Fixing Cross Combing on a Top-Bar hive
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 พ.ค. 2021
- So for all the new Top-Bar Hive beekeepers out there... here is some info on fixing serious cross combing.....
First, it's best to stop the progression by either placing a bar of drawn comb immediately behind the cross combing that's straight and make the bees continue straight after that, only to let the existing fresh cross-combing "age" a bit so the comb is not so white and delicate....
Then use the techniques in the video to slowly free up the cross comb and reattach it straight to bars, preferably with rescue bars (video later today on that).
In the meantime, no worries, best to not dig at it until you feel confident.
Alternatively, if the comb is curved only on one side of the nest, consider flipping the entire colony at once 180degrees if possible (usually feasible on about 4-5 bars), or if only a couple of combs are curving at the edges simply move them to the front (toward the entrance) and make sure the straight combs are towards the back (away from entrance)
And as usual, contact us at www.Bee-Mindful.com with your questions :-)
Also, here are our free plans to make your own double insulated Top-Bar Hives for about $35 per colony in new materials ($70/ per double top-bar hive) in about 2hrs: www.Bee-Mindful.com/plans
I hope you carry on ! Your ideas are brilliant
That wire on the rescue bar to hang the comb on is a great idea! Appreciate the video!
Glad it was helpful, David! Thanks :-)
I just ordered a top bar hive and have never kept bees. I am trying to get set up and learn as much as I can before time to get bees. This was a great video.
That's wonderful Wilda! So glad you went with TBH - great choice ;-) If you have any questions let us know and check out our Instagram #BeeMindfulHoneyFarms for lots of educational recorded chats about them, plus subscribe to get our new videos when they come out!
Search out Phil Chandler... he is the expert. Has some TH-cam stuff but also some books.
@@holzsmsf Phil Chandler is great, but Les Crowder at Bee Mindful is the expert.. he wrote the book "Top-Bar Beekeeping: Organic Practices for Honey Bee Health" and has been doing it for over 30 years - Phil has posted more but Les is definitely the expert, with thousands of top-bar hive colonies under his belt ....
@@beemindful1027 Hello Nathalie. I believe there is no point in arguing who is the better expert, who is right etc., as this philosophy had led us where we are in this modern industrial mess. If we want to search for ways out, I reckon, we should restrain from judging, especially when it comes to people, ideas that are inline with our intentions of creating a better, more sustainable world. I have both books from both gentlemen plus many others, they both have very valid and good points and are striving to make TBH and bee oriented beekeeping more popular. Both have their place and I am thankful for having found them :)
Having said this, some years ago I switched from Warre to TBH with more or less Phil´s plans and dimensions and would like to try Les´es design. What I do not like about Phil´s dimension ist the depth of the comb. With the climate getting warmer in Europe, I think the weight of Phil´s deeper comb is going to cause more and more problems, Over the 5 years that I am with these dimensions I have had quite a lot of comb ruptures that were obviously caused by the sheer weight of the comb. Bees seem to attach the comb quite substantially when it is filled with honey. Here the shallower and more triangular design from Les seems to be more beneficial. I also like the minimalistic and simplistic approach of Les to the whole story of beekeeping.
last but not least, many thanks for your effort and enthusiasm, I wish you both lots of joy and happiness! :)
I could not agree with you more! It's just when @Mel Holzworth said that Phil was the expert, I had to list Les's credentials as he's been doing it for so much longer and at such a larger scale... He definitely has earned that title ;-)
Definitely not saying Phil is bad or judging him...
We've tried your rescue bars here in Panama with very good results. Thank you.
Great to hear! So happy it is working for you guys!
To better your chances of getting bees to build comb the way you want you need to do 2 things. First put a strip of wood under the top bars and 2 keep in mind bees like to build comb running north and south so face your wide side toward the north or south.
Great advice, thank you! This was a very small customer colony we are using to demo how to fix cross combing. We typically use either a bamboo skewer, a strip of wood, or better yet an already drawn comb or the remnant of a straight comb after honey harvest as a guide to get bees started straight. Yes, we put all our own colonies with entrances facing south!
Thanks Nathalie for this video , I will be making use of it next spring in Australia. I’ve been a little negligent in attending my bees this summer, lesson learnt, but also a good way to learn how to rectify it. 🙏 ❤️
Sounds great! yes, cross combing is not the end of the world once we realize it's easily fixable.... Have a great Winter! We have a high of 106F in Austin this week.... 🙏 ❤️
fantastic method Nathalie, thanks for sharing it!
You are so welcome! Glad you found it helpful!
Great idea of the rescue bars
Yes, it works really well and solves a lot of problems!
Very clear video, thank you for sharing .
Interesting, rescue bars just changed the way I look a topbar hives thanks.
Glad to help - and yes, top-bar hives are very simple to manage once one has all the tricks to make it easier on themselves! Stay tuned for more instructional videos soon and thanks for your comment/for watching!
Excellent video !
Thank you so much, Pierre!
Very good for an inexperienced bee carer like me to see tings like rescue bars. It's mid winter here in South Australia and I need to get prepared for the calls I always get in Spring to come and rescue swarms and wild hives. I shall make up a whole batch of rescue bars ready to go for the new season.
Bruce Thank You for your kind words - those are very helpful indeed, we always make a batch to have with us when needed, with a steak knife to do the cutting!
Some bees moved into a horizontal hive without frames that I didn't intend to keep bees in this year. So now I'll have to do this just because of the inspector. Otherwise, I'd leave it alone.
yes, those "removable" frames are just for the inspections.... bees are better off left alone otherwise! Great swarm trap you have there... :-)
Very neat Rescue Wire ! Way better than Elastic Bands (Rubber Bands.)
Going to borrow concept for my Langstroth Hive re Cut Outs, or TBH to Frame transfers. 😉
Yes, you can staple to the bottom of the frame's top bar - true for Layens as well. But what you really should do is use it for Lang frame to TBH transfers, not the other way around - your bees will be happier for it ;-)
Also. I made a groove down the center of every top bar with the table saw. Then attached a tongue depressor in each grove as a guide for the bees. They, the bees never go by the book.
Great tip! I have done that, used a strip of foundation, bamboo skewers, etc. Most of the time though, I give them a straight comb to get started - which I find being the easiest. But yes, bees don't always follow the guides we give them - those are just an indication.... There were a customer's bees anyway, not mine :-)
Take this comment with a grain of salt. Having a similar problem. I once took plastic hair clips and secured them to twisty ties to the top bar. Also used zip ties also. You could use a ribbon if you want. Even rubber bands. Then insert the comb you cut out into the mouth of the clip. Over time they will incorporate the clip totally into the rest of the comb. In a couple of weeks you can remove the ties. Leave the hair clips in until you decide to recycle the comb.
Good luck.
Yes, I have tried all these methods, none were as easy and efficient and left me struggling to hang the comb or with wonky comb and the hair clips were way too bulky for my taste, but glad to hear these other methods work well for you. Have you tried repair bars? They make fixing cut or fallen comb super easy.... I always have them in my truck just in case....
I assume the rescue bar mesh is a permanent fixture now? Or is there a way of removing them somewhere down the track?
yes, usually the repair bar is left embedded in the comb until it is fazed out and melted, then it can be reused. You may then cut the comb off.
Is there a place I can buy rescue bars for my top bar?
we will start selling the metal mesh cut out and ready to staple on bars at some point for those who don't want to mess with it, but honestly, it is super easy to make - look at the step by step on our website @ www.Bee-Mindful.com/plans
Where are you located?
Austin, TX
Are they still ok ???
It looks to me that
It must be an Invisible REASON (* invisible to you), why bees decided
to :
Create hive in this direction ... not in your intended way...
and
another invisible reason for ceeating smaller combs
We know that they need to keep
Constant TEMPERATURE ,but, obviously ,... there are small number of bees in that colony.
So...
My guess is that Bees originaly somehow discovered
that
* only 1 corner is good , warm or properly naturaly air conditioned for their task,
* air circulation was much better for them in that original way ... that's why they positioned comb in that wazy .
and additionaly the size of the comb was designed for their Real numbers to keep TEMPERATURE of the brood
,... small warm cosy corner ... that They can maintain thermal efficiently .
Just my guessing.
+ some magnetic field forces or who knows what They can feel ...and see.
Marin, thanks for your comment and ideas as to why this colony had initially cross-combed. You are correct, there are a host of reasons for bees to build their comb a certain way, and we don't always know why. Another possible reason is for structural integrity reason.
In this case, this was a package install, and the queen cage initially got in the way, causing the bees to go the direction that made the most sense to keep the cage out of the way. The fact that there were no guides to get them any kind of direction incentive did not help.
Bees tend to build by the entrance first and expand away from it for temperature and mostly air circulation reasons, so you are right on that.
I really like how you are thinking so very mindfully about why the bees might be doing what they do, and your humility in recognizing that the bees always have their own reasons for doing what they do and we might not always understand all the implications and reasons of their choices!
@@beemindful1027 Thanks for your kind reply.
I was , thinking you might get angry at me for telling You what is a possible reason,
... but you showed me very nonEgotistical response . Thanks !
I am a total amateur in this field,
but
I was lucky enough to get one swarm straight into my backyard, under an old twoseater, and I spend last year every morning having caffe and watch what those beautifull creatures are doing. As I am single, they become my New family. I spent lot of hours watching videos about beekeeping and comparing all those practices with my original upbringing...
(*sixties and 70s)... back in Balkans. In my grandmother place, we had garden and orchard, but we didn't have ANY Sprays,
....or chemicals whatsoever.
.... but plenty of beautiful fruit and veggies and all kinds of Living creatures. ... as well.
Then,.... suddenly , in 1968.
country got opened up to westernEuropean newe emerging postwar economy ... and within next 10 years
everything become in The hands of "experts" - in chemistry, biology and science.
....
Of course it took me next 50 years, to realise that "science " is nothing but A branch of the banking & industrial complex,
(* that almost TOTALLY Controls the results of scientific experiments), (!!!) - (*as they control INVESTMENT in scientific research
and tightly control employment of "scientists". ) ... So... after that I started to question all those " new" methods and suggestions.
..and started to look into :
How naturally some creatures lived,... and survived. ... what is NOT in the interest of financial sector, as that doesn't make any money to them.
That bees never live in a box on 4 legs in the middle of the field ,...
only in big Need... if they must. Only if people cut all trees,... and create HUGE Monoculture fields and future deserts.
.... Anyway ... bees, naturally live in a hollow trees, and under the protection of a shade and a canopy.
Thermal regulation, moisture and micro climate, + some complex micro chemistry of forest.
A Hive hygiene in those places are naturally strong because that Place is stronlgy sealed by propolis
.... and not opened and disturbed and mowed arround ... every week ... or so.
All those industrial inventions brought big STRESS to creatures, and ... consequent immune system problems,
and diseases. ... I observdcsimmilar practeces in smoll kids at school... they move them around every year like boxes,
...., to prevent them from forming natural, emotional Bonding to friends, rooms or place, ... and other elements.
(*induced Disconnect on large scale !). (* "Experts"..... are very dangerous people ... )
Etc etc ... Observations from an old Villager.
Thanks.
Look at the direction of the sunlight in the video ..... which corner , side gets the the sun first , ..... would you live in the end of the house that is the coldest or warmest .
did you not know this was gonna happen? omg
what do you mean by "this"? And, no, no-one has a crystal ball when it comes to bees: they don't always follow instructions lol
You didn't give the bees a guideline on where to build comb. They will do this every single time if you have no guidelines.
@@dadu63 We manage about 250 top-bar colonies and almost never use guides. Usually, that's not a problem, so I would not say they will cross-comb every single time with no guideline. This being said, that was a customer colony, not ours.
Excellent video !
Thank you very much, Pierre!