yesterday evening i put an entrance reducer on what i thought was a weak hive of newly installed package bees. i made it so that the smallest opening was available to them. i thought that this would help them defend if necessary. the other hive has no blocker at all. both hives seem to be very active.
so...opinions on the entrance reducer?
and its very difficult not to open them up and see whats going on inside...but i will wait until the weekend to see if the queens were released.
Up here we keep entrance reducers on overwintered colonies (2-3 brood boxes) or newly hived packages for the next month. The opening is usually about two inches. If there is a traffic jam in front with lots of bees packed with pollen waiting to get in then open it up a bit more.
ok..thanks. i will turn it to the bigger opening later when they get quiet.