How do I install bees into the Top Bar Hive?

Installing the bees into your hive: This is a general setup for installing bees. You may need to adjust the amount of bars back before installing the falseback (divider board) if you have a very large swarm football size, or if it's been very hot days, say in the 80s or above. The temporary sized down hive, from putting in the falseback, may be too small of a space for the bees to cool down.

For the Original BackYardHive: you count 8 top bars from the front of the hive. Take out the next 5 bars. This leaves on opening to install the bees. Then count 3 more bars back and insert the falseback (divider board).

For the Golden Mean hive:
Counting from the front of the hive (entrance side), remove bars 2- 8, place the falseback in front of bar 9. Put your bees into the hive, close up the hive and let them establish building comb in front of this falseback. After about 4-6 days the falseback can be moved and placed at the back of the hive.

Whether it's a package of bees you bought or a feral swarm, you will want to make sure the queen is in the hive. If it's a package of bees the queen comes in a separate cage. Place this on top of the hive until you get the other bees into the hive. Give one stern shake of the box and let the bees settle, then if needed give the box another stern shake. There will be bees flying all around hopefully most of them are in the hive. They will soon start to fan, this is the bees calling out to each other that their queen is at this hive and everyone come and get into the new home. Fanning is recognized by the bees sticking their butts into the air and flapping their wings. Spreading the pheromone smell of the hive to attract all the other bees to their new home. This is also an indication that the queen is in the hive. This process can take an hour or so for them all to collect into the hive.

If you bought a package of bees, read the instructions that came from the breeder. Our DVD on beekeeping with the top bar hive demonstrates installing bees.

The bees will be in a big ball for a while when you look into the hive through the window. Then in a week or so you will start to see the comb they have drawn through

the large ball of bees. After they have drawn about 5 combs of so you can remove the falseback. Either put it to very back of the hive or remove it completely and put in

the 24^th top bar. Keeping or removing the falseback completely depends on how much the top bars have expanded or contracted depending on your climate.