I am new to bee keeping, I am in Adelaide South Australia.I just populated my flow hive with another hive (8 frames) , just wondering should I block off the hole in the inner lid to stop bees going up into roof space? I have a small block of wood over it at the moment which keeps the girls down in the flow frames. Next question , there is a piece of corrugated cardboard in the base, do I slide it in bottom space or top space, I assume bottom space for summer and top space for winter?
Any help appreciated
Jeff
Blocking that hole with a piece of wood,or screen, does help prevent them from sometimes building comb in the roof cavity. They don’t always do this, but if they do, it can be quite difficult to fix!
In regard to the bottom corflute, you’ll want to leave it in the bottom slot most of the time, but when harvesting move it to the top slot so that any honey that leaks is accessible to the bees through the screen.
Best,
Matt
Cheers, I am a first timer with nerves to match!
Hi Matt
With our hot Spring Down Under, I noticed that having the corflute in the bottom position, I had the bees bearding outside. I have totally removed the corflute and find that the bearding has stopped. Seems as though it is not always necessary ??
Max
I can’t speak from own experience yet but I know that all beeks in the club I joined here keep their hives open at the bottom almost year round apart from a mesh to keep out mice. Here being Germany so your climate is warmer than ours. They do put in boards for a few days or weeks when acid treating for varroa mites.
There’s different approaches for the winter, one beek said he kept it open because the inside of the hive got to humid when it was in, others leave it in after the winter acid treatment.
But in the spring and summer leaving it out is most likely a good idea to relieve your girls of the extra stress to keep the hive cool.
Many do take out the corflute entirely during hotter months, which can help reduce bearding. However, do note that Dr. Seeley’s book, Honeybee Democracy, seems to show that feral colonies, when allowed to choose their own nesting site, seem to prefer no ventilation at all!
Best,
Matt
Thanks, I was warned before I started on this beek adventure that if I asked 3 beek’s a question I would get 3 different answers:grinning:, but appreciate the help. Yesterday was 38degC and the bees were bearding on the front landing strip. I panicked, but did not spring into action, found info on google and all good. One thing I have learned is everyone wants to help and there are answers out there. second thing is do not panic!!! we are coming into summer so I am looking forward to my first harvest
Cheers
Jeff
My hive is feral, so I guess that they are more happy now
I am also near Adelaide, SA. I have placed a flat stone over the inner lid hole to prevent them building comb in the roof. But I’m not sure thats the best thing, since I found some ants up in the roof cavity once setting up shop and no bees able to get in and chase them off. So, I’ve done a better job preventing ants getting onto the hive stand and I’m watching the roof cavity.
I may try an experiment later and allow the bees to make comb in the roof cavity. This comb could be used for their winter honey stores when I remove the Flow frames, if I choose to do that in this climate over winter.
Good Luck,
Susie