removal of dead bees if using top entrance

[malabarchillin]

HI,
I am new and just getting ready to install first hive next week.If I use a top entrance hive with screen bottom board how will the bees house clean and remove the dead bees ?
Besides drones, do most bees die outside of the hive ?
I have read MB's top hive page. I am thinking about adding a spacer to my migratory cover to convert it to top entrance and close (screen) the bottom entrance. I do not want blowing rain to bounce off a landing board and into the hive.Would placing a landing board a couple of inches below top entrance help ?
They could land and climb up.
Thanks
Mike

[Mici]

i have no experience with using top entrance only but...i've seen quite a few bees pulling a large load so...i guess they will just drag them up instead of forward. anyway they try to drag/fly the dead bees as far away from the hive as possible. i once focused on one bee (actually 2) and it was easyer since it was quite a big dot, and i saw her fly at least 50 meters and at least 20 in the air. so don't worry. plus, like you said it, most die outside.

[Robo]

They will drag them up and out of the hive.  The one thing I don't like about using top entrances is the bees have no where to go when your doing inspections so you end up with a lot more bees flying around looking for the entrance.   Then they tend to all land on the top of the hive as you work making frame manipulations much more difficult without killing bees.  Not to mention trying to put supers back on top without crushing the bees landing where they think the upper entrance is.   With the bottom entrance,  you can remove supers all the way down to the bottom without interfering the traffic into or out off the hive.  I have switch back to bottom entrances as I find inspections are too frustrating with the upper entrances and incoming bees and I tend to rush more.

[doak]

I use a regular bottom entrance and have holes in the supers. This gives an extra entrance and helps with ventalation. If the bees don't want it they seal it, or if I need to close it, a rag or duct tape.
just me.
doak

[Michael Bush]

>If I use a top entrance hive with screen bottom board how will the bees house clean and remove the dead bees ?

By doing what they will probably do anyway, dragging them to the top.  Then with a bottom entrance they will drag them back down to the bottom.  I've watched them many times in the observation hive.

>Besides drones, do most bees die outside of the hive ?

Probably during the honey flow.  Not in the winter.

[Brian D. Bray]

I use top entrances and SBB along with slatted racks (2).  I find that the slatted racks provide extra space for the bees so bearding is reduced and also gives the bees a platform from which to move air through the hive for ventilation and evapporation of nectar.  Bearding interferes with the traffic pattern at the entrance.  Also the Slatted rack on the bottom provides a thermal air layer that protects the bees from undue weather flucuations. Using a slatted rack on the bottom and the top of the brood chamber also aids in swarm control.