Top bee space

[nemphlar]

After 28 years was persuaded to try a beekeeping course, always a pleasant night listening to bee chatter. I think I,ve discovered why bottom bee space prevails in the uk and nowhere else in the world. Beginners are advised that if they want buy a nucleus in the UK they had had better buy a national.

[Black Comb]

I agree.
My association teaches only with nationals.

I started on nationals but hate double brood so went over to langstroth. Fortuneately I bought very cheap second hand nats.so wasn't too difficult.

[brecks]

After 28 years was persuaded to try a beekeeping course, always a pleasant night listening to bee chatter. I think I,ve discovered why bottom bee space prevails in the uk and nowhere else in the world. Beginners are advised that if they want buy a nucleus in the UK they had had better buy a national.

I agree, starters are pushed towards bottom beespace hives and then find it expensive to change to the superior top bee space.

[nemphlar]

Sorely tempted to try langstroth, how do they fit with the darker bees?

[beejazz]

Nationals can be set up as top bee space, I believe, but why is top bee space superior to bottom bee space?

[brecks]

Nationals can be set up as top bee space, I believe, but why is top bee space superior to bottom bee space?

Bees are much more likely to be squashed when putting supers back on a bottom bee space hive.

[gavin]

Bees are much more likely to be squashed when putting supers back on a bottom bee space hive.

Or squashed in a place you can see them, and therefore more able to be ushered off the squashable areas by the careful beekeeper?

Conversely, the squashing done by the top space beekeeper is just less visible (and therefore more likely to take place)?

Go on - persuade me otherwise!

[Blackcavebees]

I like driving on the right hand side of the road. I just do. It's fine if I'm in Spain or USA or on my own land or up in hills with noone about. But majority of time I do what everyone else does, I drive on the left when in UK. It's safer for one thing.

Beekeepers are an individualistic bunch, aren't we? On our own ground we'll do what we want, our own way. But if we want to buy/sell nucs and keep bees at a hobbyist or amateur level we fall into line and drive on the left at a National speed limit. Unless housing a swarm, or a shook swarm or package bees it's hard for the wee man to do anything else.

Why though is the National so popular? Tradition or is it well suited to native bees. If you just want to squish your bees without seeing it, try a smith? Are they not top bee space?

[beejazz]

Swish? squish?, aren't smiths tiddly hives?

[Rosie]

I would expect natives to adapt well to langstroths but I use bottom bee space because I know that most bees on the underside of a super will be safe when I lower it onto a flattish surface such as a roof or even a brood box. The bees at risk on the bottom space brood box are more likely to move onto the top rim than with a top space one but I have smoker lit to move them off. Also with top space supers all the frames jump out when I put the super on a roof.

My favourite arrangement is a top space brood box under bottom space supers. I then use a frameless queen excluder to give me a bee space on each side of it. I don't teach that method because examiners would frown on the idea but I if were king I would write the papers.