I know bearding is a normal hive activity but I was thinking that if I can minimize it I can gain more production from the bees.
List some ways you ventilate the hive w/o the threat of robbers?
Put thin strips of wood (or even match sticks) under each corner of the lid.
Quote from: adamant on July 20, 2012, 09:09:35 AM
I know bearding is a normal hive activity but I was thinking that if I can minimize it I can gain more production from the bees.
List some ways you ventilate the hive w/o the threat of robbers?
Not really sure how much production you will gain by simply getting all your bees back inside.
Bees generally beard when temps are above 90. This also is the time when most flowers do not put off much in the way of nectar, or at a time of the season when the main flow stops.
Bees do go in frugal mode at this time of the year. They choose to do so. And can be seen by taking two hives, placing one with a box of foundation, and the other with drawn comb on top. The foundation will be normally ignored, while the bees will fill the drawn comb. So by increasing the area of the hive, and even cracking the lid, and two hives will react very differently.
Did you ever think that all those bees outside the hive seemingly doing nothing, would be the same bees inside a cooler hive.....doing nothing. ;) It is late July. :)
I have bottom screen board plus I made a 4 inch box and drilled 12 1 inch holes in it , evenly spaced and put screen on inside of box.Place it on hive then inner cover and top. The 4 iches helps with baggie feeden to.They beard some but not bad.
(http://beevac.com/photos/albums/userpics/10001/normal_ventedcover.jpg)
I've got 2" shim box built with one 1 3/8" hole drilled in the front. I put it on top of the inner cover and put out outer cover on top of that. It allows a top entrance as well as ventilation. I also use it during the winter for "Mountaincap method" emergency feeding. I put the inner cover on top of it and put a sheet of newpaper on top of the frames, pour about 3-4 pounds of granular sugar on top of that. Mist water on the paper and the top of the sugar to make a crust or they'll try to haul it out like trash until cooler weather hits. The sugar absorbs their moisture and offers emergency food when they bump into it if they run out of honey.
I just don't put the top on right. So that on corner sticks up a little. Rain stays out. Bees can use this top entrance also. Inner cover is on correct allowing for them to guard it.
http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php/topic,38406.msg322170.html#msg322170 (http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php/topic,38406.msg322170.html#msg322170)
http://i865.photobucket.com/albums/ab218/Sunchaser01/DSCN1049.jpg (http://i865.photobucket.com/albums/ab218/Sunchaser01/DSCN1049.jpg)
Oops, wrong picture.
http://i865.photobucket.com/albums/ab218/Sunchaser01/DSCN0717.jpg (http://i865.photobucket.com/albums/ab218/Sunchaser01/DSCN0717.jpg)"
The brown section is a "standard" top inner cover, the hole in the top screened section is shut. I tried it, thinking the bees might like the top entrance, but they didn't use it. The spacer section has screen on top and the telescoping top has screened holes in the sides and spacers tacked inside.
Have fun!
My son-in-law keeps me supplied with beer caps (he says he's the only son-in-law he knows whose mother-in-law encourages him to drink!). I put one beer cap at each corner of the inner cover. This raises the telescoping cover just enough to allow for more ventilation without the huge exposure of propping up the inner cover with a stick.
Pictures here: http://beekeeperlinda.blogspot.com/2011/05/honey-brood-and-new-aid-for-ventilation.html (http://beekeeperlinda.blogspot.com/2011/05/honey-brood-and-new-aid-for-ventilation.html)
It works great. Even in the over 100 degree temps we had in Atlanta a few weeks ago, I had very little bearding.
I also use slatted racks which help immensely with hive ventilation.
Linda T in Atlanta
I use SBB and take the inter top cover off and put a screen top on then i cut a piece of 2X4 around 2 in and use that under the TEL. top that works great for the hot months no bearding at all and i have 2 all black hives that set in full sun and there booming. Seems to me the bee's like the black hives.
Kelley's makes a "ventilated super". It's half the height of a shallow and has two 1 inch holes on each side with screening. I have a bunch of these on top of my inner covers all year round. Sets up a nice convection current allowing warm, moist air to escape. I have a bunch of shallows I don't use and have drilled screened holes and use them the same way. All my hives have screened bottom boards.
My bees had started bearding around 4 in the afternoon till whenever in the am. I found a good set of plans for a vent box at honeyrunapiaries.com
www.honeyrunapiaries.com/plans/all_season_inner.pdf (http://www.honeyrunapiaries.com/plans/all_season_inner.pdf)
I built mine to the size of a medium super to accommodate a top feeder and also added 4 additional 2 inch vent holes in the top panel since my jar feeder covers a good portion of the center hole. I was able to get it built and on the hive just before the Georgia heat wave. Even with temperature of 105+, there was almost no bearding.
www.honeyrunapiaries.com/plans/all_season_inner.pdf (http://www.honeyrunapiaries.com/plans/all_season_inner.pdf)
imageshack.us/g/171/ventinnerview.jpg/
http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/4367/ventinnerview.jpg (http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/4367/ventinnerview.jpg)
http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/4658/afterinstallingthevent.jpg (http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/4658/afterinstallingthevent.jpg)
http://img854.imageshack.us/img854/707/beebath.jpg (http://img854.imageshack.us/img854/707/beebath.jpg)
Richard
Edited to make links clickable(buzzbee)
I use the honey run apiaries top inner cover. It stopped all bearding in the summer and all moisture problems in the winter.
i simply slide the upper box back 1/2 inch or so. no extra equipment to buy, manage, etc. no sticks or beer tops to chase on the ground etc.
When ready for winter simply slide the box back in line...
since the inner sides of the box is coated in propalus and wax and the bees beard out of the ends rain is not an issue in my opinion...
Quote from: adamant on July 20, 2012, 09:09:35 AM
List some ways you ventilate the hive w/o the threat of robbers?
That issue makes any sense. It is better be a real problem than write a beekeeping theory book.
Start here
http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&rh=n%3A283155%2Ck%3Abeekeeping&page=1 (http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&rh=n%3A283155%2Ck%3Abeekeeping&page=1)
Solar radiation delivers about 100watts of energy per square foot of surface area. I would start by reflecting as much of that energy away as possible to prevent an oven effect inside the hive. I use foam tops on my hives to keep that energy out of the hives. Beyond that, I don't worry about bearding unless the bees are covering a whole face of a hive. When I see that in my hives, it's means they're too crowded and I better add another box.
I have been using 50 year old inner covers that have ventilation slots built into the side rails. I'm not sure who manufactured them but they work great as long as they don't fall apart. I have also just started using 3/4 inch styrofoam between the inner and outer cover to keep a lot of the heat from the sun off the top of the hive. So far I have had a lot less bearding this year along what is turning out to be a banner honey crop. The styrofoam also lifts the outer cover up just enough so the vents in the inner covers are exposed. The stuff was used as packaging at work so it was free, I wonder if bubble wrap would work between the inner and outer covers as well? I know one bee keeper in the area who is using screened inner covers with spacers between them and the outer cover. He says that they are the best thing yet that he has tried for top ventilation. We both use screened bottom boards with trays under them to monitor SHB's and mites.
Quote(no) beer tops to chase on the ground etc.
FWIW, the beer caps don't fall off of the inner cover - the bees propolize the beer caps and they don't move AT ALL. You know how it is with propolis! Sometimes they use the beer caps as SHB jails and trap them under the caps and then propolize the caps to the inner cover.
Linda T back in Atlanta after the amazing NE Treatment Free Beekeeping Conference
adam, we have pretty hot and humid summers here, plus hive beetles and wax moths.
i have been notching the front and back of my inner covers the same width and in line with the oval hole. i then wrap window screen around them.
even with solid bottom boards, no bearding so far this year. the hives with surplus bees do washboard at bit in the heat of the day.
I take the outer cover and prop one end up on the inner cover. Voila!
As a hobbyist I can afford slatted bottom racks for each of my 3 hives. They stopped the bearding almost immediately and there are other benefits to sbr(s) as well, such as letting the queen lay right up to the bottom of the frame and reducing the chance of chilled brood by elevating the bottom of the brood chamber up a bit from the entrance where it is away from drafts, etc.
Beer caps work well for me, and I agree, slipping is not a problem as a little propolis goes a long way. We hit 105 today and there is little bearding even in my big hive, prob 40 or so bees.
yeah the beer caps only slipped when they got hit by something etc... or leaned against the hive while inspecting and the cover slipped...
With 80-100 hives i dont have time to worry abot those little things, although the beer caps did work the best out of all of them...
Another thing i did try at one time and like was adding little screws into the front two corners of the underside of the inner cover frame, this allowed me to make an entrance at the top or almost full close it down or anywhere in between and nothing ever fell out etc...
Since i dont use inner covers anymore (migratory tops) none of this is an issue... i simply slide the box back...
I see now that Brushy Mountain is selling a screen vent very similar to the one I made for under top ventilation. I couldn't do without screening the top to keep out the other bugs, i.e. ants, roaches and SHBs.
http://www.brushymountainbeefarm.com/10-frame-Ventilated-Inner-Cover-Moving-Screen/productinfo/373/ (http://www.brushymountainbeefarm.com/10-frame-Ventilated-Inner-Cover-Moving-Screen/productinfo/373/)
What brand of beer do the bees like best? Lager or Pilsner? :-D
Have fun!
My son in law loves surprising me with the beer caps and puts a different label in every corner!
Linda T