taff..,
showing that the dividing board is not bee proof, would that make any difference if you had 2 colonies in there?
It would most certainly make a difference! There would be a high risk of losing one queen if a queen could get by. Artificial swarming might well lead to real swarming, thus 100% defeating the object of the artificial swarm!
It can be a problem of the Dartington design. My first had two layers of overlapping mesh and the floor has to be level to accommodate the divider (wherever it may be positioned). I was very careful to seat it firmly on the floor and make sure it sealed at the top without any protrusion - which would have lifted the supers or cover-boards.
I used a single layer of mesh in the second - much better, but still might be a pain if there is debris on the hive floor.
Losing a few bees is another of the down-sides of the design.
The plastic materials of the beehaus should make these things more easily controlled.
Bee-tightness of the roof is a non-starter as regards a problem. The roof simply covers the coverboards which will be the barrier to infiltrators. Basically, OMF, so no top ventilation, so no entry to the hive possible. Trapped bees need to exit from that area (after the roof is put in place) - I fitted escapes in my roofs.
Regards, RAB
showing that the dividing board is not bee proof, would that make any difference if you had 2 colonies in there?
It would most certainly make a difference! There would be a high risk of losing one queen if a queen could get by. Artificial swarming might well lead to real swarming, thus 100% defeating the object of the artificial swarm!
It can be a problem of the Dartington design. My first had two layers of overlapping mesh and the floor has to be level to accommodate the divider (wherever it may be positioned). I was very careful to seat it firmly on the floor and make sure it sealed at the top without any protrusion - which would have lifted the supers or cover-boards.
I used a single layer of mesh in the second - much better, but still might be a pain if there is debris on the hive floor.
Losing a few bees is another of the down-sides of the design.
The plastic materials of the beehaus should make these things more easily controlled.
Bee-tightness of the roof is a non-starter as regards a problem. The roof simply covers the coverboards which will be the barrier to infiltrators. Basically, OMF, so no top ventilation, so no entry to the hive possible. Trapped bees need to exit from that area (after the roof is put in place) - I fitted escapes in my roofs.
Regards, RAB
