Question on bottom board

BRIANCJ · May 07, 2009, 09:07:33 AM

It's been raining for week here and I left the bottomboard on my hive.This morning i pulled it out and it has a good amount of material similiar to saw dust on it.
My question is:when can the solid board be removed to just have the screend bottom board in use?
Also any idea what the stuff on the board is?

alfred · May 07, 2009, 09:15:52 AM

Hi Brian,

You could probably take out the bottom board now unless you think it is going to get real cold again where you are. I am in Colorado and my hives don't have bottom boards and are doing fine. The saw dust looking stuff is probably pollen which has fallen through your screen to the bottom board. I get a lot of it. I used to collect it with the Idea of feeding it back to them but it is a pain so I don't bother now.

Alfred

Tyro · May 07, 2009, 09:19:15 AM

I am planning on leaving my solid bottoms out all the time. I overwintered in ND for the first time this past winter. My sole surviving hive improved significantly when I pulled out the solid bottom in February (probably because ventilation improved). I pulled the bottom because the hive next to it had just died and was filled with damp bees and ice crystals on the bottom. If bees can survive North Dakota winters without a solid bottom board - they can probably survive just about any weather without it. I would just pull it out and forget about it unless you are monitoring mites.

BRIANCJ · May 07, 2009, 09:32:06 AM

Thank's guy's.
I'll probably leave it on until the 15th,shouldn't get cold enough to frost after that..This is my first hive (package installed 4/25) and I'm still feeling my way around...

hankdog1 · May 07, 2009, 01:37:02 PM

I have read of bees living through harsh winters up north in an open langstroth style hive but with only a wood frame on the outside to hold the frames in place so leaving a SBB open should be no big deal

shaux · May 07, 2009, 02:19:57 PM

I've got a hive that was installed about a week. Put them in in nice weather and then the next few days were just cold and rainy. They weren't doing too well so put a solid bottom on. I'm gonna assume that this is an established hive and they should be fine.

Kathyp · May 07, 2009, 03:08:20 PM

i keep the inserts in my screened bottoms until it really warms up. the brood needs the warmth, and the less leaking out, the less effort for the bees.

the "stuff" on the bottom is probably pollen and hive debris. when you pull those, it's a good time to look for mites. you'll almost always find a few, but you don't want to see them crawling all over the place.

Hethen57 · May 07, 2009, 03:38:37 PM

Agree with kathyp, there is probably a difference between optimum conditions for overwintering a cluster (which isn't necessarily trying to raise brood, just to stay alive), and trying to get a new package established. The new package is going to be ramping up its brood production with a limited number of bees (in relation to hive space), so the additional warmth will probably help them to keep the proper temperature during this crucial time of hive population...just my thoughts based upon fairly extensive research, but I have never used SBB's.

Brian D. Bray · May 07, 2009, 10:55:39 PM

Quote from: Tyro on May 07, 2009, 09:19:15 AM
I am planning on leaving my solid bottoms out all the time. I overwintered in ND for the first time this past winter. My sole surviving hive improved significantly when I pulled out the solid bottom in February (probably because ventilation improved). I pulled the bottom because the hive next to it had just died and was filled with damp bees and ice crystals on the bottom. If bees can survive North Dakota winters without a solid bottom board - they can probably survive just about any weather without it. I would just pull it out and forget about it unless you are monitoring mites.

I haven't located any place in either the USA or Canada that is too cold for an open bottom board. Open bottom boards help the bees vent unwanted moisture as does a small top entrance/vent.

However, when installing a package of bees or capturing a swarm a solid bottom board should be used for the 1st couple of weeks, after which it can be removed. Some packages and swarms will abscond with an open hive bottom but once established do well.