busy bees

[beepig]

my home bees being busy.
i think queen has not stopped laying all winter

 

[beepig]

 

[beepig]

hurrah

 

[Erichalfbee]

So lovely to see
Bring on the sunshine

 

[Millet]

Mine have been busy even though i think its too cold but they obviously know best, just a quick question though what is all that stacked on the brood box and why do you have the entrance block upside down, this is not a dig by the way as they must be reason.

 

[birdsandbees]

It's delightful to see them out and about when they get chance isn't it, only around 7-8 degrees here but had three lots flying this afternoon, supposed to be warming up a bit over the next few days actually getting into the low teens!!
Will have them all out and about if that happens

 

[sbisme]

Great sight to see beepig, my hives were out yesterday and it was good to see.

Hopefully the forecast is right for the Midlands as temps should be around low double figures for the next week just need to keep an eye on those stores now.

 

[Tremyfro]

Mine have been busy even though i think its too cold but they obviously know best, just a quick question though what is all that stacked on the brood box and why do you have the entrance block upside down, this is not a dig by the way as they must be reason.

I seem to recall reading that putting the entrance block that way up keeps the entrance clear. Dead bees build up during the winter and the entrance will stay clear...something like that anyway. I use an old chopstick to clear the entrances when they need it.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I seem to recall reading that putting the entrance block that way up keeps the entrance clear.

usually has the opposite effect - bees aren't very energetic in the winter so usually just drag the deaduns along the floor and out the entrance if they can't manage to drag the corpses up and over the inverted entrance block it can result in a build up of dead bees inside the hive.

 

[Millet]

I seem to recall reading that putting the entrance block that way up keeps the entrance clear. Dead bees build up during the winter and the entrance will stay clear...something like that anyway. I use an old chopstick to clear the entrances when they need it.

To my uneducated mind i thought it would have been more of an obstacle, my entrance block is the right way round and i have never seen more than 5 dead bees at one given time on the open mesh floor.

 

[Tremyfro]

To my uneducated mind i thought it would have been more of an obstacle, my entrance block is the right way round and i have never seen more than 5 dead bees at one given time on the open mesh floor.

I think that was why it stuck in my mind....seemed an odd thing to do. Mine are all the right way too. I can't remember where I read it though.
Yep...found it...on Honey Bee Suite. In an article called....'Entrance reducers can annoy your bees'
I think the idea being that the bees can climb over the dead bees to get out.
So mine are the 'wrong way' according to that article...oops!

 

[B+.]

I can't remember where I read it though.

I'll bet it was in that book that recommended matchsticks under the crownboard

Personally, I don't have entrance blocks. I use a sheet of mesh stuffed into the entrance. It has a small cutout area where a couple of bees can come/go but that is all.

 

[Poly Hive]

I moved a brood box off the floor and was interested to see that out of sight they had built a complete propolis wall to block the entrance down to just under two inches.

PH

 

[Millet]

My entrance block is a piece of 6in x 1/2in pine with a 4in wide tunnel cut out of it just over one bee space high, it was originally made to help the bees defend better against wasps when it was narrowed down to 2in wide, it has now worked well as a mouse guard and the bees can take the dead out through it easily.