Are honeybees native to Britain? And do they compete with other native bees? That's one of the questions I will be dealing with in this espsode, along with announcing a new voicelmail number for you to leave messages and questions on for the podcast - +44 203 239 1643

I also announce the new 'app' that will run alongside this podcast, making it easy for owners of iPhones, iPods and iPads to get episodes and some extra content not available elsewhere, in return for a small subscription that will go towards helping to make it possible for me to produce these podcasts on a regular basis. It can take up to a full day to record, edit and process one of these episodes, so I hope you will support me in doing this if you have the appropriate technology.

A large chunk of this episode consists of feedback from people who attended my last weekend event at Welcombe in North Devon, organized by the Yarner Trust. They talk about their experiences and what they learned, as well as giving some suggestions for further enhancing the experience.

Cross-combing is probably the most-reported issue with top bar hives, and it can be tricky to resolve. In this podcast, I talk about how you can most effectively prevent cross-combing, and what you can do about it if it happens despite your best endeavours. I also describe a method of dealing with really serious cross-combing, that is similar to my method for transferring bees from a framed hive to a top bar hive by making use of their natural tendency to build comb downwards.

You will also hear some feedback from participants in a recent Natural Beekeeping event at Embercombe.

One of the first problems encountered by beginners to top bar beekeeping is how to get some bees into those boxes. This podcast will help you with some ideas and techniques that can be applied to most of the circumstances you are likely to find yourself in.

A detailed article on this subject with the title 'The Barefoot Beekeeper's Guide to Starting a Top Bar Hive' will be available soon from www.offthebookshelf.com