Editing Horizontal top-bar hive (section)

====Top bars====

A top-bar hive has bars from which the [[honey bee]]s attach and hang [[beeswax|wax]] [[Honeycomb|comb]], an array of [[hexagon]]al (six sided) cells.

A beekeeper can make top bars from any plain wood. The top bars are usually {{cvt|1+1/4|to|1+3/8|in}} wide, depending on local conditions and the type of bee to be housed. Combs can be handled individually. The depth of the bar and the length of the bar can be whatever the beekeeper wants, but usually between {{cvt|17|and|20|in}}. If the top bar hive is deeper than {{cvt|12|in}}, the weight of the comb filled with honey tends to cause it to fall off the bar into the bottom of the hive. The bees will lose access to this during the winter cluster in the hanging combs, thus increasing their likelihood of starving.

It is important to give the bees a clear starting point to build comb on each top bar. Some TBH beekeepers fashion their top bars with a V-shaped bottom to guide the comb building. Alternatively, some use a table saw to cut two closely spaced slots along the long axis of each new top bar. Either type of guide, wax line or grooves, gives bees a place to hold on to with their hooked feet. This allows a substantial "drape" of bees to form, which is the beginning of comb building.