Ripe and Unripe Honey from a Top Bar Hive

Beekeeping training course in Mamfe, Cameroon. Demonstration of ripe and unripe honey. Unfortunately the combs don't follow the top bars.
Bees Abroad supports beekeeping projects in developing countries. This course is run by FORUDEF and supported by Exotix.

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• Beekeeping
• honey
• Bees
• Abroad
• FORUDEF
• Exotix
• Cameroon
• Mamfe

[OutOfaBlueSky]

The top bar hive their using is serously flawed. Notice how wide their bars are, far larger than the 35 mm recommended for bee space. Because of that you notice that the bees have not built parallel with the bars but crosswise in the hive. So this hive is uninspectable without damaging combs.

[allolobophorus]

You are right (except that we recommend 32 mm Top Bars for African bees). This hive had been badly set up and neglected, and it was part of the course to recommend remedial actions for these situations, as you can see in the other clips from this location.

[OutOfaBlueSky]

Indeed. Although that 32 or 35mm is only going to work in the first 7-10 bars which is the brood nest. Once the bees get into pure honeycomb, they widen out to 38-45 mm depending on conditions. I don't ask why, I just listen to what the bees tell me.

Overall, good video. Can you make more with longer run times?