Oh, I don’t use the matchsticks, I use a shim for feeding that has a small hole in it. I also wrap my hives and insulate the lid, figuring they’d choose a tree with a thick-walled hollow if they could. Plastic plugs are included with the shim so I can close the hole in the coldest months. It’s handy to have an upper entrance when dead bees have heaped up inside on the bottom too, and the top is warmest of course, so better for bees to grab a quick cleansing flight on a sunny & mild day without traveling down to the depths of a double brood stack.
2 Likes
Hi Eva, not meaning to be argumentative, however just putting me 2 cents worth in. What makes the top of the hive the warmest part of the hive? The warmest part of the hive should be the part the bees heat up with their body mass after consuming honey. If the bottom half of the hive, including the floor is well insulated, then the warmest part would certainly be as a result off the bees activity. Not a result of hot air rising & cold coming into the hive via the uninsulated floor. That’s the way I see it.
cheers
1 Like
The only difference between your two cents and my two cents is that mine work where I live 
…only teasing, of course - but to respond I’ll repeat that I don’t use open mesh floors, and the upper area is warmest because the cluster moves upward to access their honey stores through the winter. So, bee activity as you say 
1 Like
Good debate.
All migratory lids sold here have ventilation holes in them. Some colonys propolise them, some don’t. I think there is purpose in upper entrances otherwise bees wouldn’t use them. It seems to be common practice in the northern hemisphere so I’m going to give it a go on one hive just because.
On the other hand, all the feral tree colonys I’ve seen only have one entrance and I have one here where the hollow goes downwards and that colony seems to be coping just as well as the others, whether the other occupied hollows go up or up and down I don’t know.
I think the bees will do what they need to do to to accommodate their accommodation. 
What you say makes sense to me Jeff however I’m not a bee!
Is there anyone in Aus utilizing an upper entrance?
2 Likes
Here’s some good discussion on this topic that I think northern hemisphere beeks will find helpful:
Most of the bee gear suppliers here sell both ventilated and non-ventilated migratory lids, I am changing over making ventilated lids simply because I experimented with buying two of them and the bees didn’t propolise the vents up so I guess they appreciated the thru draft in the roof cutting down the heat. Funny thou that they prololise any cracks between the boxes.
Top entrances aren’t here, I’ve not seen a hive with one yet and are not sold here. But then with single brood boxes I wonder if there is an advantage. Each to their way of bee keeping, I can remember hives didn’t have a landing board at the entrance and yet bees still came and went from the entrance.
1 Like
Second entrances are coming into use in UK but mainly if you have 3 or 4 supers, so a big hive. Clearly supers not on in winter so 2nd entrance would be removed. 2nd entrance also removed during robbing season. I don’t use a 2nd entrance at the moment. Clearly 2nd entrances are for non flow hive setups.
Top lid ventilation is different over here. Being careful not to generalise, I would say many hives have aeration holes secured with mesh on 2 sides of the roof wall. Hole size about 25mm or 1inch.
Rule of thumb is if you have open mesh floor no top additional ventilation required. By additional I mean a few matchsticks. The roof ventilation is as I said above standard. I clean my roof ventilation as pre winter prep. No prop just fibres. Use a blow torch.
The new style poly hives in uk almost all have open mesh floors and no additional ventilation.
In UK the common statement and advice is dampness and falling condensation kills but our cold maritime climate doesn’t kill. So winter deaths are mainly caused by condensation dripping, no food or isolated from food, weak numbers.
I haven’t mentioned badgers, woodpeckers, humans, wind. Perhaps another time!
1 Like
Hi Peter, I had your lid on one of my hives, I noticed that they propilized the mesh.
My bees have had plenty of opportunities to use top entrances. They just propolize the gaps in every case. However, down near the brood where bits of the back corners have rotted, they use second entrances in every case. Since my recent hive renovations, I’ve removed those bottom boards. It’s obvious to me that bees want to come & go adjacent to the brood. I’ve also found that with every cut-out.
@Eva, that’s interesting about mites & humidity. From memory @Michael_Bush uses small entrances, but only one & I believe that he doesn’t treat for mites. It’s all interesting.
I could sit here & type for hours, but I’ve got to break my fast & rob some bees of their honey after that.
cheers
1 Like
Leave the lid on your hive Jeff, I got the guys to make me a new one for the 10 frame hive. The only problem it is a two man lift to take it off the hive 
I don’t know what the timber is that was used but it certainly isn’t Balsa wood and being an inch thick is a slight over kill. At least it won’t blow off… 
Cheers
Many thanks Peter, I feel that you could put it to good use yourself. I typed a reply 10 hours ago & forgot to post it.
I had a late start on the bees, on account it was too cold. I got home at 10.15 with my jacket over the bee suit. I think I was ready to take it off by then, but only just. I’m contemplating lighting the fire, just to warm the house a bit. I’ll get & do that.
cheers
I won’t use it mate, I have made the 10 frame boxes up as a double brood box as a donor hive but I’m on 8 frame honey hives.
I went over to the hives today and ran into road blocks of police and State Emergency Service, explained I was going to the Men’s Shed and they let me thru to find 9 helicopters using the land opposite as a parking lot and a refueling tanker as well. They were using the Men’s Shed as a control centre for fighting the Peregian Beach Fire. An amazing number of landing and take offs with water buckets hanging under them all day. The fire is now contained and they are going to let it burn itself out. A really huge area of bush land burnt out, the closest it got to my place was 3 klm’s away and nearly up to Noosa 15 klm’s away. Amazing only one house was lost.
Cheers
Hi Pete, ok thanks mate. You win - again. That certainly IS a miracle that only one house was lost.
I’m returning stickies & bringing home more nucs today. There’s plenty of people chasing bees. One bloke was quite obnoxious with Wilma on the phone the other day. I’ll try to pick a colony to match his personality 
Just kidding. Based on how I find him will determine how much free time I give him.
cheers
2 Likes
How dare he mistreat our wonderful Wilma? Outrageous! 
Make sure that he gets the colony he deserves! 
3 Likes
A fantastic job from all involved in the fire fighting and the Men’s Shed was more than happy to provide our facilities for a staging area for the helicopters to refuel and a place for the men and women to rest up and have a feed.
Mate, Wilma deserves a medal, not any idiot being obnoxious to her. Enough said and I think you know what I would do and at best he would get the nastiest hive I could find. He wouldn’t get any free time from me.
Cheers
2 Likes
Thank you Dawn He’ll be phoning me Sunday night to tee up a time to pick his bees up next week. He has a flow hive, I’m wondering if he was expecting some adverse reactions on account of that. He said he wanted bees “asap because it’s spring - ya know”. Then he didn’t know what day he wanted to pick them up. He said “I’ll ring back Sunday night”.
2 Likes
A would be bee keeper who can’t forward plan is never going to be successful as a bee keeper.
I will have to put the nucs I was getting from you back a few days as I was supply them as full working hives to a guy at Perigian and with the fire up there he has some tidying up to do before his place is ready. I’ll keep you up to speed as I know more and sort a day that suits you.
Cheers
Hi Pete, no worries mate.
I was thinking about that angry hive I dealt with the other day. Sadly I killed the queen. I turned the colony into 3 nucs.
Just kidding about killing the angry queen. He got to me via the beekeeping association, so I’d better give him good bees.
1 Like
Your way too much a gentleman than I am mate. Be careful he doesn’t think he gets you along with the nuc for the term of your natural life.
2 Likes