Langstroth follower boards

[desdog]

I have a 4 frame nuc ready to go into my 10 frame hive. As I run foundationless, I only want to add one empty frame at a time and let them almost draw it out before I add another. Contrary to my own thoughts and advice of one Beek who also says my follower board should go all the way from the floor to the top of the lid, I read the following;

Follower boards can be placed outside the outermost frames in each box. They create several inches of dead air space between the frames and the sides of the box in a Langstroth hive. This extra room doesn?t cause problems with ?bee space?, and bees will not build comb between the follower boards and the edge of the hive. The extra air space allows for increased ventilation within the hive and increased temperature insulation. In addition, follower boards make it very easy to manipulate frames during hive inspections?once the beekeeper removes the boards, there is plenty of ?wiggle room? to move frames around and get a good grip on any frames you want to lift out of the hive.

So....my question is, do I need to build it all the way up to the lid or just from the top bar to the floor? Really keen on your opinions please!



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[BeeMaster2]

Des dog,
I have medium frame follower boards that I made from 1" foam boards and older deeps that I took a frame and nailed a particle board to to cover the frames. They are the same sizes as the frames. I have never had the bees build outside of them.
If you leave them in too long without adding frames as needed, they will eventually build outside of the follower boards or possibly swarm. They really help a small hive grow into a larger box.
Jim

[desdog]

Thanks Jim. All I wanted is one person that has actually used this method to say yes it works or no it doesn't.
I will add frames as soon as they're needed. It's nothing more than a way to help them grow but be comfortable while doing so. In the past I've given them this big void which they do fill but crikey it's slow going.
Again, thanks for your feedback.

Cheers, Des


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[little john]

Hello Des

There are two kinds of partition board - which some call 'follower boards':

The first is where it is important that the bees are not able to squeeze past the board - such as where a partition board is being used to separate two colonies within one box. Quite clearly such a board needs to extend from the top to the bottom of the box without any gaps through which bees might pass.

The second type is where comb-building space is simply being reduced - such as when a small colony is being installed in a large box - and where the partition board also functions as a thermal curtain. In this case it is prudent to ensure that the partition board meets the crown board (inner cover), not only to keep the warmth where it's needed, but also to deter movement of bees into the void space. But - in a parallel-sided box it can be quite difficult to ensure that small gaps do not occur at the sides, and so in order to prevent the need for precision construction, I prefer to leave a 1.5 - 2" gap at the bottom of the board, so that in the event of any adventurous bees squeezing through side gaps, they can afterwards very easily find their way back to their combs.

LJ

[desdog]

Hi LJ,

Yes it's another one of those things where depending on where you're from and how you've learned others as to the name of these boards isn't it? I understand exactly what you're saying though and yes, if I were doing this to say run two nucs in the one box then yes it would need to be sealed tight.
I've never used an inner cover in my hives, just a vinyl mat across the top of the frames then the lid. It's worked fine for the bees so if they're happy, so am I. So now, I'm thinking my board will basically go to the floor but no extension above the top bar. This will give the girls a similar space to get back from the dark side should they venture there but the gap is at the top rather than the bottom. If I also reduce their entrance this should also help them along.
The cool weather here on the Gold Coast is over but really, I think it's only us that say it's cool. My bees are active all year round and getting too hot is their only real concern.

Thanks again, Des

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[Michael Bush]

The main point of a follower in a long hive is to manage the space.  That means, ideally, that what goes on in the empty space is not a problem for the bees.  i.e. they don't need to patrol it and manage it.  So a tight board is helpful in that regard, but only if it's pretty much ant proof and SHB proof so the ants can't harass the bees if they set up shop there.

[Culley]

I just made a couple of ten frame deep supers into divided nucs. Made a 12mm ply "board" which fits very tightly, needs a bit of encouragement to get into place, but it's removable 
If there's any trouble with gaps I'll just put some silicone in the gaps.