Many years ago during a very hot summer I worried that the inside of the hives may get too hot. They were in the full sun and in a sheltered area out of any wind. There were lots of bees at the entrances, fanning. That concerned me.
I 'hot-glued' a square of fine mesh over the feeder/bee escape hole in the crown boards of three WBC hives to enable the anticipated hot air to rise more easily out of the hive. I wasn't certain whether what I was doing was correct or not, hence doing three out of six hives.
The next time I lifted the lids to have a peer inside, each of the fine meshes had been completely propolised closed by the bees. That told me!
Over the years the bees have taught me quite lot about beekeeping. I listen more attentively to them now.
Regarding bearding. During the summer when the nectar was flowing the large colony resident in the wall next to our porch was always outside overnight. We became used to seeing them on the wall if arriving home in the late evening. One ore two late visitors to the house were somewhat alarmed though.
