What is the purpose of an inner cover? Do I have to have them or not?
I dont know all of their purposes, but I can tell you one as I made a mistake mysef because i didn't have one. I purchased a complete hive w/o an inner cover. On my first inspection ever, I went to lift the telescopingcover off and it was stuck to all of the frames. In an effort to unstick, I dropped the whole brood nest area, dislodging the quenn which I found walking up a tree ten minutes later. I became covered in bees from head to foot and it was a memeorable experience. No stings, but lots of learned lessons.Thats one reason to have an inner cover, your frames wont stick to lid.
Another useful attribute is their use in winter: inverted, it creates a top barrier that helps retain heat and, if it has a notch in front, that also serves as a necessary ventilation port/top entrance.
if your rain comes from the ground up like ours does sometimes, it helps keep some of it from running down on the frames. you can put bucket feeders on them. if it's hot in the summer and you prop the top open a little, it makes it harder for robbers to get in. you can take a peak without exposing all the frames. you can smoke through them......
but no, if you are trying to save money, they are not required.
The primary reason for the inner cover is a dead air space over the bees to cut down on condensation. There are many secondary ones. Try a search on "inner cover". You can feed by putting a jar with some holes in the lid over the hole. You can put wet supers over it to get them cleaned up. You can flip it over so there is more space under it for feeding pollen patties. You can prop the telescopic cover up with some small sticks to make more ventilation. you can notch it to make a top entrance and top ventilation. If you have a telescopic cover, you really need one to make the cover removable. You can also blow a little smoke down the hole when opening. I like to make my own with a round hole the size of a mason jar with #8 hardware cloth under it so I can feed and refill without the bees coming out.
Mostly, I have a more migratory style now with a top entrance instead and I put insulation on to cut down on condensation:
http://www.bushfarms.com/beestopentrance.htm
Inner covers are not used by any beekeepers I know in my local. I do not use them. I use the migratory "flat tops" for several reasons...
<li>reduce spare parts
<li>cheaper
<li>Ants like to establish nests in them
<li>SHB will sometimes hide on them
All in all, they may be useful in areas that you truely have to overwinter your hives but, down here, I find them more of a hindrance.
Purpose
Inner cover - prevents bees from attaching comb to outer cover and provides insulating dead air space.
Another perspective : An inner cover is like underwear, keeps your pants ( outer cover ) from getting soiled. :evil:
we also don't use the innercovers out here. although my experience is very limited i have never had the problem of the cover (flat top) sticking to the frames. It gets stuck to the box and we just prise it up whether by hand or hive tool
Migratory tops do not require inner covers. If you've ever tried to get a telescopic top off of a hive that didn't have an inner cover you know why one is necessary. I use a mixture of telescopic and migratory and see no real difference in hive performance. The migratory tops are easier to convert to top entrances.
Brian, due to a lack of parts last year, I actually use a telescopic outer cover on one of my hives. It's gone through a whole season and, I've had no problems prying it off.
I started keeping bees in Ca. and had never seen an inner cover. I always just thought it was another useless piece of equipment I didn't need. I've been keeping bees in Utah (14 inches of snow this week) for a while now, and I can't imagine NOT having them. If I was in the bannana belt, Like TWT, or the Florida boys, I probably wouldn't have much use for them.