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Author Topic: Adding a upper entrance??  (Read 31553 times)

Offline Queen Bee

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Adding a upper entrance??
« on: June 07, 2004, 10:22:14 pm »
I have a very large hive that is going crazy-- I have 4 hive bodies and two supers on it!  New wax has slowed them down some.. My question is what would happen if I added a upper entrance? Would it benifit the bees or  harm their productive?  How would I 'make' this upper entrance? Any suggestions? I am in the Sandhills of NC. Our weather has been very hot and dry. My hives get early morning sun but are shaded in the afternoon.
I will be robbing them around the fourth of July!

Offline beemaster

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Adding a upper entrance??
« Reply #1 on: June 07, 2004, 11:39:55 pm »
I really don't recommend upper entrances, the bottom board opening is about 10 to 15 times larger than the typical hive entrance in nature (even though the bee count and squar footage is relatively the samesize as a natural hive) and these large bottom boards can accomidate massive flights per minute - watch a swarm evacuate the hive in seconds and you'll get the idea.

I'm a little confused on your terminology, so I'll try to break down what I think you have. All hive boxes are "supers", you have deep (what I think you are saying are supers) medium and shallows: these are the three sizes.

So I'm not quite sure if you are saying you have 4 supers total (2 deep and 2 shallow) or 6 supers (2 deep and 4 shallow) or mediums if you use those. But 4 supers high EVEN 6 high can still make fine use of the normal unreduced entrance.

If the supers are drawn out and full of brood or food AND you already vent it by tilting the telescoping outer lid toward the back - then you might need to think about splitting up the hive into two MORE MANAGABLE colonies and this would reduce the traffic a lot.

Honeybees DON'T return from the field and walk all the way up to the top supers to store pollen, nectar, water or propolis - they pass it off to young worker bees just inside the entrance and these young workers do the marching up the hive to store the food in avalable cells.

This is an important part of hive communication - honeybees need to touch each other, pass food sources on, have internal storage plans: pollen in the corners along with drone cells for example, and nectar and worker brood in the center of the frames. All these "Jobs" are done through strong pheromonal scents from the queen and passed on from her, through her tending workers - it literally is important for touching NOT JUST SMELLING of the queen scent to pass physically from bee to bee to bee.

So walking the long walk from the bottom super to the top (or wherever the storage is being done) is an important part of the life-cycle and well being of the hive. I don't like to seeing supers OVER-STACKED though, it is an accident waiting to happen. Anything above or below the baseball STRIKE-ZONE is a "Back Injury" waiting to happen, so be careful with these tall hives.

IF you choose to make an upper entrance, then I suggest you make it AT LEAST the SECOND BOX from the TOP - not the top super - drill a 3/4 inch hole (no larger) and maybe glue a small landing board below it - again, I don't recommend an upper entrance, but if you  do make one make sure it is in centered in the super front and make sure it is a super that is drawn out fully. You don't want an entrance in a super that isn't drawn out, it invites thieves and opens the hive to infestation of other insects.

Personally though, if I had a hive 6 supers high (any size super) I'd split it, giving" both hives" equal food and brood and equal drawn comb. If it were 4 supers high, I'd probably keep it like it is and NOT add a upper entrance - also do regular harvest of honey to make room for continuous foraging and help keep internal temperatures lower.

Honey is a very AMBIENT product - like a swimming pool, it slowly changes AVERAGE temperature (unless of course you have serious temperature swings over a short number of hours - but generally, it is a "heatsink" in the Summer time, holding the heat "in" and making large bee count the main variable in the hive when it comes to temperature changes.

This is why you see bearding on the outside of the box in the evenings, the honey temperature CLIMBS SLOWLY throughout the day time and by time EVENING COMES the honey is at its HOTTEST and forces the bees to evacuate the hive to keep a steady 95F or as close as they can maintain for brood rearing as they can.

So even though it is COOLER in the evening, the hive temp is JUST THEN reaching its hottest temp of the day forcing the bees outside. Then it "cools off" over night, the bees return into the hive and "during the HOTTEST PARTS OF THE DAY" the honey is just beginning to warm up again. It has a very slow turn-around time relative to the hottest hours of the day. I think this confuses a lot of people, it seems Bass Ackwards: you would think the bees would be outside during the HOTTEST part of the day, not the cool evenings. But if you were to measure the internal hive temps, you would see that the hive is hottest in the early evening, long after the air temps have dropped off.

Hope all this helped :)
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Offline Queen Bee

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Adding a upper entrance??
« Reply #2 on: June 08, 2004, 12:30:14 am »
Thanks for the great information! Just what I needed. This hive has  2 brood chambers (full of bees/brood and eggs)and 2 deeps and 2 med. supers high, Full of  honey. I had thought about taking the full supers and extracting Them and then replacing the drawn comb.  I will not add a upper entrance. thanks again Debbie

Offline Finman

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Re: Adding a upper entrance??
« Reply #3 on: June 08, 2004, 03:25:32 am »
Quote from: Queen Bee
I have a very large hive that is going crazy-- I have 4 hive bodies and two supers on it! !


I have used upper entrances in finland 40 years. During winter they are vital necessary.

My goal is to keep 6-7 supers per hive. Upper entrances are in the first and second box.  If they are upper, they keep hive cool.

If honey flow is very heavy, like from turnip rape, I open all open, also from upper boxes.

Upper holes are finger tip size. Bees like round entrances.

I use 3 lower boxes. The lowes is the vestibule. There are no larvas, only pollen and reserve space.  Honey boxes are  14 cm high. It has 15 kg honey when it is full. At winter I have 2 or 1 box.

Offline beemaster

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Adding a upper entrance??
« Reply #4 on: June 08, 2004, 07:32:31 am »
I agree that an upper entrance in WINTER is a great idea - for escaping, cleansing and venting. I'd still rather keep the hive entrances clear, but we rarely get buried in snow to the point where I can not clear the hives after a heavy snow fall. But as stated, block the upper entrance and use it as necessary.

Trapping your hive entrances under snow can cause GREAT humidity in the colony and as it melts flood the hives in very high (relative to hive height) snow falls.  The upper hole works as a great natural vent then, Humidity is a killer..  And yep on them round holes too!!!

I'd still restrict the upper entrance to OFF SEASON hive escaping in MOST cases. I don't see the need for an upper entrance in the typical beeyard, I think it asks for trouble unless the colonies are managed very closely. But a good "Chimney effect" can be made from one - but keep the plug handy and use it a lot :)
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Offline BigRog

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Adding a upper entrance??
« Reply #5 on: June 08, 2004, 07:54:18 am »
I saw this in a catalog, would this be a good way to do it?

http://www.beeequipment.com/shop.asp
"Lurch my good man,…what did you mean when you said just now that 'You've got better things to do than run my petty little errands'…….?"

Offline Finman

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Adding a upper entrance??
« Reply #6 on: June 08, 2004, 09:38:57 am »
Quote from: beemaster
but we rarely get buried in snow to the point where I can not clear the hives after a heavy snow fall. But as stated, block the upper entrance and use it as necessary.


I use white "geo textile" in front of nest like raincoat during snow months. It hints wind, snow to block ventilation and hints bird to disturb bees http://perso.club-internet.fr/geoca/images/m%E9sange%20charbonni%E8re%202.jpg

Offline Lupus

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Adding a upper entrance??
« Reply #7 on: June 09, 2004, 03:24:06 pm »
Hello there:

I see you are in NC. I am in GA with probably similar weather. It can get pretty hot in the Southeast and ventilation can be a hot issue *G*. Ventilation and hive size seem to become related issues.

A Friend of mine BJ at Weeks Works (commercial) is screening his migratory pallets, which are his bottom boards, to cope with the problem. I believe BJ is using 1/4 inch mesh wire on his bottoms instead of the smaller mesh that bees can not pass through. I understand that some in the Southeast have found that robbing does not generally occur from under the hive. This method increases access and ventilation. If you feel adventurous you might give it a try.

Some current research seems to support the use of screened bottom boards to improve ventilation and brood rearing. I ordered a couple ventilated bottom boars and plan to try a hive with the 1/4 inch mesh to see what happens. I also ordered screened top covers and double screened "Dual Queen Management" dividers to experiment with.

A basic hive management principal is to try to equalize your hives. The idea being that equal hives: swarm less, produce more on average, have a lower mortality and are easier to work with. It can be scary to break up that big productive hive. It is pretty easy to take brood frames out of it, shake the bees off into their hive and swap it out for a frame from a weaker hive though. The big hives frequently end up swarming if they are not managed anyway.

Anyone else experimenting with ventilated tops and bottoms?

Offline Beth Kirkley

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Adding a upper entrance??
« Reply #8 on: June 09, 2004, 04:53:56 pm »
I'm also in Georgia, and worry about the bees getting too hot. I have them in a spot where they get shade by noon, but it's still pretty hot (and a little humid) in the air.
I just built a two hive stand with screened bottom boards. The only thing left for me to do is paint it. I think it'll really help them. In the larger hive, the bees often hang around the outside front all of the late afternoon.

Beth

Offline Finman

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Adding a upper entrance??
« Reply #9 on: June 09, 2004, 05:05:27 pm »
Quote from: Beth Kirkley
In the larger hive, the bees often hang around the outside front all of the late afternoon.

Beth


That hanging is a bad thing, because bees stop working. A lot of workers must carry water into the nest.

One way is to turn opening to north, so opening is in the shadow and nest is still as warm.

In my conditions bees hang outside if they get too much honey or nest is too small.  

In your situation milddle openings will help ventilation, if you do not have.

Offline Beth Kirkley

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Adding a upper entrance??
« Reply #10 on: June 09, 2004, 05:13:07 pm »
I that Finman, that if they're hanging on the outside of the hive, they're not working. They'll have the new hive stand with the screened bottoms within the next two days. The stand is also a foot off the ground, so that will allow a good air flow up.

Beth

Offline mattoleriver

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Imirie Shim for upper entrance
« Reply #11 on: June 09, 2004, 08:46:51 pm »
You might want to use an Imirie Shim for an upper entrance.  Here is a link to the proper use of one.  http://www.beekeeper.org/imirie_shims.html
George

Offline Robo

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Adding a upper entrance??
« Reply #12 on: June 09, 2004, 10:11:15 pm »
Here is another post that talks about supering and upper entrances.
http://beemaster.com/beebbs/viewtopic.php?t=516&highlight=shim

and another
http://beemaster.com/beebbs/viewtopic.php?t=748&highlight=upper+entrance


Just a reminder,  the forum has a great search function.
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Offline Lupus

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Adding a upper entrance??
« Reply #13 on: June 09, 2004, 11:00:48 pm »
EARLIER POST BY LUPUS:

I just received two screened bottom boards, two double screen dividers with open or shut openings and six screened inner covers. They are cypress but will get paint tomorrow when I paint the 3 supers I have that have been treated but not painted. So I plan to have some new ventilation options in operation by the end of the week.

I had no inner covers before since the hives I started with had migratory tops. I am hoping that I can leave the telescoping covers cracked open in the very hot weather. The small entrance on the screened inner covers should be easy to defend against invaders.

The double screen dividers  (Dual Queen Managers) I plan to use to do splits, queen introduction, Dual Queen Management. The double screen  opening options should allow me to create additional entrances for ventilation and better access. A small section of the frame on one side of the divider is sawn through at an angle in two places about 2 inches apart. The loose piece is then attached with one nail which it can turn on. There are three of these optional entrances on one side of the divider. I think I will order or make more of these as I believe they will have a multitude  of uses.

I am also planing to construct a raised platform on treated 4X4 posts with  two 2x6's, edges up, for the hives to rest on. With only 2, 2X edges under them air should be able to circulate better.

I will report back when I find out which options work the best here in Georgia.

LATEST POST BY LUPUS

Hmm, guess I did not get logged in before since my post says guest, sorry.

I read that other post Robo and followed another link you posted which took me to an explanation of those shims. I think the Double screen/Dual Queen Managers are a similar device with some additional features. I plan to test them out very soon.

I am also very curious about the 1/4 inch mesh bottom "board". That would make a pretty big entrance, if it does not cause other problems.

I am more interested in increasing my hive numbers than honey production this year. I am also thinking about doing early season splits and Dual Queen Management next year in an attempt to head off swarms while producing lots of bees and drawn comb early in the season. The blackberry and Poplar flow here can be very fast early in the season but late frost or windy storms can make it pretty short too.

I need to get better at queen management for my strategy to work, guess that will be my next post/search.

Offline beemaster

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Lupus - help with logging in
« Reply #14 on: June 09, 2004, 11:53:31 pm »
LUPUS:

Please read this post concerning logging in - I'm sure it will help, it's not your fault - we all suffer this quirk in the software, but you'll master it in no time:

http://www.beemaster.com/beebbs/viewtopic.php?t=399

Also, in case you accidently post without logging in - just end using your screen name at the bottom and we'll know who you are, and move the post if necessary. Sorry for this quirky log-in thingy, it has a learning curve.
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Offline Finman

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It depends weather temperature and honey flow
« Reply #15 on: June 10, 2004, 12:14:56 am »
We are discussing forum, where climate of members is very different from each other.  In southern Finland it is hot summer, if temperature is  during 2 weeks between 25-30 C. Normally it is only one week. Just now day temperature  is 12- 18 C, too low for bees. But they harvest Taraxacum blooming http://www.uwasa.fi/ktt/lasktoim/photoff/19995/99061009.jpg. They can fly at low level on the meadow with the help of sunshine.

I think, that I will get Taraxacum honey 15-20 kg per colony during 2 weeks. Blooming will be at the end during few days. There will be a 2 weeks pause in blooming, and after that it start main season on honey. Main season will be at the end about 27.7 -5.8. In August there is no blooming, red clover perhaps. Red clover needs over one week over 25 C to give honey flow, but that is rare.

From turnip rape we can get  60-80 honey per colony during 2 weeks. It needs  6-7 supers per colony. 4 is too few. I put 2 colony together, if colony is too small, or I make 2 from 3 small.

Good ventilation is needed when honey flow is enormous. In this case bees slow down working if nest is overheated.  Most of all it needs empty space and wide entrance at the bottom of hive.  If nest is overheated, season will be ruined.

I put bees in hot places. They love it.

But mostly our weather changes at once, and temperature may drop to 15-17 C. At night it may be 8-12C.  When nest is cool, chalkbrood can spread in nests very badly. Also in cool nest honey starts crystallise and it is difficult to harvest.

Many back yard beekeepers do not understand meaning of temperature of nest and ventilation.  But I think that it is easy to handle. I live 150 km away my nest and I handle nests only at weekends. I am not always installing their ventilation.

The key is, that I use one super at the bottom as reserve space. Bees can store there pollen and extra honey flow and they need not to hang outside the nest when it is hot. During July main opening is wide open.

In my opinion, people use many kind of constructions. But the point is, does it help to get honey. We can do many kinds of tricks, but they are not needed.

Offline Finman

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Re: It depends weather temperature and honey flow
« Reply #16 on: June 10, 2004, 01:15:17 am »
Quote from: Finman
We are discussing forum, where climate of members is very different from each other. .


I just looked the traffic camera information from my summer cottage area 6:30 morning. Temperature is  +5C.  http://www.tiehallinto.fi/alk/frames/kelikamerat-frame.html

The northest beekeeper I know in Finland is on Polar Circle level Rovaniemi.  There is also head quarter of Salta Claus.

My brother nursed bees 25 years in northern Sweden LuleÃ¥, 66 degree northern  altitude. My altitude is 60,75

Offline beemaster

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Adding a upper entrance??
« Reply #17 on: June 10, 2004, 12:09:03 pm »
Finman:

I enjoyed looking at your traffic cams and I looked at them all, even the details I have to assume are charts of traffic flow/density - very interesting group of images and data.

Thanks for sharing that link - I highly doubt that I would have every found such an interesting link with out you posting it.
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Offline eivindm

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Adding a upper entrance??
« Reply #18 on: June 10, 2004, 12:26:11 pm »
Beemaster,

Could be you would enjoy the english version even better :-)
http://www.tiehallinto.fi/alk/english/frames/kelikamerat-frame.html

eivindm

Offline Finman

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Adding a upper entrance??
« Reply #19 on: June 10, 2004, 12:38:43 pm »
english version even better :-)
[/quote]

Thank You Viking!

Offline Lesli

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Adding a upper entrance??
« Reply #20 on: June 10, 2004, 01:09:49 pm »
Quote from: Finman
english version even better :-)


Thank You Viking![/quote]

I've spent time in Finland, by the way. Lovely country, wonderful people. Although I'm multi-lingual (Eng, Russian, French, Hebrew), finnish is NOT one of my languages. And for those not familiar with languages, I'll say that Finnish (along with its cousins Hungarian and Estonian) is pretty difficult for an English speaker to learn.

Luckily, most Finns speak English (at least in Helsinki, where I was). And I learned the three necessary words to get around (pardon the spelling): Olut, kitos, and pizza (beer, thank you, and um, pizza!).
**************************
Lesli

Offline Lupus

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Re: Lupus - help with logging in
« Reply #21 on: June 10, 2004, 02:15:56 pm »
Quote from: beemaster
LUPUS:

Please read this post concerning logging in - I'm sure it will help, it's not your fault - we all suffer this quirk in the software, but you'll master it in no time:

http://www.beemaster.com/beebbs/viewtopic.php?t=399

Also, in case you accidently post without logging in - just end using your screen name at the bottom and we'll know who you are, and move the post if necessary. Sorry for this quirky log-in thingy, it has a learning curve.


Thanks for fixing me up Beemaster. I did my reading and will try to do better in the future.

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English in the Forum
« Reply #22 on: June 10, 2004, 03:19:09 pm »
I want to say something about the International Gang aboard. I can not express enough how respectful I am of anyone knowing English as a second language - I know it is a very complex language and I hope ever member here in the states understands that (whether required in school or business) learning English is an amazing feat!

When I retire in a few years, it is a GOAL of mine to take Spanish Classes, I have always wanted to learn Spanish and I could kick myself for NOT taking it up in highschool.

Although French is the OTHER commonly elective language in American Schools (most - I understand that some Asian languages are being taught in some Western States) I still think Spanish is a great language to know.

I know this will spring a post or two in the FIRE RING but I have trouble with imigrants to America who choose NOT to learn English, instead live in communities where they can spend their entire life speaking their native language. I guess that goes against some political correct speaking, but millions of people have come to this great land and English was MUCH HARDER for them to learn, without schools, adult night classes, Internet, audio-tapes, etc. BUT THEY LEARNED IT!

Some imigants decide they don't need to learn English, and that The US should have to publish every document in a dozen languages - I'm against such a waste of funds. Making documents available on the Internet in English and using Language Converters like Google has is about as close to Liberal as I'll get on this issue.

Finman - thank you for the English version of the Cams pages, it really made a difference. I suppose if you took the same stance I did above then I would be copying pages into a language converter just to see what I'm missing. But the tools are there and with a rebounding economy, America and NO COUNTRY can afford to make written material for every language spoken within its borders.

Yep BigRog: I do everything I can to be a Retro-sexual. I may not tote a gun, but I pity the fool who breaks into my home or harms my family in any way. I try my best to treat women with class and respect and deal with men as I would expect to be dealt with. I have faith in my country and the young people who will inherit it. And sure as the stars shine on a clear night, I thank God every day for the gift of life in a marvelous period of time in our tiny little corner of the galaxy.

Thanks again everyone here who took the time to learn English. I had 12 years of it in school and I got mostly C's - and I speak it every day. I am very proud of everyone who can communicate here in a single language. This forum (many of you don't know) has the ability of language conversion, something I choose to keep turned OFF, partly because the languages take up a lot of server space, but mainly because I believe that the membership learns so much more by sharing English and reading how others interpret it.

I had penpals when growing up, long before I became a ham radio operator. I had written hundreds of letters over a dozen or so years and I learned a valuable lesson one day when I asked a young girl penpal if I could send her a cassette tape instead of writing: she wrote me back and said she could not speak any English at all, only write it - I was amazed and that was one of the first times I ever understood how languages are very different in writing or when spoken. This may have been the first time I had interest in Morse Code knowing that the "Q Signals" example: QSL means location or QRP means low power transmission, are INTERNATIONALLY interpreted signals. Anyone, no matter what language sends you " -.-.  --.-  -.-.  --.-  -..  .  -.  ..---  -.-.  ..  .-- " then EVERYONE who understands morse code knows what is sent NO MATTER WHAT LANGUAGE THEY SPEAK. So it may be presumptuous of me, but I always understood English to be the "International" Spoken Language and for me that was a real gift - I can't imagine speaking an Asian Language (as complex as they are) learning another complex language like English - Bravo to you all.

To Bee Boy and Buzz  ,,-,    ,,    -,    ,   /   ,--    ---    ,-,    -,-   /  ---    -,  /   -,--    ---    ,,-    ,-,   /   ,,-,    ---    ,-,    ,,-    --   /   -,-   ,    ,    ,--,    /  ,,-  ,--,    /  -    ,,,,    ,   /   --,    ---    ---    -,,    /  ,--    ---    ,-,    -,-    ,-,-,-
To those of you who do not speak Morse Code, That is what every other language except English to me looks like - now you know why I am so impressed by languages and people who speak English as an additional language, especially those who learned it BECAUSE they wanted to, not because they had to.
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Adding a upper entrance??
« Reply #23 on: June 12, 2004, 12:44:53 am »
Please forgive me for my ignorance since I am relatively new to the world of beekeeping, but I do not understand how putting on a screened bottom board helps with ventilation, nor do I understand how pointing the entrance north helps to cool the hive.  Doesn't heat rise?  If the heat has no place to go, how will a SBB help?  I have yet to achieve the title of "Master Bee Keeper", so for those that have much more experience than I, please feel free to shed some light on this subject and help me to understand how a SBB will vent the hot and humid air out of the top of a tall stack of hive bodies.  I do understand how some keepers believe that a bigger opening "must" offer better ventilation, but I believe it is futile without an equal and opposite point for that air to escape.

To offer a suggestion as requested by the original post by Qeen Bee, I would like to suggest that top entrances and/or vents be considered as convection can not be achieved without.  The many benefits will be greatly appreciated as the colony will not have to work as hard at the task of cooling the brood chamber nor will they have to work so hard curing the honey, resulting in more time available to produce the honey.

Please feel free to correct my understanding of the hives process of climate control.  I would prefer that the facts are shared with the forum rather than opinions, as we are all trying to increase our knowledge here.

Thank you,
Phoenix

Offline Finman

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Adding a upper entrance??
« Reply #24 on: June 12, 2004, 01:05:01 am »
Quote from: Eye of the bee holder

 I would prefer that the facts are shared with the forum rather than opinions, as we are all trying to increase our knowledge here.

Thank you,
Phoenix


When I tell you a fact, do you believe?

We have proverbs: "Finnisman do not believe untill he see." And Finnisman do not believe untill he tries himself (at least 3 times)". For someone 20 is not enough.

What is difference with opinion and fact? When I started beekeeping 42 years ago, every one had final truth and every alone had the the right way to nurse bees and others were liars. And this day beekeepers are same kind: If you know a little, you know all.

The fact is that I have used 40 years upper entrances and others say, they haven't.

There is really 20 ways to handel bees and everybody must capture from fligth how they manage their bees. Mostly people do otherwise as I advise. But you cannot mix opposite methods, only one logical.

To me the honey yield at autumn tells me only fact how I manage.  There is many reasons how beekeeping can slide down and you do not see  yourself. If I choose wrong pasture, it is disaster of that summer.

"Don't do as I tell , but use your own brains".

Sorry about learning about facts. I have no skill of small talk  :roll:

Offline Beth Kirkley

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Adding a upper entrance??
« Reply #25 on: June 12, 2004, 02:18:26 am »
Eye of the bee holder says:
Quote
I do not understand how putting on a screened bottom board helps with ventilation


Many, if not most hive, do have a way to ventilate at the top. Either the telescoping lid has vents, or just the fact that you have an inner cover and outer cover with a small space inbetween gives the air a way to get away from the hive central. Imagine you were in a box - would you be cooler in it with a solid bottom? Or an open bottom?

Eye of the bee holder says:
Quote
nor do I understand how pointing the entrance north helps to cool the hive


If your hives are sunny on the south, but shady to the north; then you get good sun warmth in the winter, but good shade in the heat of the evening. It's also a often said that you should have the hive in a place where it can receive good morning light so the bees get out early while the nectar is still moist from morning dew. BUT, if you do all this, AND face the entrance to the north - it serves this purpose...... often in the evening the bees will hang out on the outside wall in front of the hive. It's still so hot inside, and so they stay outside (doing nothing) till it cools off. But I'm thinking, (someone please correct me if I'm wrong) if it's faced to the north (should be the shady side) then the bees will possibly cool off and go back in faster.

I've only been doing my hives for one year, so I have very little background to share. I would imagine that not all of the advice you find will fit your particular situation. Many things depend on your environment and where you live. Main things to remember that are bad: too hot, too cold, too moist. How you achieve the right environment for the bees could be a little different for you than it is for me.
Beth

Offline Finman

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Adding a upper entrance??
« Reply #26 on: June 12, 2004, 02:40:42 am »
Quote from: Beth Kirkley
Eye of the bee holder says:
Quote
I do not understand how putting on a screened bottom board helps with ventilation


BUT, if you do all this, AND face the entrance to the north - it serves this purpose...... often in the evening the bees will hang out on the outside wall in front of the hive. It's still so hot inside, and so they stay outside (doing nothing) till it cools off. But I'm thinking, (someone please correct me if I'm wrong) if it's faced to the north (should be the shady side) then the bees will possibly cool off and go back in faster.

I've only been doing my hives for one year, so I have very little background to share.

Many things depend on your environment and where you live.

Main things to remember that are bad: too hot, too cold, too moist.

How you achieve the right environment for the bees could be a little different for you than it is for me.
Beth



On summer sun is shining strongly. Hive must be in sunny place. Inside it is as warm what ever direction you have entrance.

You can see ventilating bees outside entrance. They ventilate hot summer, not hive.

If you put entrance to north, sun does not warm entrance of hive and the cooler bees.

If have installed many time my hives to north and they collect honey and fly very fine.  Believe me, 40 years experience in Filnland climate.

But if you put your hive in the shadow, in Finland yield will drop to half. That is my experience.  Wildy palce is also as bad. It blows inside hive.

WISE WORDS BETH:

Quote
Many things depend on your environment and where you live.

Main things to remember that are bad: too hot, too cold, too moist.

How you achieve the right environment for the bees could be a little different for you than it is for me.
Beth


In my home yard I have hives in two point. 25 m is the distance. Another gets 16 hours sun, and the another 5-8 hours.  Sunny place is windy, and unsunny is shallow. There is difference between places during spring when it is cool. In summer difference has no meaning.

In winter sun shines only 2-4 hours. At spring sun is most important.

But most importand thing is that my whole home yeard is warm and shallow place. Wind goes over , because I have forest on 3 side, and open to south.

When I transport  my hives to forest pastures, I ike put them in the place, where is sunny gliff inside forest and trees shelter from wind.

Eye of the bee holder

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Adding a upper entrance??
« Reply #27 on: June 12, 2004, 12:29:26 pm »
Thank you Finman for clarifying part of my confusion.  I agree that the inside temperature would be the same regardless of which direction the hive entrance faces, but yet the entrance would be cooler if it faced north.  

As for the SBB cooling the hive... Picture this...  If we had a housefull of people in a 3 or 4 story home in the middle of the hottest part of summer and we all had remodelling to do in the attic.  Would it help to cool us off if we opened all the windows in the basement and did not bother to open the windows upstairs?