Just checking, how many of you guys had or still have a telescopic cover. I only have bottom entrance and wanted to check if any of you can actually tell me if there’s a difference or not with having a top exit for the bees. Obviously with the Flow Hive, this will not be a possibility…
I personally think that bees don’t need it and some authors like Thomas D Seely seem to be confident in saying that bees don’t like upper entrances and will choose a site with bottom entrances over top entrances if given the chance.
I don’t know that that’s necessarily true that bees won’t go out a top entrance but just today I got some of my hives ready for the upcoming winter. In doing so, I copied the video that NOD has on wintering bees in cold climates. After I got my hives wrapped in their BeeCozy I put on a medium super that I had drilled with a keyhole 1 inch saw two holes in each long side of box and fitted the holes with PVC pipe and placed this box on top of the Inner Board. The BeeCozy wraps cover the ottom entrance which also has a Mouse Gaurd placed as well. As it stand if the bees want to leave now they pretty much have to use the PVC entrances. Before I even left the yard the bees were already discovering the new entrances.
Right, but you were careful to have a very restricted top exit so not too much heat will be lost by convention. That is a good way to have bot, a top exit and a Flow Hive. Very clever.
For clarification purposes, I meant to say that given two choices, bees will swarm to the box with a bottom entrance rather that to one with a top entrance. That’s according to research, but if they have it they will definitely use it!
I agree with you there. Bees do like to climb so it makes sense that they go for the bottom entrance more oft than not. When ever I have to shake bees off a board I do it front of the hive entrance(bottom) o a board I set in front. It doesn’t take them long to orient themselves and get back onto the hive box and eventually go in.