kickcoy5]

That was very cool!

[dragonhlm]

Thanks, this has been a fun learning experience.

[ActionJacksonD]

Great videos, brother.

[dragonhlm]

Thanks sista!

[Tickets825]

Cool video

[dragonhlm]

Thanks for the positive feedback. I am new to all of this, so it is very encouraging.