Landing boards

[Popparand]

Half my hives have landing boards and half don't. The landing boards on hives that have them are also used as toilets by the local pigeon population and any other passing wildlife so have to be cleaned regularly.

The bees in the other hives that don't have landing boards don't seem to mind. They just hang onto the front of the hive for a few seconds if they don't fly straight in.

So are landing boards just a waste of time and effort?

 

[Lancs Lad]

Half my hives have landing boards and half don't. The landing boards on hives that have them are also used as toilets by the local pigeon population and any other passing wildlife so have to be cleaned regularly.

The bees in the other hives that don't have landing boards don't seem to mind. They just hang onto the front of the hive for a few seconds if they don't fly straight in.

So are landing boards just a waste of time and effort?

I have all Paynes hives their landing boards are big enough to land a 747 on , over 8 years ago I sawed them all off and not found any problem, they are much easier to transport, and bees don't have them in the wild.

 

[iann41]

I think its one of those times where its not needed, but doesn't hurt to have a landing board.

I have OMF without an entrance block. Then I stick a piece of 4" wide timber in the full length entrance leaving a 3" gap for the bees to enter the hive. This timber is only pushed 1" into the hive thus leaving a 3" landing board the full length of the hive front. Scrap pieces of pallet wood are ideal for this and free.

 

[Antipodes]

A landing board may be useful for bees that "miss" the entrance (probably cold, full and exhausted - seeing many like that here now) -so it might catch a few that would otherwise fall in front of the hive and perish. It also can help keep an entrance clear by keeping long grass just that bit further out. I guess if you are in a snowy area, snow might pile up on the entrance board causing problems.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

So are landing boards just a waste of time and effort?

Landing boards are there for the benefit of the beeeeper rather than the bees. I've had hives on standard floors with the medium entrance, never with a landing board and it hasn't been an issue for the bees.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I don’t think it makes much difference. It maybe gives exhausted returning bees a better landing are to aim for.
Most of my colonies are in under floor entrances so they not only have a landing board but a roof over it

 

[enrico]

A landing board does stop them underflying and clustering on the OMF but I have half and half with no obvious difference
E

 

[ShinySideUp]

A landing board may be useful for bees that "miss" the entrance (probably cold, full and exhausted - seeing many like that here now) -so it might catch a few that would otherwise fall in front of the hive and perish. It also can help keep an entrance clear by keeping long grass just that bit further out. I guess if you are in a snowy area, snow might pile up on the entrance board causing problems.

Half my hives have them, half don't and it doesn't seem to matter. Yes, the snow does pile up on them and obscure the entrance on the odd occasion we have snow but since they are unlikely to be flying anyway the snow just provides a little insulation until it melts (usually within the hour down here).

 

[Walrus]

Brother Adam used to like a landing board - 747 sized and down to the ground (see photo) - I think the logic was that it made it easier for shaken nurse bees to get back in, and also clipped queens that failed to swarm could crawl back. It doesn't seem to have caught on.

Photo copyright David Kemp

 

[Erichalfbee]

Brother Adam used to like a landing board - 747 sized and down to the ground (see photo) - I think the logic was that it made it easier for shaken nurse bees to get back in, and also clipped queens that failed to swarm could crawl back. It doesn't seem to have caught on.

Photo copyright David Kemp

Love it
Just slide them up a few inches when it snows

 

[Ian123]

No landing boards on mine I can’t get the hives in the pickup I get 10 in a layer

 

[Antipodes]

Love it
Just slide them up a few inches when it snows

and move them out a bit and you have your Taranov board ready to go!

 

[mazzamazda]

+1 for no Asian hornet resting boards ;-)

 

[Finman]

Landing boards are good.

 

[Finman]

and move them out a bit and you have your Taranov board ready to go!

ThatTaranow board makes no sense. Huge apparatus.

You can use what ever piece of board that bees walk into the hive.

 

[linoleum bonypart]

Surprised no one mentioned underfloor entrances... Great inventions

 

[Erichalfbee]

Surprised no one mentioned underfloor entrances... Great inventions

Post 6

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Surprised no one mentioned underfloor entrances... Great inventions

But after years of observation, even though each floor affords a spacious landing area, I have seen that most bees fly straight in to the hive through the entrance slit without availing itself of the horizontal surface, and, of a summer evening (or now when the heather is being shovelled in) when bees like to hang around outside leaving the honey ripeners space to move the air around I have noticed that in general they again ignore the horizontal landing area and prefer to hang off the vertical surfaces

 

[Erichalfbee]

Mine like the porch.
Some land on it
Some fly straight up like yours
One thing they practically all do when there is a mighty flow is that they try to fly straight out at speed, hit the porch floor and pitch themselves upside down. It doesn’t seem to hurt them at all