look at this entrance, has anyone heard of or ever used this style bottom board. it looks like it might have some advantages.
http://www.bbka.org.uk/freefiles/diy_open_mesh_floor-graham-white.pdf
made something similar,just a screen botton board,made w/hardware cloth.
did not close for winter.
hive is 1 med/ 1 deep.
checked last week,bees were strong,will check again if weather is warm in feb.
will report.
bob
I have screen bottom boards but nothing with a entrance like this, Im going to build a few and try them out.
Quote from: TwT on January 16, 2006, 09:54:38 PM
look at this entrance, has anyone heard of or ever used this style bottom board. it looks like it might have some advantages.
http://www.bbka.org.uk/freefiles/diy_open_mesh_floor-graham-white.pdf
Yes, I did look at this site, it looks like a great idea. I see that you, TwT said in a following post that you were going to make some with this design. Did you? If you did, did not find them alot of work to construct, any better than just a "normal" screened bottomboard. I presently have on all my colonies solid bottomboards and really believe that from what I am hearing I need desperately to revise this practice and go for the SBB. I did purchase at the end of last summer a product called "varroa-nator" which is a SBB with plastic sides, I did not get instructions on how to apply this to the hive, I think I may have lost them actually. So, I think that I did recall that this was placed on the traditional bottomboard but rotated 360 degrees. I have zero experience with SBB, but don't they have NO bottom, other than the hardware cloth (??). I get the impression that the SBB allows the varroas to fall right onto the ground, never to climb back up into the hive. It sounds like using SBB certainly makes a difference with colony strength, probably helps with heat issues as well. Can advice be given on this matter. Thanks. Cindi
It appears to me as if someone is trying to get many of the advantages of using a SBB and the removable tray with the tray being removable. I make my SBB so that 2X4's a laid on their side. I like the skookum (strong) aspect of the bottom board but feel that my design gives a bigger foot print for hive stability (although 80 mph is high by anybodies count) and that my slatted rack design provides the "Floor battan" plus additional advantages. Mine are simpler to make.
Entrance is guite complicated. To me it is important to se how much bees ventilate the hive. If hive is cold, there are any ventilators. If ventilating need is big, I see it from entrance.