Bee ramp

[ShinySideUp]

I have just purchased my first two hives and have yet to start with a colony. I bought the hives with stands but the support I built for them makes them just a little too high for comfort but without the stands they are just right. The stands have ramps leading to the entrance and obviously if I don't use the stands, there is no ramp.

Does the ramp make a real difference in giving the bees somewhere easy to land or is it just an attractive novelty?

 

[user 6228]

I have just purchased my first two hives and have yet to start with a colony. I bought the hives with stands but the support I built for them makes them just a little too high for comfort but without the stands they are just right. The stands have ramps leading to the entrance and obviously if I don't use the stands, there is no ramp.

Does the ramp make a real difference in giving the bees somewhere easy to land or is it just an attractive novelty?

Don't put hives directly on the ground it cause problems with ants etc.

 

[REDWOOD]

Buy a saw and cut the desired amount off the bottom of the legs. 12 inches seem to be the norm

 

[Erichalfbee]

And......I find landing boards useful for bees coming home heavily laden, particularly in inclement weather. I colour code mine (should get out more) for when the apiary gets a little too crowded temporarily in the summer.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

And......I find landing boards useful for bees coming home heavily laden, particularly in inclement weather. I colour code mine (should get out more) for when the apiary gets a little too crowded temporarily in the summer.

I've got numbers on mine

 

[Curley]

Shortening the stand is a good option - working on a hive on the floor can be hard on the back and/or knees.

The ramp is called a landing board as others have implied. Not essential at all but nice to see the bees landing and walking in. You can see pollen loads better. I know a commercial beek who has them as he thinks it is easier on the bees when coming back heavy with nectar.

There are other opinions

 

[For want of a better word]

These are some of my BHS poll Nationals that have an integral landing board in the Open Mesh Floor (OMF)
The stands are 500mm high and I put an additional landing board as sometimes also used with WRC Nationals.
Center colony has a Hopkins board in place with qe below and feeder eke above... taken 8th July 2015.

Yeghes da

 

[REDWOOD]

Shortening the stand is a good option - working on a hive on the floor can be hard on the back and/or knees.

The ramp is called a landing board as others have implied. Not essential at all but nice to see the bees landing and walking in. You can see pollen loads better. I know a commercial beek who has them as he thinks it is easier on the bees when coming back heavy with nectar.

There are other opinions

also known as an Alighting board

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Does the ramp make a real difference in giving the bees somewhere easy to land or is it just an attractive novelty?

No, yes - how do you think bees in trees cope?

Underfloor entrances have built in alighting boards so don't need an extra bit.

Just adjust the height of hive stand to suit you, not everyone is the same height and tending a hive on the floor is a pain in the a... back.
Mine are 18" because I find it's the most comfortable height for me

 

[Gaz1]

Set the box ontop the the hive stand, stand in front of it peer in lower until it feels comfortable job done. One hive has a 'ramp' one doesn't I enjoy viewing the one with the ramp more as I enjoy seeing them crash down loaded with pollen the other bees seem abit more graceful at landing

 

[Poly Hive]

None of mine have, the bees land on the hive front and then run down and in.

Alighting boards take up space in the vehicle and so are costly when migrating hives.

PH

 

[Erichalfbee]

I've got numbers on mine

Colour coded for the bees to make sure the new queens get back into the right hive

 

[MartinL]

I have just purchased my first two hives and have yet to start with a colony. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Does the ramp make a real difference in giving the bees somewhere easy to land or is it just an attractive novelty?

It's certainly worth keeping, if only to watch them returning heavily laden on a warm summer afternoon.

If you've ever seen the film clips of the WWII American naval bombers returning to the carriers after attacking the Japanese during the battle of Midway you'll see the same thing re-enacted in miniature. Imagine the landing board/Ramp as the Carrier Enterprise?

Some approach wavering, aware of others flying direct & at speed. They're all heading for the same target resulting in low level collisions, skidding in upside down. Great plumes of pollen exploding into the air. Sit to the side of your hive in the sun and watch the spectacle.
Truly awesome to watch.

You will realise that without a ramp, there will be members of the colony lost forever when they miss!

 

[ShinySideUp]

OK, thank you for the input. I now know they are alighting boards not ramps (although TBH I like the idea of Bee Ramps as it makes me think of hydraulic ramps lifting the bees up so I can see underneath ) and that while they are not absolutely necessary they can't do harm and may even do some good.

 

[Robbo8916]

I do find that the bees 'appear' more comfortable landing on an alighting board and walking in when heavily laden. My nuc is on top of a large flat tree stump (it was an emergency) and the bees land on the stump then climb into the hive.

Might as well make their lives a bit easier if we can eh?

I understand that they aren't ideal for beeks who move large numbers of colonies to specific forage but for a small hobbyist I like them.

 

[Millet]

Mine seem to like the landing strip, can you see the one on its back, that would have been on the floor in the damp grass like many others if the board was not there.

 

[Robbo8916]

Mine seem to like the landing strip, can you see the one on its back, that would have been on the floor in the damp grass like many others if the board was not there.

Lovely photo! I must admit I do laugh and then feel sorry for them when they crash land.

But I agree one less bee wandering bewildered in the shade under the hive.

 

[Little John]

They can be a very convenient place to hold union meetings ...

LJ

 

[For want of a better word]

They can be a very convenient place to hold union meetings ...

LJ

Which one blows the whistle and shouts everyone out when they swarm?

Yeghes da

 

[JWF]

One out all out!

(And then 50% back in again lol)