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I had a reaction similar to yours, a few years ago. I too was worried it might mean quitting bees.

I went to an allergist and was _not_ told to get rid of the bees. Instead, I got...

I'm a bit north of Santa Fe, and I've got 7 hives, mostly TBH. This is my 4th season. I'd be happy to help, though I don't get down to ABQ much. You can email me at davidmcd@gmail.com.

Les Crowder still does, through Ecoversity in Santa Fe:

http://www.ecoversity.org/

After having a reaction, I had good results, getting desensitization shots through an allergist.

I know how depressing it can be to think you may have to give up beekeeping--working the bees has...

MIchaelW, it may not be as hard as it sounds, depending on the platform. For example, the firewalling on Mac OS X is very easy to set up--a few clicks. Even on Linux or FreeBSD, it's not too hard,...

Yes, MichaelW, anyone can connect to the IP, assuming that neither you nor your ISP have firewalled it. The domain name, if you had one, would function as an alias for the IP.

I'm not sure about price--I wasn't selling last season, because the quantity I had was fairly small. I gave it away to friends and family.

But I do expect to sell, this season. I'm thinking...

I like the comb cutters and boxes from Betterbee. I used these last season to package comb from my TBH's, and I thought the result was much better, esthetically, than anything else I've seen for cut...

Am I right that the presence of queen cups does not, in itself, mean that swarming is imminent? And what about a queen cup with an egg in it--does that predict swarming? And then what about a...

That sounds good.

How do you encourage the field bees of the colony being added, to find the new box, where their brood combs have gone?

Anyone had success combining top-bar colonies? I have two weak colonies. The Peace-Corps 'Small-scale Beekeeping' manual describes a combining technique using a specially-built box, open on the...

I haven't tried anything but sloped sides, so I can't comment on that.

I have moved TBHs, even over bumpy dirt roads, and haven't had any problems. I've been told you wouldn't want to move them...

Dennis,

Your mention of using cord hanging from the bar reminds me of something in Eva Crane's magnum opus, The World History of Beekeeping and Honey Hunting, where (as I recall) she's discussing...

I've been open-feeding my hives over the last few days, because we've had exceedingly warm weather here, and I suspect my hives are low on stores to begin with.

Feeding at a time like this, when...

I just noticed this from Dennis in another thread:
<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>I changed the end entrances on my first hive to side entrances. These work alot better and can be opened to provide a...

Seems like the main ways of preventing swarming in a TBH are either splitting, or putting empty bars into the brood nest.

Has anyone tried anything else? What I have in mind is something...

What do you use for an open feeder?

Have any of you done winter feeding of a TBH?

I know that in principle one shouldn't need to feed a properly managed hive. But when you must, how do you do it?

There's no obvious way to get...

For whatever it's worth, I've read that lavender has a higher essential oil content after it's been visited by bees. It's not generally propagated by seed, as I recall. But a stronger lavender...

I've presently got 7 top-bar hives. In the spring, I'd like to split some of these, into either Langstroths or top-bar hives of a different design.

So, I can't easily transfer brood combs while...

So maybe the lack of attachments I saw in Les Crowder's hives was on account of the time of year--it was early spring, when the weather was still cool.

Those of you who have tried both the Hardison- and the Crowder-type hives--any difference in the degree to which the bees attach the combs to the hive sides?

I'm only running only Hardison hives...

For the skunk, I think I'll go ahead and put up the electric fence that I need to put up anyway--I'm expecting a bear to come calling in the fall, and had been planning the fence.

As for the why...

I've got 7 hives in my beeyard. The last two times I've worked the bees, I've had bees go after me afterwards. What I mean by that is I'm 50 ft away, an hour or two after working the bees, and a...

Definitely the bees do fine for ventilation in a TBH, with just a single small entrance. But I'd gotten so tired of trying to keep a movable back board on each hive, that was of the precisely...