Screen Bottom Board

[Dorian]

Hello,
I am a new beekeeper in NW Florida area.
I have a question about SBB. Is there a minimum temperature to have them or you can have SBB all year around.
Thank you!

[hardwood]

All year is fine if you choose to use them (in FL anyway :-D)

Scott

[AllenF]

I run them year round in some hives that have there here in North Georgia.

[annette]

I have them year round in Placerville California (that's Northern CA) and we get some really cold weather.

[T Beek]

With plain dumb luck, I've had them survive a Northern Wisconsin Winter with SBB wide open (I close them for winter these days).  One colony (that was left open 2008-9) is now my only survivor coming into this Spring.  We grow some tough bees up here, if they can survive at least one winter.

thomas

[Dorian]

Thank you for all the answers.
I added the SBB and everything looks ok so far.
The original box (a home made one) had mold on the bottom.

[sc-bee]

If it's not rotten the mold hurts nothing ---- clean it off as best you can and the bees will have no problem with it (if you need it in a crunch- since you are running SBB).

I run my SBB year round open - here in the South. Some folks think SBB's contribute to SHB, but that is a completely different story. I can tell no difference.

[woodchopper]

 We never put our plastic boards in our SBB's. I know beekeepers in Quebec that do the same thing.

[Jim134]

I keep the SBB open all year in Massachusetts



   BEE HAPPY Jim 134 :)

[backyard warrior]

T beek send your survivors to me and ill be sure to send my package queens to you for free  :-D   I have sbb this is what i have gathered about them. In the winter where its cold the bees have to maintain temp  so the bees will use more stores to stay warm.  Let me ask you this do you leave your front door open in the winter ???  Bees cluster to stay warm thats a fact.  You have to prevent drafts so the bees can keep brood warm or it will die.  Ive been told the queen doesnt like outside light they like a dark hive.  Some say that with the bottom is open the queen tends not to lay eggs in the bottom  deep super because of the light shinning in from the bottom.   Take it as you will everyone has a different opinion i use common sense if it make sense i run with it.  Chris

[T Beek]

Agreed backyard warrior; 'everyone has different opinions' and here's mine.  The colder your temps get over the winter, the LESS the bees consume, as they are tight in cluster (almost a hibernation) and move and eat very little.  I have proven this every winter for the last six.  That said, its when temps hover around freezing (30's F) that they WILL consume great quantities.

and hmmm, I'll not be sending you any of my survivors :-D and I don't want any of your queens ;)  LOCAL BEES RULE!!!!  When I began this adventure I kept SBB open during summer, closed during winter.  I forgot to close my super colony one winter and it has not suffered at all (infact I had my best honey harvest from that colony during same year) and they still have some of last years honey to feed off, although I've been giving them fondant for the last week.

Many beeks make the same argument, but forget that Bees are NOT people.  Comparing the two is outrageous, counterproductive and cause confusion (can you tell this is one of my pet peeves? ;).  Example;  A group (cluster) of people cannot generate enough of their own heat to survive a harsh winter or even a mild winter, much less heat a house, with doors open or closed and filled with food, they'd still all be dead by Spring, everytime, even the cannibals :shock:.  

People require an outside heatsource to survive such extremes, bees do not.

We're still waiting for temps to stop going below freezing at night here in North Wisconsin, its snowing right now :(.

thomas