Geographical Distribution
Traditional top bar hives are appropriate to locations with tropical or temperate climates. Owing to the elongated horizontal configuration of the hive they are not generally believed to be appropriate for latitudes with severe winters.
Some beekeepers are experimenting with short versions of top bar hives which have ~1 cm notches cut in the center edge of the bars so that they can 'super' them (put another hive body above an existing hive body to stimulate bees to produce honey in it) with another short top bar hive, or even a standard Langstroth hive body. This method reportedly works well. These sorts of top bar hives could be insulated easily, as is done with Langstroth hives, for colder climates.
Another variant that may improve over-wintering in cold climates is a design pioneered by Phil Chandler in the UK, which has a central side entrance and two follower boards, between which the colony is confined. This leaves large, stationary air-filled spaces either side of the colony, which can be filled with insulation in winter.
Read more about this topic: Top-bar Hive
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