Comments on: Bee Debris

By: Chantal

Chantal — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 14:58:52 +0000

So Norm, you leave your bottom board on all year? Do you use a top bar hive?

By: Norm

Norm — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 12:10:14 +0000

My opinion is different to Linda’s.
I feel that bees in a hot environment cool their hive by evaporating both nectar and water. If you leave the bottom off under the screen they are having to work a lot harder to try and cool the ambient air that is now open. As long as they have access to water, they will be fine closed.

By: beegirl211

beegirl211 — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 15:45:50 +0000

I love your blog! Fantastic entry! Thanks for stopping by the “burbs”..
Best,
Leigh

By: Chantal

Chantal — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 22:51:37 +0000

Hey!

Thanks for the note. So you know, I tried removing the bottom board yesterday but I think it confused the bees as they started clustering under the screened bottom rather than returning through the “front door.”

Sound familiar?

By: Linda T

Linda T — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 21:59:57 +0000

I’m enjoying your blog so far. ..isn’t it fun to keep it?

If you put a solid bottom board under the screened bottom board, some of the advantage of the screened bottom board for ventilation is lost. Having a SBB with nothing below it allows air to circulate throughout the hive as if the hive were bottomless.

However, looks like there’s about an inch of space between the screen and your solid board, so that may still allow for the ventilation.

Another advantage of the SBB is that it helps with mite drop. The varroa falls through the screen and can’t get back to the hive – your bottom board placement may still keep the varroa out if they fall off of the bees.