Landing Boards Pros and Cons

[Wraith]

Hi all, Just done a search but can't find my answers? I'm new to this and just about to build my stands for my nationals. But can't seem to find why some people have boards and some don't, I suppose there is no real definative answer but would like to here peoples thoughts?

 

[Leigh]

Pros - easier for beekeeper to inspect arrivals/pollen/etc.....easier for bees in windy/colder conditions.
Cons - makes moving hives slightly more difficult as you can't stack them so close together.

There will be others - these however are the ones I've experienced. None of my hives have landing boards.

 

[justme]

Have heard, not yet seen, of blue tits picking bees off the landing boards or even the front of hives. They peck the side of the hive, wait until bees come out to see what the issue is then gulp, gone. Landing boards would make that much easier though I would've thought.

None of my hives have landing boards.

Di.

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

They aren't necessary but I love a landing board. Best way of watching the bees come in and out.

Also handy for wasp smashing later on in the season.

 

[nelletap]

Thanks for asking the question. I have no landing boards at the moment but want to add them because when they are trying to get in a reduced entrance it looks as though they desperately need one. However, I had no knowledge to back it up. I have tried to use my instinct with my bees but with teh knowledge I have gleaned to support my decisions. I am not sure that any of the hives I have visited have had landing boards. I am assuming that basically a piece of wood with a triangular cross section added to my hives would do the trick. Interesting to read the couple of comments from those who don't like them.
Tricia

 

[Black Comb]

For my first season with 2 hives I ran one with and one without.
Could not see that a l/b made any difference so now run without.

 

[victor meldrew]

Why not use clip-on landing boards? gets around the inability to stack hives for transit
If you latterly disprove of them, simply unhook/clip

John Wilkinson

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

Why not use clip-on landing boards? gets around the inability to stack hives for transit
If you latterly disprove of them, simply unhook/clip

John Wilkinson

John - are these commercally available or it is a DIY job?

 

[victor meldrew]

Never seen them commercially , but a couple of stout staples and a couple of bent nails does the trick . after all they're not required to facilitate emergency landing strips for Airbuses

John Wilkinson

 

[Finman]

.
It is one of those eternal question.

Absolutely landing board is correct.

 

[Tom Bick]

The bees dont need then but I think they help the returning bee at times. If a returning bee falls short of the hive and ends up under the hive she may cling to the underside of the mesh, and it has been reported many times that clusters of bees are under the mesh and the landing board may help in reducing this.

It is also great to watch the bees take a summer evening stroll at the entrance of the hive.

If you are concerned with the landing board getting in the way if you move a hive John’s suggestion is the answer and a simple solution.

 

[Otleybee]

Both of my hives have landing boards and they are attached to the stand and not to the hive. I wimped out of making them in the end and bought the Tho***s ones. They are not cheap but very quick and easy to put together.

The benefits of a landing board are it is much easier to see what is going in and out.
I love just sitting and watching the bees.
I just strap up the hive to move it around the on the stand with landing board attached. There is no need to remove the stand when moving the hive. If you needed to stack the hives when moving them this would not work.

Some of you may remember that I am moving hives across the garden into the new apiary so strap up the hives fairly regularly. After the move yesterday several bees came back to the wrong hive and I watched them being checked out by the guard bees on the landing board. The intruder sat still very quietly while being checked out by the guards. This involved working up and down the intruder bee for four or five minutes. When the guards lost interest the intruder flew off. If there was no landing board I would not have seen all of this.

 

[666bees]

My hive has one and its great to see the bees landing on it with the pollen, but it really comes into its own when the weather is windy. So I would always put one on now.

 

[BILL.HEARD]

Old slate from roofs do the trick, they just slide under the floor.

 

[Skyhook]

My hive has one and its great to see the bees landing on it with the pollen, but it really comes into its own when the weather is windy. So I would always put one on now.

Maybe that's the difference. I have one on my hive stand, and the bees don't touch it- fly straight in the door, so I'm not bothering on my new ones. HOWEVER, mine are in a very sheltered corner.

 

[Wraith]

Thanks Guy's for all the replies. I'm building them into the stands so no problems with transporting hives, They will be in a windy area at times, I'm just starting out and will be looking at bees alot (not internally) so would be nice to see them flying in and out. so for me I think it's a yes. I'm going to build stands like these BEES-NATIONAL-HIVE-STAND as It's only a two hive Apairy any more will have to be out based.

 

[nelletap]

Do you remember the little metal hooks and latches that were common on cupboards? They consisted of a longer piece which would be horizontal and hook onto a metal loop using the bent over end of the latch. They'd often be on shed doors, or outide loos. I wonder whether a pair of those could be used with a wedge of wood to make a very easy removable landing board?
Tricia

 

[Dishmop]

I have noticed that in weather which is not ideal for the bees to be out and they are struggling a bit with the cold.... they use too much energy hovering in front of the hive and might drop onto the cold ground or wet grass and are then unable to take off again because they are too cold/wet.

 

[onriver]

Aesthetically I think landing boards are much better and if you don't want to be bothered with a WBC it changes a stack of boxes into a bee hive

 

[victor meldrew]

Old slate from roofs do the trick, they just slide under the floor.

A Word of caution ! Slates absorb heat like there's no tomorrow !.
On a sunny day it's impossible to keep your hand on for more than a couple of seconds .
I can see the bees ignoring it and flying straight into the entrance or advancing with the funny gait of the Saharan sand lizard

John Wilkinson