I bought an entrance reducer at my local bee shop , But it is just a hair to thick.I don’t really have any good woodworking tools, and I was hoping that someone had a URL for an entrance reducer on amazon.com that just fits perfect.
Please advise
I would bet you have a neighbor nearby, probably retired, really bored with lots of spare time on his hands who has the tools and skill who would love to help you out.
Flow Hives do have too wide and entrance for a lot of the climates and likely your bees would benefit from a smaller entrance. It isn’t a big job for anyone with a sander and it needn’t be to precise as the bees will ‘fine tune’ it to suit themselves.
Cheers
Sure wish you were my neighbor.
I decided to just break and 2sided tape for now. I will need to find my local this weekend
Hopefully this puts a stop to some of the fighting on the landing board. I know I have seen wasps trying to get in also.
Are their other reasons bees get sassy with eachother upon return from a forage? Could this be an indication of something else?
Would a wasp ever kill my queen?
Attached is the picture of my temporary blockade (hope it’s not too small)
I guess you don’t have a Men’s Shed organization there, very popular in Australia, where guys who are not ready to become bored get together and do projects. My local Shed makes any hive wood ware that I need for my bees at a token charge, it frees my time up to do other things with my bees.
A wasp is unlikely to get into a hive past the guard bees at the entrance and would never get to the queen.
Are you sure you are seeing fighting at the entrance and not just normal interaction? It could be attempted robbing from another hive but when that happens it will look like a full on bar room brawl with lots of bees trying to get into the hive and flying about which isn’t happening in your pics.
Cheers
Sometimes in the afternoon it’s a full on kerfuffle infront “everyone trying to come home at once” and just flying around looking at the door.
I’ve been told that can be orientation flights also
Later in the evening when everyone is hanging out on the landing board, they get very defensive of new arrivals, it appears that everyone is allowed to pass after a swift move inside or a sniff by the other bees.
I have never seen a wasp come in or get out but I have seen wasps poking around essentially at all times of the day
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So what you are seeing is normal bee behavior with orientation flights, they happen in-mass often from 10am till late afternoon. It is only a short event in time. It can be mistaken as looking like swarming happening or it can be cleansing flights, bees don’t poop in the hive. Have the hive entrance big enough that the bees are not in a traffic jam trying to get inside. The same as you get a little angry when you get home from the shops carrying shopping bags and everyone is clustered at the front door.
A bee is on the diet of a wasp, it is just a part of the circle of nature, and there is nothing you can do about it. A wasp will take a bee for food for her babies. Something we have to accept as bee keepers.
Unfortunately your pics don’t show any bees at all so it makes it hard to assess what you are seeing.
Cheers
The most common reason for fighting would be robbing, especially at this time of year in the US. Most of the US is in a nectar dearth right now, and robbers will attack other hives. Reducing the entrance, as you have, is an excellent idea.
Absolutely, but we don’t have the most problematic wasps in the US yet. Those are Asian hornets and they can wipe out a hive in a day. Wasps and hornets are still a nuisance here, but your reduced entrance will help a lot with that.
As long as they are not piling up on the landing board and blocking the entrance, it is OK. If the entrance looks “stuffed” with bees, I would perhaps cut it a little bigger with a hacksaw. It doesn’t have to be smooth for the bees - they will probably chew at it anyway. Mine is about 5 or 6" wide year round, and that is plenty even with double brood boxes. In later summer (now) and fall, I often reduce it to about 2" wide if robbing looks like it is starting.
Hope that helps a bit.
I posted this on another thread, however it’s probably more appropriate here. This may help…
Wasps are becoming a problem at this time of year in the UK.
If you’re looking for a sliding entrance reducer / mouse guard for your FH2 I’ve sourced this one from Amazon.
The sizing is perfect at 31.3cm x 3.9cm with holes placed for small screw fitting.
They’re very cheap @ £3.08p (English pounds) each, and with free postage!
I ordered 2 on 14th July and they were dispatched on 15th.
They both arrived 26th July.
If you don’t object ordering from the likes of Amazon or China then they come fully recommended.
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A handy addition to fit to any hive as an entrance reducer or to lock the bees in for transporting a hive. Excellent pics too Nick.
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