We spent a little more time working the top bar hives. I’m always thrilled about opportunities to get into top bar hives! Despite being not as popular in the U.S. as the more commonly seen Langstroth hive boxes, top bar hives are the oldest and most commonly used hive style in the world. Unlike Langstroth hives, top bars don’t use frames or foundations and have only a wooden bar at the top that allows the bees to build their honeycomb down naturally. I hope to make time next year to build my own top bar hive to incorporate into our apiary.

In the meantime, I scored this MAJOR come up on Facebook Marketplace of Langstroth hive boxes and beekeeping equipment. Much to my surprise and delight, this haul also included Italian hives! They are very similar to the Langstroth hive with the main difference being in the design of the frames and foundations.

Italian hives use 4-sided frames similar to those found in Langstroth hives, except the foundation is not a wax or plastic insert, but rather coated wires running vertically. This foundation allows the bees to build their comb down more naturally while providing loose support within the frame and reduced exposure to harmful synthetic contaminants. Despite the mass commercialization of beekeeping with Langstroth hives, I’ve decided to include Langstroth hives in our apiary, but will be going the, somewhat controversial, foundation-less route. This decision is cemented in my awareness that bees have been making honeycomb on their own, without the “help” of humans, for thousands of years and my belief that they know how to do it best…if we just let them.

I started reading “First Lessons in Beekeeping” by Keith S. Delaplane. This is required reading to sit for the Georgia Certified Beekeeper exam which I intend to do next year. Certification is a requirement for teaching in the Beekeeping Behind Bars program I want to contribute to. I also registered for the Beekeepers Association Spring Conference in February. Keynote speakers include Dr. Jamie Ellis, Professor of Entomology in the Entomology and Nematology Department at the University of Florida, Dr. Keith Delaplane, Professor of Entomology at the College of Agriculture and Environmental Science, University of Georgia and Megan Mahoney of MaHoney Queens from Texas. It’s sure to be a time of immense learning in the art and science of apiology!

Whew – LOOK OUT 2024!