Top-Bar Hive
Lexikon
The top-bar hive is a horizontal box with sloping side walls, in which the bees build their comb freely on top bars.
The top-bar hive is a horizontal box with sloping side walls, in which the bees build their comb freely on top bars. There are no frames and no foundation.
The top bars are around 30 to 35 millimeters wide, matching the comb spacing found in undisturbed natural comb. A common hive is about 1.20 meters long and holds over thirty bars. Because the trapezoidal combs are attached only at the top, they break more easily than framed combs, so flatter designs and calm handling matter.
Harvesting is done by cutting out the rear combs, farthest from the entrance. They cannot be hung back afterward, so not too much should be taken at once. The honey is obtained by pressing or by letting it drip out.
The system is widespread in Africa because it can be built with the simplest means. The Veitshöchheim Institute for Apiculture has tested it and rated it as practical for self-sufficient use, but explicitly points out that varroa treatment remains necessary here too. Anyone who wants only natural comb building, incidentally, does not need a special hive for that; it works equally well in any modern box hive with empty frames.