20181118 - Grass Hive transfer to larger TBH box

So our Grass Hive is flourishing.
So much so it now needs a move to a larger TBH box
Current box Grass Hive resides in had 15 top bars, while this larger one has 30 top bars - this is equivalent to a Langstroth brood box with two supers

Yes, the current box still a few top bars yet to be drawn out - but with so many bees hatching each day I want to ensure plenty of room for expansion - and hopefully early next year a future split (or two) to expand number of hives I look after

Need also to think about queen extruders - most naturalist (if i can say that) TBH keepers don't use them but my Langstroth background is biasing me!

So next I dug out one of my larger TBH boxes from storage made a few months ago
I added a couple of long pieces of pine underneath the box and attached these with coach bolts
These will stabilize the TBH box and secure it to the steel stand (no more fallen hives and crushed frame/bees for me!)

I then secured a removable feeder station into rear of TBH box

I have been substitute feeding the bees for two weeks but might not need it now as recent start of the wet season must have started some flowering as the bees coming back to the hive have loaded legs.

We (my daughters and I - one in bee suit, the other perched on  high position watching from a distance) opened up the old box, shifted it aside and transferred the top bars one by one, after an inspection of course. We again didn't see the queen but the host of nymphs and capped brood indicate the queen is busy doing what she should. Good brood groups on the comb too - as in no spotting of brood but full coverage on middle of comb - so she is really doing her job well.

Once larger TBH box was in the position of the original smaller TBH box, we checked the larger TBH box was level (so combs have more of chance to be drawn straight). Having the entrance of this larger TBH in the same place as the old box allows less stress for returning foraging/worker bees.

Most of the rest of the frames transferred - all had a little comb drawn if not three of them full combs filling all available space - awesomely full of brood, nearly all had honey stores. 

Only one frame has any capped honey but the plethora of brood holds well for this TBH's future.

Seems a very contented hive - very busy with bee life.

Had to add 5mm spacers around the honey comb top bars (2 of them) as the wax was drawn well beyond edge of the 32mm wide top bar. Some TBH keepers recommend two sizes of top bars 32mm for brood frames and 38mm for honey frames. Others go just 32 and some 38mm, as too all 32s and add in 5mm spacers when needed. This is where the queen excluder comes into it - - I am thinking 32mm at front of TBH and past the excluder - 38s for honey production. Will mull over this and other theories for a bit yet as not looking to harvest honey till Feb 2019 - if at all for 2019 while building up and splitting hives to increase TBH numbers.

So the hive was healthy and full, but now with a bit more space

The old medium sized TBH box all set up again - ready for next swarm or hive split

Mid-November 2018 TBH status

So three hives - 2 going great - one not so
Thinking of getting bees from hives doing well and ordering 5 new queens from QLD, posted to me express. Brother-in-law has had them mailed to him before so know it all works well.
This will expand rapidly my active TBH (Top Bar Hive) box count.

As I have 3 large sized "30 bar TBHs" (one in use) and 8x medium sized "15 bar TBHs" (2 in use) - I would like to have most of the TBHs filled with bees in the coming season of plenty round the wet season.

Then have a couple spare boxes for swarm captures in the build up to next wet season - but have more scrap timber to make more when needed. Then again if the medium TBHs get bees they will soon need larger TBHs - so more workshop time will be needed focused on larger TBHs I think.

It tends to snowball doesn't it  !!!

Now to the hives I do have---

Hive #1
So my Cupboard Hive is struggling.

The "countless" bees I thought were there before the transfer ended up being a lot, lot less than I had seen two weeks prior to the transfer
I did find about 6+ queen cells - so a swarm or two might have taken place reducing bee numbers before I got to it

Last inspection of the Cupboard Hive - I found countless wax moth, few bees and no visible brood.

So I removed 8 frames of comb I had transferred from the cupboard (now totally moth ridden) but left two frames with some honey in them - so less for bees to defend and control.
The other ruined comb, I placed in a bag for freezing (and to kill the waxmoth larva) - this wax for a later time of wax extraction.

My other two medium sized "15 bar TBHs" are doing well - one very well

Not much food about, as at time of last inspection the comb showed almost no honey stores at all, which prompted me to substitute feed for last two weeks - (see previous inspection blog entry)
So have a couple of feed stations set up - these will eventually go into the back of the larger TBH boxes (30 bars) when I transfer the bees from the medium sized TBH boxes to a larger TBH boxes.

Hive #2
The Grass Hive (collected off clump of grass in a paddock - see Grass hive capture details) is going gang busters. Plenty of bees and at least 12 almost full combs out the 15 available. Plenty of brood and uncapped honey.

There is a constant freeway of bee traffic going in and out the entrances of this hive - plenty of honey stores (well after the substitute feeding anyway). Last inspect showed four full frames of brood surrounded by honey stores and about 8 half combs, as well as a few just starting to be drawn out
Still did not see the queen but ample evidence of her presence in all the developing and capped brood
Will shortly transfer all the frames etc into one of my 30 top bar TBH box to give them more space to expand. (blog entry on this soon)

Hive #3
The Post Hive  (see - swarm capture details) is slowly developing. Last quick inspection after school with my daughter - showed plenty of brood capped and developing with stores of honey on edge of each comb. No full combs yet but getting there - 4 top bars almost fully drawn out and plenty of other top bars are starting to be drawn down with comb too. My daughter also got to see her first queen bee on the comb - she was so super excited!

Both medium sized TBHs had issues with crooked comb that was carefully massaged back into place. also reversed position in TBH box to see if that helps. I think my strip of 3ply down middle of top bar allows the bees to draw comb from either side not exactly in the middle - all of which adds to the crooked comb problem. may need to sharpen ply to a pointed edge

So what next??
New queens to house?, split other hives for bees for the new queens, pinch a few bees from brother-in-law and think I know where a wild hive is which will be heaps of extra bees for new hives.

As Shakespeare should have said had he been a TBH bee keeper
"Once more unto the Top bar hive, dear friends, once more;"

or was it like the light brigade charging forward to certain doom
"into the valley of bee hives rode the intrepid TBH bee keeper - stingers to the left, stingers to the right!"

               (I must be tired!)