OMF - beecraft jan issue

shop deals on amazon
Advertise with us
BS Honey Bees
Shop deals on ebay
Beekeeping & Apiculture Forum

Help Support Beekeeping & Apiculture Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
D

drstitson

Queen Bee
Joined
Aug 4, 2010
Messages
7,656
Reaction score
3
Location
surrey, lincolnshire etc.
Hive Type
Dadant
Number of Hives
14
note that the "In Your Apiary: January" feature advocates inspection floor IN approach (in her case with foam sealing of rear gap) and states that MOST BEEKEEPERS do this.

completely failing to appreciate the fact that the whole raison d'etre of OMF is, as David Cameron said yesterday, a Ronseal deal ie OPEN!

no mention of matchsticks though (but can't recall if same author has already mentioned these in early articles).
 
The downside being (here) an annoying number of mice warming themselves between the board and the OMF and the possibility of breeding wax moths on the debris if left in too long.

And the Ronseal effect is to do with tin labels ;)
 
Lot of mine on (sloped) solid poly floors this winter, 40mm poly walls and 50+mm solid kingspan CB/poly feeder and roof ( I'm a convert) and everything seems cosy on the Oxalic round. I'm actually surprised at their dryness. On my single BB ones with mesh floor I leave the tray in because my theory is that in a windy area like here there could be a pronounced Venturi effect for full OMF on hive stands.

And there is no God.:gnorsi:
 
Last edited:
PBee said:
Lot of mine on (sloped) solid poly floors this winter, 40mm poly walls and 50+mm solid CB ( I'm a convert) and everything seems cosy on the Oxalic round. I'm actually surprised at their dryness. On my single BB ones with mesh floor I leave the tray in because my theory is that in a windy area like here there could be a pronounced Venturi effect for full OMF on hive stands.

And there is no God.:gnorsi:
Click to expand...

:icon_204-2: you're special festive holiday is coming up in a few months :ot:
 
drstitson said:
note that the "In Your Apiary: January" feature advocates inspection floor IN approach (in her case with foam sealing of rear gap) and states that MOST BEEKEEPERS do this.

completely failing to appreciate the fact that the whole raison d'etre of OMF is, as David Cameron said yesterday, a Ronseal deal ie OPEN!

no mention of matchsticks though (but can't recall if same author has already mentioned these in early articles).
Click to expand...


Probably thinks the main function of the mesh is to let live mites drop right out of the hive... :)

Given the innate (non-political) conservatism of most 'senior' beeks, getting their heads around something as radically different to the solid floors they grew up with, must be REALLY difficult.

Does sound like an editorial cop out though -- "opinions expressed are those of the contributor ..."

All that said - there may be cause to close everything up at the end of winter, to try and raise the heat so as to kick off spring brooding at the time of the beeks choice, rather than the bees.
 
blackcavebees said:
:icon_204-2: you're special festive holiday is coming up in a few months :ot:
Click to expand...

Quiet man ! ..... I'm at service.....

7494392356_b77a73d7a8_z.jpg


If it's an emergency dial 666 for Dawkins. :reddevil:
 
drstitson said:
the fact that the whole raison d'etre of OMF is [...] OPEN!
Click to expand...

2 definite articles in one sentence - must be trying hard to press home an opinion.

Life isn't black and white. The initial raison d'etre may well have been to supply ventilation, but OMFs may now be considered suitable for other purposes. Why not ?
So - perhaps 'was' would be a better verb to employ, rather than 'is' ?

Personally, I have my OMFs fully open in summer, and partially closed in winter - the degree of closure being dependent upon the weather. High winds, bitterly cold from the exposed north-east would soon suck heat out of the hives otherwise.

Beekeeping ain't a religion - there aren't any Ten Commandments to obey.

LJ
 
sorry i can't see a way to write that sentence without the two definite articles!

seriously though aside from pure ventilation (coupled with top insulation, of course) and allowing mites to fall out of hive (onto insert, if present for counting),another role for the floor in IPM is to perhaps encourage broodlessness during deep winter (and hence increase effectiveness of midwinter OA treatment).

BTW
i was considering building an "automatic" floor to deal with inclement conditions.
 
I run all my TBHs with permanent bottom boards.. (with a small ventilation gap so not airtight) - summer and winter.,

I did a side by side comparison in spring/ summer of two hives with/without a bottom board and the hive without a bottom board had a far slower start and less brood. Put a board in and it caught up with the other.

Now finished three full years like that.
 
Update...

I wrote a missive to Margaret Cowley this morning on the topic. Apparently it (and her reply) will be in the Feb issue of Beecraft.
 
Can't wait..
 
I wonder what happened to them.

Robbed out by wasps in the third summer. Likely weakened by varroa, or threw multiple swarms, or the wasps were simply too numerous for them to defend.
 
drstitson said:
note that the "In Your Apiary: January" feature advocates inspection floor IN approach (in her case with foam sealing of rear gap) and states that MOST BEEKEEPERS do this.
Click to expand...
"Most <insert category>" do or think whatever can usually be taken as a political assertion with no evidence.

Where there are numbers it appears to be overwhelmingly the other way round. Your site poll shows the opinion here among open mesh floor users as 130 open, 24 closed. Bee inspectors are almost certainly the most likely to see the widest sample of what beekeepers actually do and leaving the mesh open is the clear recommendation of the two current or ex bee inspectors I have seen asked directly about it.

Edit, miscount as below. Must read the left side more carefully.
 
Last edited:
thanks - i'd forgotten that. actually that poll showed 18 OMF CLOSED votes (the additional 6 were various other options) so it is 88% OMF open.
 
I overwintered 3 nucs last year made from ply with mesh floors. The floors had no slide in option, thus exposed all winter.
We were down to minus 16 for a couple of nights with day time at minus 8, although I know cold isnt the issue.
I live near the wash in the 'flat lands' and the breeze blows even on a good day, nicely ventilated you would say with no damp.
All overwintered fine.
Pete D
 
That reminds me, my January Beecraft hasn't arrived yet

:rant:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top