32 and counting…
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We are fun-loving, nature-loving, hippie-type wannabes… So what did you expect?? 
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23 and not out for me !
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Nice to see some stability in the world - very heart warming 
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is there a connection between long marriages and beekeeping?? 
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I don’t know, but why I’d voluntarily add any more queen bees to my life is beyond me. 
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I suppose if you can deal with the trials and tribulations of a bee hive you can handle the trials and tribulations of a woman…
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Yes: Either could kill you with the next sting 
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No, quite the opposite I believe, I have a long relationship/marriage with my wife but I’m only getting in to bees, in fact, don’t have any yet. If I want to keep the happy marriage going (and I do) I am needing to spend more time with my wife and less time with the bees that I don’t even have yet.
Hi all - I don’t want to hijack the lovey lovey thread. However would an answer to my question way up there.
“What is the problem with bees on the bottom board” My bees on the bottom board seem to be cleaning and getting rid of beetles. I suspect if the cur-flute is not pushed in fully they might be getting in that way. I’ve killed a couple of bees putting the cor-flute back. I have also screened the rear area as I thought they were just flying in until I saw this discussion.
I found bees jammed in the screen trying to get out. Haven’t see any bees cleaning the board. I think the screen on the back side is a good idea.
Thanks so much for the explanation! As an FYI, I installed my hive in December and had no problems with the bottom board, however during my latest inspection on Sunday, I had around a dozen bees on the corflute board under the SBB. Could it be possible that with persistence, the bees managed to squeeze open the wire? Strange that it has only appeared as a problem for me after 3.5months.
I would go back to the manufacturer and complain. That is clearly out of spec for standard wire mesh and wire cloth practices.
I look more into the cause of the mesh looking that way, but according to Belleville Wire Cloth all of the opening sizes, both horizontally and vertically should be the same.
Also - i too believe that those holes are too big, and that bees can get through there. That looks like it may be an 8x8 wire mesh, I would go with something that has less openings per inch and more wires per inch - maybe like a 20x20 mesh? This way the openings are smaller, and you will not find the bees where they shouldn’t be again.
Hi there,
We have solved the mystery, and Flow is working on solving the problem. The mesh used was actually a #6 hardware cloth (6 squares per inch). It was a deliberate decision, because Cedar wanted the gaps big enough for obese Australian SHBs to fall through. However, it is dangerously close to the size for small bees, and there is no tolerance built in for errors.
I believe that Flow is switching to a cloth with slightly thicker wires, and much less distortion in the weave.
Unfortunately, #20 cloth would not have large enough gaps to let varroa and SHB fall through, so would not be useful in the hive base.
Just FYI, #8 cloth is standard for screened bottom boards in the US. #6 cloth was Cedar’s concept attempting to improve hive beetle management. 
Dawn
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Well I just received the replacement. The mesh is straight as a pin. Thanks again guys.
O
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Glad to hear this worked out - Flow customer service gets a thumbs up on this one!
Old topic I once read and decided all my SBB mesh was equal in spacing. I had noticed a few dead bees (and a few living) when pulling the corflute from the bottom slot (tape on back to keep wind out). I recently moved it to the top until I could figure out how bees were getting under the SBB. Tonight I pulled it out to just inspect and then proceed to watch almost a dozen bees decide to crawl out of the holes (all over the place) so clearly this #6 is a serious issue for my bees. While I keep it in the top I don’t have the issue, but I did enjoy the bottom slot with tape to keeping anything that falls through far enough away it wouldn’t get back out.
I respect the size for the largest SHB (which I did have a few very large ones at the start) I’m not thinking I’ll never be able to not use the Corflute…maybe having an easy to clean “tray” with the corflute would still be worth using the Flow SBB.
Anyone else starting to see this?
Thoughts? I plan to contact Flow about this and will be looking at getting a different SBB and tossing this one.
We put the plastic board in the bottom slot and glued a strip on top of the plastic board to fully close the gap between screen and plastic bottom board. That way, we can use vaseline on the plastic to catch/monitor Varroa. Seems to do the trick. Did not observe any bees in the space between screen and bottom board.
Yeah I had been using some felt backing material like Cedar posted a video about and just some tape on the back side, but every time I’d open it I’d see a handful of bees, some alive and some dead. It wasn’t under this week that I actually watched them crawling through the SBB. So far I’ve kept it in the top slot and they have stopped, but this does take away my choice to use felt or any kind of oil.
What is the reason for having the corflute board in at all?
Beekeepers in the UK put it in place for counting varroa (not accurately) a week at a time maybe three times a year. The rest of the time it is in the shed.
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