Cutout into Top Bar hive?

2064 Views 6 Replies 5 Participants Last post by ChuckReburn, Jun 10, 2014

WilMorris

Discussion Starter · Jun 9, 2014

I do cutouts and often give the bees to the beekeepers that bring me the jobs. I have had quite a few requests to supply cutouts to people with top bar or warre hives. I have not figured out a good way to supply the cut comb. My system is Langstroth hive foundationless frames and a Langstroth modified as a bee vac.
I've seen some rigs like pieces of twist tie, hair clips, etc. but I just havent seen any technique that looks ideal.

I was wondering if I just placed cut comb with brood and nurse bees, etc, in the hive. Just sort of carefully leaning it in there. would the bees nurse and hatch whatever they could and then rebuild on the top bars and eventually transfer whatever goodies they have in the cut comb to the comb they draw on the top bars?

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jbraun

· #2 · Jun 9, 2014

Wil,

I just got introduced to using masking tape to secure comb to frames. I've only used it on Langstroth foundationless frames and it works great on them. I would suspect that it would work great with both top bar or warre, although you would probably have to use more than the 2-3 pieces I use for frames.

I've tried to just lean it against the side and that didn't work for me.

Good luck.

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JakeDatc

· #3 · Jun 9, 2014

Can build a few of these bars really easy. you only need a few inches of 1/2" screen.. maybe 10-12" wide. you can attach it like shown here or from underneath if the bars don't fit together tight enough.

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WilMorris

Discussion Starter · #4 · Jun 10, 2014

JakeDatc said:
Can build a few of these bars really easy. you only need a few inches of 1/2" screen.. maybe 10-12" wide. you can attach it like shown here or from underneath if the bars don't fit together tight enough.

I saw that image somewhere before. Looks simple. My only concern would be it affecting the bee space between bars. Yeah, attaching to the bottom would be ideal but trying not to spend too much time or money on these. As I mentioned, these bees would not go to me. I do Langstroths
the other thought was separating the comb and the bees. The bees go to the top bar hive and the comb/ brood go to my hives. But I worry that that may encourage absconding

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ruthiesbees

· #5 · Jun 10, 2014

I was also going to recommend the masking tape option. Also to answer your question about leaning the brood comb in the hive, Mangum Wyatt does talk about doing that in his topbar book, so it's definitely a possibility.

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JakeDatc

· #6 · Jun 10, 2014

you should be able to find a few foot roll of hardware cloth for under 10 bucks at hardware store or home depot.. could ask the person the bees are going to to throw in a few bucks? i just used normal wood staples to attach the mesh to the bar. putting it underneath would keep everything lined up.

separating the brood and bees might be ok if it is a decent sized hive.. if not then they may really benefit from the extra numbers hatching.

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ChuckReburn

· #7 · Jun 10, 2014

I've done 4 or 5 cutouts into top bars this year. I use 40lb monofilament, punch a few holes about half an inch down and just tie older brood comb in place. At least here, comb in the bottom tends to encourage SHB.

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