When Do I increase the hive opening.

[Kent J]

As A newer keeper I have some questions.  I have a new hive this year that was hived in Mid may. I have done several inspections and all looks good.  My question is......how will I know when it it time to adjust my hive opening and make it bigger?  Thanks in advance

Kent J

[Greg Peck]

I have been told that it is ok and most of the time better to keep the entrance smaller rather then larger. So long as there is not a big traffic jam at the entrance I would leave it small until the traffic becomes a problem.

I use screened bottom boards so ventilation is not an issue. If you are using regular/solid BB then maybe you will need to make a bigger entrance for ventilation. Someone who used the solid BB can tell you better.

In nature the bees have pretty small openings. I saw a hive in a tree that had a hole barely bigger then a dime.

Good luck with your beekeeping. A great tool is the search field on this forum you can find answers to all kinds of questions.

[Brian D. Bray]

Congestion at the entrance should tell when it's time to enlarge the entrance.  Most entrance reduces have notches of several sizes.  I would probably go to an intermediate size due to the strength of flow that should be going on in most areas of the USA right now.