Open Mesh Floor or Solid

[BrianO]

Hi

Did touch on this on another post I had but would love to investigate further.

Have Bees on site on allotment Apiary site , other Hives 4 No. there also owned by others.

Negative Points:
Under Leylandii trees, does not get morning sun, has 12' fine mesh screen to one long side and trees as mentioned to other long side.

Plus Points :
Is slightly elevated so that is good re not in a frost pocket. 3 fields of allotments for forage and plenty of well stocked gardens near.

Got a Nuc on 23.05.14, hived them up 25.05.14 into National standard Brood Box, first inspection 01.06.14. Spotted queen, laying well plenty of new comma eggs, small larvae and some sealed brood and honey and pollen stores.,Started to draw down new frame either side of 5 original frames received.

Now to get to the point, had solid floor in for first week, and colony had progressed as above with it in, took it out for 2 days but on advice from others put it back in.

Dont want to make wrong choice , but my reckoning is a solid floor must be better because ,

• Obviously Bees use vital energy trying to keep the Brood chamber at a correct temperature

• It is Ireland !! our summers are usually ( now about 10 degrees out there ) crappy !

• The Apiary does not get full sun so no danger of overheating

• It is a new colony so they have yet to draw down the new frames with foundation so it is still a big space to heat.

Surely there is no hard and fast rule and the answer to this question should be based on criteria such as above .... I do not definitively know but would love to hear more experienced opinions ??

Thanks !

 

[jd101k2000]

Heat rises. As long as you do not have top ventilation they will be fine.

If you have solid floors then varroa mites dropping off your bees will clamber back up onto them.

 

[BrianO]

Thanks, OK might be explaining incorrecty, there is the standard mesh floor and the metal tray below , that is the solid floor i am taking of,

 

[drstitson]

"It is a new colony so they have yet to draw down the new frames with foundation so it is still a big space to heat."

the standard solution to this problem is just to add 1-2 frames of foundation at a time, as needed, dummying down the rest of the brood box - maybe with insulation in the space and insulation on top of crown board. as you say dropping 5 frames from a nuc into a big rattling box isn't a good idea.

OMF is part of recommended IPM for varroa.

 

[Moggs]

Hi


Dont want to make wrong choice , but my reckoning is a solid floor must be better because ,

• Obviously Bees use vital energy trying to keep the Brood chamber at a correct temperature

• It is Ireland !! our summers are usually ( now about 10 degrees out there ) crappy !

• The Apiary does not get full sun so no danger of overheating

• It is a new colony so they have yet to draw down the new frames with foundation so it is still a big space to heat.

Surely there is no hard and fast rule and the answer to this question should be based on criteria such as above .... I do not definitively know but would love to hear more experienced opinions ??

Thanks !

Well, no, there are no hard and fast rules. Your observations are all relevant but you omit one very important consideration. Bees cannot tolerate condensation and you are more likely to experience condensation with a solid floor.

This, coupled with the advantage of varroa drop, leads me to operate OMF all year round.

 

[jd101k2000]

... as you are referring to an insert, that should be out except when you are collecting varroa for a count.

Plus what Moggs says about condensation.

 

[BrianO]

OK, I could well be, the metal tray below the open mesh floor that slides out, but when in seals off the hive underneath to the outside elements.

 

[oliver90owner]

It also seals in all sorts of decaying detritus where the bees are unable to do anything about it.

It will only attract 'beekeeping vermin', munching on the detritus and generally nicely stewing up any pathogens present. Cannot be seen as good for the bees.

 

[tonel]

I leave the tray out and cover any holes in crownboard. Seems to work okay even though it's often wet and windy here. The tray if left in will soon collect debris which may attract wax moth etc.