Change from bottom to top entrance

[stella]

Id like to interject here what the bees have taught me about upper or lower entrances.
 
Being fresh to the hobby last spring, I began with the typical bottom entrance. Then I read about upper entrances and thinking I was kinda smart and could teach those bees a thing or two, I drilled an upper entrance in the top deep. They didnt use it.
 
What the bees decided to do was chew a hole in the lower back of the bottom deep. A nice size hole mind you, one so big that I had to tack hardware cloth over it. Then they chewed another decent sized upper entrance out of the corner of the inner cover.

I find it amazing that bees can chew wood like that!

Lesser amounts of bees use the original bottom entrance than the top entrances. I like that they are mostly entering the top box thru the inner cover, crossing my supers if they are on. They seem to know what they would like and they have taught me that they will arrange things as they prefer.

I read this thread and I wonder why folks go round and round about what entrance is best for the bees, when the bees ultimately make their own decisions. ?

Or maybe no one has bees that chew wood like mine do?

Or maybe, my bees are just very, very intellectual. :roll:

[BjornBee]

I think you have one very smart mouse.  ;)

[BjornBee]

I can always know about where the bees are raising brood based on which hole most of the bees are coming and going. (Sorry....I don't have bees smart enough to enter one hole and all exit another...but I'm working on it!) Anyways, bees will primarily use top entrances if the brood is located in the upper half of the hive, and as they work lower, more and more bees will use the bottom entrance. They are smart enough to use the closest entrance to where they are all going.

This is an interesting thread. Bees that set up one way traffic patterns in the hive all going out one entrance and returning through another , and now bees that drill their own holes. I'm learning something new every day.

[pawallinsr]

"You could get a small paint roller and rub their backs on the way out!!"
I like that, small one way signs posted could help! :-D

[pawallinsr]

" if you want to close the bottom entrance, just do it.  leave it.  they will find the top entrance."
Thank you cathyp, it was good advice!  It took one day of crawling around at the closed bottom entrance, then this afternoon
they seem fine with the top entrance.  Reading on the net I find that others use multiple entrances but mainly at the suppers
for honey flow.
BjornBee
Having any luck researching "Most bees all leaving on the bottom, and then returning via the top entrance."

Thanks again All

[stella]

I think you have one very smart mouse.  ;)

If a mouse could disguise itself as a bee and, in my presence, fool me into thinking that it indeed was a bee chewing at the wood then you would have the correct answer.  ;)

[BjornBee]

I think you have one very smart mouse.  ;)

If a mouse could disguise itself as a bee and, in my presence, fool me into thinking that it indeed was a bee chewing at the wood then you would have the correct answer.  ;)

Well, it really comes down to what type bees you have.

I have mainly Russians and carni bees. On those instances where in the heat of the day I have forgot to open the entrance upon moving bees, only to return a week later, my bees all died in the hive without the ability to chew hole through the wood supers. They must lack this ability.

You probably have Italians, or perhaps buckfast. Some feral bees also have this ability you mention. Those bees actually have small teeth, allowing them to chew wood, etc. When I string comb into frames for cutouts, it is amazing how fast the bees chew through the rubber bands and/or string.

The ability to chew wood, enlarge entrances, build their own cavities in trees, are on par with woodpeckers and other creatures. I know if I leave on insulated boards as top in the spring, they will also chew holes in that. Seen it many times. And now that I think about it, the bottom back corner of the box, as you mentioned, is one of the places I find the most holes chewed in boxes. I'll take some pictures today and post them.  Sorry I misread your comments.

[BjornBee]

BjornBee
Having any luck researching "Most bees all leaving on the bottom, and then returning via the top entrance."

What I want to do is conduct several experiments at once. So I have been thinking. If I post "one way" signs, and get the bees to all go out one entrance, and return using another entrance, what would happen if I all of a sudden reversed the signs? Would they all change direction? Can Russian bees read English? Would Italians bees need to have it written in Italian? Should I stick with English as the universal language?

If they did reverse direction, how can I be assurred it was from the signs, and not by pure coincidence. Double blind studies perhaps.

And if all this goes well, could I handle all the attention of probably uncovering the biggest discovery yet. This could lead to bees being able to select from slide cards what they are tasting and coming in contact with in the field. They could read the lables on chemical bottles, know the dangers, report back, and save themselves from pesticide and other issues. The slide cards of course would only be a temporary step in the process as I am sure bees could communicate in the near future. In fact, I kind of picture this all like bee movie, with all bees sounding like Jerry Seinfeld.

[buzzbee]

If the brood nest is on the bottom and supers above, a top entrance makes for a lot more traveling for bees with pollen.Personally, I'll give them access to top and bottom through warm weather,but close the top other than the notch in the inner cover for winter.
I have had them seal  the notch on their own before with propolis,so sometimes it seems they would rather not have the extra entrance/ventilation.

[buzzbee]

On another note,if you are producing comb honey,with all bee traffic crossing the supers,your comb will get soiled with dirty bee feet. It makes quite a difference in appearance where the heavy traffic walks.