Hi Jack, thanks for sharing that link. I think I can see some honeycomb patterns on some. As well as some spirals like you see on sunflowers on other ones.
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Hi Jack, as you know, Iām a fan of a solid floor. However Iām just wondering if you have the rear vent open or closed. The reason I ask is because a new local beekeeper uses blue boards that are screened. She noted heavy condensation in the lid with a strong colony. Whereas I get very little condensation in the lid with strong colonies, using solid floors. I suggested she convert to a solid floor. I always advise new beekeepers with Flow2ās (those who ask) to keep the rear vent closed.
cheers
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Yes it does I bought it online
Got a 20kg bucket
I shall see if I can find where I got it from
I use it around the house and for plants and chickens as well.
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@Esckay, I look forward to that information, thank you.
To anyone with some information, when the bees chase pests like SHBās, Wax moths, etc, where do those pests get chased to, eg to the top of the brood box or lower down into the tray at the bottom of the hive???
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Quite a few beetles get chased to the top of the inner cover, where theyāre kept in little igloo-shaped cell blocks made of wax & propolis. The beetles can live - cadging meals from passing workers - but canāt reproduce. Itās interesting to me that the bees donāt block off the cells the beetles are held in. At least now that I know imprisonment is the beesā strategy, I no longer scrape off this āburr combā during inspections. Instead I spent a minute just smashing the beetles that get out when I open the hive and disrupt the bees.
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Anywhere that the bees can imprison them. Some will get chased down, and some up. I put beetle blaster traps just above the brood nest, and the bees are quite happy to chase the beetles into those.
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Bees might even guard a trapped SHB not allowing it to leave from a certain place to ensure they are not near honeycomb or brood comb. This can be seen on occasion inside an empty Flow Frame cell through the cross-section, where there is no risk of the SHB taking hold, with larvae not able to eat through the comb structure. The beetle may try to leave, but either retreats or is pushed back inside by the bee. They usually chase them around with the intent to hug them so they fall to the bottom of the hive, or so they lose their footing and fall to the bottom of the hive also.
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Thanks for joining the conversation, @KieranPI, nice to hear from you. Happy New Year, by the way! 
Bee mandibles also carry a pheromone which not only marks the invader, but also semi-sedates them. So if the bee can manage to get a bite through the chitin of the adult SHB, they really get the upper hand. 
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Hi @KieranPI @Eva and @Dawn_SD, thanks for the information. I can just imagine one of my bees giving a SHB a hugā:woozy_face:
. Iām really pleased, as today I gave the SHB trap thatās in the top of the BB a look at, and only found just 1 SHB in it, after 3 weeks from when the SHB trap being put in place and none at all in the bottom flue tray (FH2). Maybe Kieran, the SHB donāt like being hugged. Also I must get in touch with Dave whom I bought my nuc from, as I think that the BB looks like it might be close to being full (as well as I could see without pulling the frames out to have a closer look), as there was even some bridging wax between several of the frames. Iām just not sure whether to drop on the flow hive this late in the season (southern NSW Australia), or to add an extra box with empty frames. I donāt want to to do something that might weaken my hive. Maybe even just set up the second box with only 4 frames in it, and use the rest of the space on either sides to set up feeding cells ready for winter, as Iām sensing that next winter maybe a cold one. Then as winter draws to a close, replace the feed cells with empty frames, as a deterrent for them to swarm. Thus hopefully Iāll then have a very strong hive for the 2021 honey season. Iām happy for any input from the forum.
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I observed similar stuff in my tray today.
Unfortunately I cleaned it out without taking a photo. Photo next time.
In addition there was an empty white coccoon about 6mm long.
The sqiuggly tracks in the capping fragments appeared to be stuck together with silk.
No SHB seen.
I think I will step up inspections of the tray. This stuff was not there 2 weeks ago.
My colony is not particularly strong yet and I have read that it can be a good idea to reduce the hive entrance to about 40mm. Any comments re this?
The capping fragments stuck together with silk sounds like wax moth activity.
I agree with reducing the entrance to 40mm while a colony is weak. Thatās what I do myself.
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Hey Ian, affirmative to what Jeff says, and Iād also recommend clearing out the grooves that support the tray. Iāve often found wax moth cocoons tucked away in places like the grooves of a screened bottom board, and although I havenāt seen a Flow2 tray rig up close I assume they work similarly. Next time you take the tray out for a look, you can use a long twig or something like that to scrape/push along the tiny ledge to dislodge and destroy possible cocoons.
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Hi @JeffH and @Eva .
Thanks for the advice. I will have a close look at cracks and crannies where the moths could be making coccoons.
Jeff, I cut a couple of pieces of quad to reduce the entrance width and placed them at the entrance.
I just knew I shouldnāt do it in the middle of the day, but did it anyway. Sometimes we do stuff that is just plain dumb. We know it is dumb but we do it anyway. 
The guard bee got stroppy and told me where to go, and exactly what I could do when I got there. 
I learned two things that I already knew, but managed to ignore. 1. Stay away from the entrance unless I am suited up and have a smoker going. 2. A bee can fly faster than I can run.
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Hi Ian, I have let my guard down & copped the odd sting.
Thereās one bit of helpful information I learned a few years ago & that is that bees target where we exhale from. Itās the CO2 we exhale that triggers them to get into attack mode. If we can hold our breath long enough to do little jobs, thatāll certainly help. Also when being attacked by a bee, I walk away fast with my head at a lower level. That always works because the bee canāt figure out where Iām exhaling from. The bee continues to search at the original elevation of my head.
If a bee is really after me & wont give up, I allow her to follow me into the house where she will stop chasing me before going for a window in order to get back outside. At that point I squash her. Then I can continue with what I was doing outside.
Just a short illustration: I had a nuc sitting on a table next to the doorway into my honey room. Their flight path was across the doorway at my waist height. I never got attacked while entering or leaving the room, even though the entrance was only inches away from my waist. I used to always think of how different it would be if the flight path was in line with my head. One whiff of CO2 as I walked past would almost certainly have triggered a defensive response.
Thanks Jeff. I knew mosquitos are drawn to CO2 but did not know that bees are also.
Next time I will follow your advice about holding my breath and keeping low.
Always something new to learn.
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Youāre welcome Ian, I probably got the words out wrong. When I say to keep your head down, I mean to drop your head to a lower level than when the bee started chasing. If your head was already low when the bee started chasing, raise it to a higher level as you quickly walk away. Itās all about confusing the bee so she canāt detect where we exhale from. Holding your breath is probably the best strategy.
Iām really pleased that I know this bit of information because it helps me understand why people who pick bee colonies up from me, & want to see the queen without wearing a veil get stung on the face. Iāll have to take more notice to see if they get stung while talking or not. Black seems to be in fashion because a lot of people come dressed in black. We have to remember to remind folks to bring a veil & donāt wear dark colors.
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I inspected the tray again today. Clear evidence of Lesser Wax Moth. Several larvae present, and in two distinctly different sizes. Two larvae at approximately 12mm long and one at approximately 5mm long.
I would guess that the eggs were not laid at the same time, so maybe two separate moths??
Today is a total fire ban here so no way will I light my smoker. When the weather is cooler I will have a thorough inspection of the brood box.
Does anyone out there wash their pest control tray regularly? If so, what do you use?
I donāt have a tray, but I do have a coreflute slider. I clean it once every week or two with water from a nearby hose. When the dirt gets a little more stubborn, I use dishwashing soap and a soft scrubbing pad, followed by a thorough rinse.
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More evidence of larvae this morning. I think the larger one was missed yesterday when I scraped out the majority of the wax fragments.
The large grub was approx 10mm long and the small one about 3mm long.
I scrubbed out the tray with hot water and detergent in an attempt to remove any existing eggs. This should give me a good baseline for tomorrow.
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Hi Ian, donāt be overly concerned by the presence of wax moth. They are a part of beekeeping life. They are naturally attracted to beehives. After the eggs are laid, the larvae will feast on the brood cappings that accumulate on the tray floor. If you keep the tray clean, the moths wont lay eggs there. If you canāt maintain a cleaning regime, you could opt for a solid floor, which a strong colony naturally keeps clean
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