There are many ways to "keep" honey bees, one of which is called Top-Bar because of the structure that is built. The white boxes that are seen in orchards are Langstroth hives, which is the hive of choice for most beekeepers. These are boxes with 10 frames inside that are standardized. Skeps, or wicker hives, are no longer used much (and illegal where I am) because they are difficult to monitor for disease and the colony often has to be completely removed to get the honey. To learn about Langstroth hives, I recommend reading The Hive and the Honey Bee by Langstroth himself. Quite an interesting fellow from Pennsylvania that studied bees in the 1800s and considered the father of modern beekeeping.
Anyways, Top-Bar beekeeping uses a completely different structure that is considered more "natural". The structure allows the honey bees to construct comb entirely on their own in a more natural shape, which is hanging. I will learn more about it hands-on in Jamaica but I have read about the concepts in two books.
I read a lot and will reference books throughout my posts.
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