Is a floor necessary?

[pbh4]

I have just returned from a holiday at a farm in Italy. The farmer is a commercial beekeeper and he kindly took me and my boys to help take the last of this year's honey and to apply Apivar Life to 45 hives. What surprised me was the none of the hives had any floor at all. The brood boxes just rested on a low stand (like a pallet) on the ground in a grassy meadow. (He does put a board under in the winter apparently). He does not seem to have any problems with this system.

So, why the M in an OMF? Could we manage without it?

Paul

 

[victor meldrew]

Or even a roof? after all bees nest in chimneys in fact a favourite spot for feral colonies!
I wouldn't think ideal though, given that the workers would be spending valuable honey gathering time fighting off wasps etc.
VM

 

[Strength_10]

Would it not make the hive harder to defend if it had no floor? Free access for wasps and other robbers?

 

[enrico]

We only have the hive as it is because it is most convenient for us. we could use an old log if we wanted but not so easy to get the honey out!!!!

 

[Finman]

We only have the hive as it is because it is most convenient for us. !!

OHOH.

It is very good to bees too.

When swarm seeks for new hive, they do not accept the hive which has open bottom. They want a dark place where is a tiny hole. Bees like 40 litre cavity which is same size as Langstroth box.

when the swarm settle down into chimney, they start to draw combs at the depth of one metre.

 

[Nose Ma]

Would it not make the hive harder to defend if it had no floor? Free access for wasps and other robbers?

Yep, that's what I would think, I thought that was the basic point of the mesh, ventilate, let stuff (like mites) fall out, block intruders.

 

[drstitson]

remember many italian beekeepers just tend to leave the bees to their own devices pretty much - let them swarm and aim to catch as many as possible to make up losses.
certainly not big on in house queen rearing.

 

[sugarbush]

I tried going without floors once... mice moved into my hives..

I didn't go completely floorless though, I just set the hive body on old shipping pallets.