What makes a top bar hive more natural beekeeping?

[Dusty Rhodes]

Here we go again!

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Dusty

 

[victor meldrew]

Here we go again!

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Dusty

Sorry baldy
VM


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[Tom Bick]

So what makes one top bar hive more natural than another top bar hive?

Open toed sandals

 

[victor meldrew]

So what makes one top bar hive more natural than another top bar hive?

Open toed sandals

Barefoot beekeeping even!
VM


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[For want of a better word]

OMG Ross hope it was not the nutty old bat with her varroa infested TBH that lives down the lane from me!
Keeps asking for my advice and throws a total hissyfit if I just do not nod meekly and agree with the dear lady!

 

[beekeeping4you]

So what makes one top bar hive more natural than another top bar hive?

Open toed sandals?
Barefoot beekeeping even?

I suspect operations like this will make the TBH shown here less natural than other TBHs...

http://www.b##bees.com The 'Chop and Crop' technique for converting bees on frames to top bar hives demonstrated by Phil Chandler at Embercombe, Devon. This technique is only recommended for smaller nucs, or where brood does not extend across the full width of the frame.
It can be done single-handed, but is much easier if you have an assistant to handle the loppers.
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vb7UlgmWB00[/ame]

 

[drumgerry]

The knife slicing through the brood pretty much says it all about double standards, hypocrisy etc etc.

 

[Finman]

..

.

 

[Finman]

.
Naturelle

 

[DanBee]

If you wanted to do natural beekeeping just for the love of the bees wouldn't just keep them in a closed box that you never opened?

Congratulations: you've just invented Schrodinger Beekeeping

 

[madasafish]

Congratulations: you've just invented Schrodinger Beekeeping

That would mean you know the bee's mass but never where it is or vice versa... sorry that was Heisenberg...

 

[DanBee]

That would mean you know the bee's mass but never where it is or vice versa... sorry that was Heisenberg...

I was always a little uncertain about Heisenberg...

 

[Neils]

That was shocking

 

[madasafish]

That was shocking

Neils...Bohring you mean..

 

[sunhivebee]

Oh dear, I'm one of those sad people that has the lot, Dadants with and without foundation, Warré with TB or frames with and without foundation, KTBH, some hives that I never open, wooden hives and plastic hives, but one thing they all have in common is no treatments.

Chris

Sounds like my apiary, entirely. A motley collection of hives of all sorts and fantastic opportunities for varied observations of non-treated colonies. Eg: Do colonies need their old combs exchanged for them? Probably not, I conclude as the ancient skep colonies are busy shredding it right now, at a rate of 200g a day - I am impressed!
Could it be that non-treated bees learn specific behaviours?

 

[MuswellMetro]

Neils...Bohring you mean..

I am still going around in circles, none of this modern stuff

 

[madasafish]

I am still going around in circles, none of this modern stuff

Not even a quantum of modern?

 

[Chris Luck]

Sounds like my apiary, entirely. A motley collection of hives of all sorts and fantastic opportunities for varied observations of non-treated colonies. Eg: Do colonies need their old combs exchanged for them? Probably not, I conclude as the ancient skep colonies are busy shredding it right now, at a rate of 200g a day - I am impressed!
Could it be that non-treated bees learn specific behaviours?

It's quite clear from my experience that honey bees are more than capable of using the same space for tens of years without having their comb changed for them. I have strong colonies that have never had the frames removed from their brood box for many, many years with continuous occupation so not being cleaned out by wax moth or any other means. Of course this may not produce maximum yields but I'm neither greedy nor dependent on it being a man of modest needs.

I could only speculate about non treated bees learning specific behaviours, in my case I allow the weak to fail and the strong to survive and multiply, 'twas always thus in the natural world but varroa isn't killing my bees or killing them via any other varroa related causes.

Chris

 

[sunhivebee]

It's quite clear from my experience that honey bees are more than capable of using the same space for tens of years without having their comb changed for them. I have strong colonies that have never had the frames removed from their brood box for many, many years with continuous occupation so not being cleaned out by wax moth or any other means. Of course this may not produce maximum yields but I'm neither greedy nor dependent on it being a man of modest needs.

I could only speculate about non treated bees learning specific behaviours, in my case I allow the weak to fail and the strong to survive and multiply, 'twas always thus in the natural world but varroa isn't killing my bees or killing them via any other varroa related causes.

Chris

Thanks, Chris.
My experience mirrors yours, varroa has been rather raised to terrorist status. Many people with a decent number of colonies find that after a few years of non-treatment and careful husbandry a sort of "balancing" takes place, and the strong propagate and get stronger. Some of my virtually "untouched" colonies are in their tenth year now, having decided all their own queen replacements and reproductive regimes.

 

[Easy Beesy]

Chris & Heidi

So presumably not affected by nasty neonics then either if colonies thriving in years old wax/colonies/homes?