I apologize for the long post, but I've been thinking hard on this, and I'd like to share these ideas and hear what you have to say about them.
In another forum, a person made a comment that suggested that using a top bar hive was akin to trading in an automobile for a horse and buggy. He was suggesting that using a top bar hive was odd, because it meant using old technology over what innovation and invention had replaced. Michael Bush made a very interesting response, some of which I'd like to quote here for the purpose of further discussion:
"I'd have to say that Europeans and Americans never had top bar hives until very recently. The Greeks had them hundreds if not thousands of years ago and still do today, but Americans were not looking for an improvement over a top bar hive as they had never seen or heard of one at the time the Langstroth came out. They were looking for an improvement over a log gum (in the US) and the skep (in Europe). And a top bar hive is a huge step above either... The Langstroth did not displace the top bar hive. The Langstroth has never been in any competition for acceptance with the top bar hive until quite recently. And so far the Langstroth is losing ground."
His remarks really got me to thinking.
In that light, the top bar hive and the langstroth are two separate design solutions for housing bees in a way which suits both human and bee needs. One design did not succeed the other. Each hive type was developed in different parts of the world, at different times. And for most of us in North America and Europe, the top bar hive is a "new discovery"; being considered, used and experimented with for the first time.
If you look at it this way, the tbh is a "modern" solution, and a viable, inexpensive, highly efficient and functional solution in the true spirit of modernity. And very much in line with a lot of the current values and interests of a lot of people in our society today.
The fact that the core concept has been around for thousands of years, doesn't change the fact that the top bar hives in use by a lot of people today are benefiting from all of the experience, discovery and advancement in beekeeping, the understanding of bee behavior, chemistry, physiology, nutrition etc etc - centuries of advancement in a great variety of areas that now can come to bear on how each of us builds and manages our top hives.
Many detractors see the top bar hive as a "throw-back", like driving an antique car. They see them as a way to enjoy "a simpler time" by keeping history alive. And there are likely some tbh enthusiasts who do see it that way. But I don't.
It might be more accurate to see the tbh in a similar light as one might look at the use of wool. Sheeps wool, merino, alpaca, etc. For years, people moved away from these traditional fibers in favor of "new technology" in synthetic fibers, but over time, with more experience and the trial of more technology, we're seeing even high-tech sporting wear companies returning to the use of wool in their products. The reason? After decades of experimentation with other solutions, we just have to admit - wool works pretty darned well.
It doesn't matter that people have used wool for thousands of years - the use of wool today is modern, and technologically current. Wool is now being experimented with in new ways and new fabrics are being developed to further exploit its natural properties. There are likely many similar examples out there that we can think of - old becomes new again as our education throws new light, and our new perspectives revise our value systems. And with those revisions, we place new value on old ideas. But those ideas are not just repeated; they are rediscovered and made new by the fact that this world is not the same today as it was yesterday.
I'm seeing that while the core ideas behind the top bar hive are ancient, the top bar hive of today is very much a new technology in beekeeping for the industrialized areas of the world that are beginning to use them. The top bar hive of today is not the one found in ancient times. And if you take a short look at the vast array of designs and experiments out there among modern tbh beekeepers on the internet today, you might see (as I do) that - at this grass roots level - the top bar hive is on the cutting edge of innovation in modern beekeeping.
I'm not saying that the same spirit of innovation and advancement is not going on with the langstroth hive (and others), for it definitely is and long has been. But what I am suggesting is that looking at the top bar hive as some fanciful trip down memory lane for the sake of nostalgia is for most of us - way off. I think that what's driving most of the top bar hive interest is just the opposite.
We're using it because it's a great basic design to start from, and it offers a lot of room for experimentation and innovation. And all of those weird concoctions and contraptions, the boxes, "coffins", and "bird houses from hell" that are sprouting up and filled with bees in yards and fields and on rooftops all over the world are actually a rapidly growing hotbed of beekeeping innovation and experimentation.
And because they are not the norm; not what the catalogs are selling. Because they are not easily found in most books in the library, and because most of the established beekeepers in the world have little or no experience in their use, I'd argue that puts them even more into the "experimental" realm. And I propose that the top bar hive's position on the outskirts of "normal beekeeping", combined with its rapid growth in popularity puts it on the cutting edge.
It's the latest thing.
But this latest thing is not just a re-use of an antiquated design. It is alive and moving with bright ideas, trial and error, elbow grease and passion. And it's just getting started.
What are your thoughts? Has the top bar hive actually become the cutting edge of beekeeping innovation?
Adam
In another forum, a person made a comment that suggested that using a top bar hive was akin to trading in an automobile for a horse and buggy. He was suggesting that using a top bar hive was odd, because it meant using old technology over what innovation and invention had replaced. Michael Bush made a very interesting response, some of which I'd like to quote here for the purpose of further discussion:
"I'd have to say that Europeans and Americans never had top bar hives until very recently. The Greeks had them hundreds if not thousands of years ago and still do today, but Americans were not looking for an improvement over a top bar hive as they had never seen or heard of one at the time the Langstroth came out. They were looking for an improvement over a log gum (in the US) and the skep (in Europe). And a top bar hive is a huge step above either... The Langstroth did not displace the top bar hive. The Langstroth has never been in any competition for acceptance with the top bar hive until quite recently. And so far the Langstroth is losing ground."
His remarks really got me to thinking.
In that light, the top bar hive and the langstroth are two separate design solutions for housing bees in a way which suits both human and bee needs. One design did not succeed the other. Each hive type was developed in different parts of the world, at different times. And for most of us in North America and Europe, the top bar hive is a "new discovery"; being considered, used and experimented with for the first time.
If you look at it this way, the tbh is a "modern" solution, and a viable, inexpensive, highly efficient and functional solution in the true spirit of modernity. And very much in line with a lot of the current values and interests of a lot of people in our society today.
The fact that the core concept has been around for thousands of years, doesn't change the fact that the top bar hives in use by a lot of people today are benefiting from all of the experience, discovery and advancement in beekeeping, the understanding of bee behavior, chemistry, physiology, nutrition etc etc - centuries of advancement in a great variety of areas that now can come to bear on how each of us builds and manages our top hives.
Many detractors see the top bar hive as a "throw-back", like driving an antique car. They see them as a way to enjoy "a simpler time" by keeping history alive. And there are likely some tbh enthusiasts who do see it that way. But I don't.
It might be more accurate to see the tbh in a similar light as one might look at the use of wool. Sheeps wool, merino, alpaca, etc. For years, people moved away from these traditional fibers in favor of "new technology" in synthetic fibers, but over time, with more experience and the trial of more technology, we're seeing even high-tech sporting wear companies returning to the use of wool in their products. The reason? After decades of experimentation with other solutions, we just have to admit - wool works pretty darned well.
It doesn't matter that people have used wool for thousands of years - the use of wool today is modern, and technologically current. Wool is now being experimented with in new ways and new fabrics are being developed to further exploit its natural properties. There are likely many similar examples out there that we can think of - old becomes new again as our education throws new light, and our new perspectives revise our value systems. And with those revisions, we place new value on old ideas. But those ideas are not just repeated; they are rediscovered and made new by the fact that this world is not the same today as it was yesterday.
I'm seeing that while the core ideas behind the top bar hive are ancient, the top bar hive of today is very much a new technology in beekeeping for the industrialized areas of the world that are beginning to use them. The top bar hive of today is not the one found in ancient times. And if you take a short look at the vast array of designs and experiments out there among modern tbh beekeepers on the internet today, you might see (as I do) that - at this grass roots level - the top bar hive is on the cutting edge of innovation in modern beekeeping.
I'm not saying that the same spirit of innovation and advancement is not going on with the langstroth hive (and others), for it definitely is and long has been. But what I am suggesting is that looking at the top bar hive as some fanciful trip down memory lane for the sake of nostalgia is for most of us - way off. I think that what's driving most of the top bar hive interest is just the opposite.
We're using it because it's a great basic design to start from, and it offers a lot of room for experimentation and innovation. And all of those weird concoctions and contraptions, the boxes, "coffins", and "bird houses from hell" that are sprouting up and filled with bees in yards and fields and on rooftops all over the world are actually a rapidly growing hotbed of beekeeping innovation and experimentation.
And because they are not the norm; not what the catalogs are selling. Because they are not easily found in most books in the library, and because most of the established beekeepers in the world have little or no experience in their use, I'd argue that puts them even more into the "experimental" realm. And I propose that the top bar hive's position on the outskirts of "normal beekeeping", combined with its rapid growth in popularity puts it on the cutting edge.
It's the latest thing.
But this latest thing is not just a re-use of an antiquated design. It is alive and moving with bright ideas, trial and error, elbow grease and passion. And it's just getting started.
What are your thoughts? Has the top bar hive actually become the cutting edge of beekeeping innovation?
Adam