In my opinion hives with landing boards are so much more aesthetically pleasing … add an expensive gabled roof and you almost have a quaint WBC hiive
I wish to express an opinion which is quite separate from the matter of aesthetics.
There is no doubt that feral bees can manage on their own. There is also no doubt that bees are, by nature, feral creatures rather than domesticated. Just because they “consent” to live in hive boxes provided by us does not mean that they have an avid preference to live in them. If bees were “domesticated” then they would seek for hive boxes when they swarm, rather than lodging in hollow trees or in building cavities.
It has become almost a slogan for me that I want “my bees” to
thrive, rather than just
survive. Because of this approach I make various provisions for them that they would not have in the wild. For example I provide a source of drinking water not far from their hives, because they need to have a reliable source of water – particularly in a long dry hot Australian summer.
I provide each hive with a very well insulated hive roof, because I have found that it has completely eliminated the problem of condensation above the honey frames. Condensation does still occur on the side walls of the hives, which has the bonus benefit of providing a source of water within the hive, in an area where it does not adversely affect them.
I also provide them with landing boards. Although there are some beekeepers (and there may be many) who do not provide landing boards, my observations have convinced me that the bees do better with them. If you just watch for a while, you will see that bees need to slow down their flight to almost hover before they settle near an entrance which has no landing board. On the other hand, when a landing board is provided for them most of them fly in confidently and some almost “crash land” directly into the entrance. It is very easy to observe which type of entrance enables them to enter the hive most easily.
