Top Bar Hive Split

Photos by Colin

      It was a beautiful day for a top bar hive split in our Vancouver beekeeping coop in Strathcona Park.  It was about 20 Celsius (70 fahrenheit), no wind and the birds were singing.  Anna's treatment free Kenyan Top Bar hive contained a strong, survivor stock of bees from a treatment free bee breeder that had overwintered and thrived.  Everyone joined in to assist and learn.  She was also able to harvest some honey (Top Bar Honey Harvesting).
    

Anna removing a honey frame for crush and strain extraction

     The split method we employed is moving 2 frames of brood of different ages and 2 frames of honey into the split along with the old queen.  Anna found the queen on a honey frame.  Anna also shook a few frames of bees into the new hive.  The parent hive was left with new uncapped brood and 2 capped queen cells.  We also moved the positon of the old hive over 1 foot and placed the new hive next to it in an effort to gain some foragers.  A similar method of colony division is described by Les Crowder in the video below (The split begins 16 minutes into the video). 
    

     Thanks to Colin for the great photos.  For more information on top bar beekeeping go to the Top Bar section of our Beekeepers' Library.

Introduction to Beekeeping in Vancouver Class

      Every year in May and June we have presented our "Introduction to Beekeeping in Vancouver" classes.  Beekeeping has become popular and a recent survey in the U.S. revealed that over 70% of beekeepers quit beekeeping within the first 5 years.  I believe this is because people enter into beekeeping too quickly and are not properly prepared for the dedication of time and continuous learning that is required to be a competent beekeeper.  Also, new beekeepers do not have the support needed to deal with problems that arise.  The goal of this class is not to discourage you or take the place of a full beekeeping course but to assist you and better prepare you in your decision to become a beekeeper.

Beeing with Bees by Kurt Liebich 1896

      We will provide you with a very basic theoretical overview of  honey bees and beekeeping and answer all of your questions.  The class is about 2 hours in length (1 hour theory and 1 hour in the hives) and as it is held outside is weather dependent.  We keep the class small so that everyone can have if they wish an intimate experience with the bees so reservation is necessary.  There is no cost and we provide the veil and gloves.  Our classes are held at Cottonwood Community Garden in Strathcona Park in Vancouver.  To reserve a spot in our first "Introduction to Beekeeping Class" on May 26 contact us at "strathconabee at gmaildotcom".  For more information on beekeeping courses check out our Vancouver Beekeeping Courses page.
     All of theory needed to be a beekeeper is available for free online.  A good start is "Beekeeping 101" which is an assortment of books, videos and online university beekeeping courses.  Our Beekeepers' Library is also a good source of information.  While theory is important the practical application and guidance of experienced beekeepers is more so.  We look forward to seeing you at our beekeeping class.
     Update 2019: We no longer run our introduction to beekeeping courses.

One of our girls enjoying a Kale blossom