Open mesh floor versus solid floors?

[Stiffy]

I've been experimenting with putting the varroa board into my open mesh floors hives and noticed vast differences in terms of development from 3 seams of bees in a national brood box to 8 seams within a week. They all seem to be outperforming the hives with omf and this is working perfectly for building up colonies for the winter. I just wondered if anyone else could shed some light on this.. is it the added ambient heat in the brood nest with blocking the omf?

I have mostly open mesh but still use few solid boards, frankly don't see any difference.
S


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[mjt68]

Is there evidence that the number of mites falling off and through the OMF is a significant factor to keep Varroa levels down? Doesn't seem likely to me.

I'm by no means advocated solid floors, just wondering how often live and healthy mites fall off bees (rather than dying or injured mites who'd presumably be done for even with a solid floor).

 

[For want of a better word]

I know who you mean, his buckys seemed to be thriving with solid floors when I saw them last... I don't know of anyone else that has them though, or whether anyone would dare stick their head above the parapet and admit it!

I must have about 50.................

sitting in a pile outside the woodshed!!!!

Yeghes da

 

[Finman]

Is there evidence that the number of mites falling off and through the OMF is a significant factor to keep Varroa levels down? Doesn't seem likely to me.

).

IT was popular idea 15 years ago, but no one tell that story any more.

Varroa kill colonies as fast , are they on mesh floor or on solid floor

 

[Finman]

I have mostly open mesh but still use few solid boards, frankly don't see any difference.
S

i have solid floors and entrance reducers. IT is a big difference, do I have reducer totally off, or is 2/3 reduced.

And as I have told, electrict bottom heating finally revieled out the meaning of warm brood box

 

[Stiffy]

i have solid floors and entrance reducers. IT is a big difference, do I have reducer totally off, or is 2/3 reduced.



And as I have told, electrict bottom heating finally revieled out the meaning of warm brood box

Entrance reducer is off during spring/summer on all hives except newly made up nice. I only put back on during winter to keep the mice out
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[Finman]

Entrance reducer is off during spring/summer on all hives except newly made up nice. I only put back on during winter to keep the mice out
S

Yes, but how much you get honey from hive. It revieles, do you do things right.

When I have 3 langstroths as brood system, queen does not lay any more in lowest box when I take reducer off in main yield.

 

[Hivemaker.]

I don't know of anyone else that has them though, or whether anyone would dare stick their head above the parapet and admit it!

I use mainly solid floors, plenty of others i know that do as well, including at least one of the biggest honey farms in England.

 

[Stiffy]

Yes, but how much you get honey from hive. It revieles, do you do things right.



When I have 3 langstroths as brood system, queen does not lay any more in lowest box when I take reducer off in main yield.

Will let you know how much honey I get after this weekend. As we as spring crop which has already been bottled and sold, took an average of two super per hive off last weekend. Not bad for apparently poor year.
Bet you did better though !
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[Bryang]

I close the omf on my hives for the winter, just leaving approx. a inch open at the front, then I raise the rear of the hive slightly so that water does not collect on the floor. The winters in this area are usually very wet (rain) with gusty cyclonic winds. I've found that my hives come throu winter stronger using this method.

 

[oliver90owner]

The main point of this thread has absolutely nothing to do with OMF or solid floors over different periods in the year. This thread was simply poppycock for the time scale.

A week from 3 seams to 8 seams has nothing to do with the number of bees between any two hives being connected to swapping the floor for a week. Get real and report results after 6 weeks and the thread might make some sense. As it is, it is a waste of discussion. A week is not long enough to get any results, let alone draw conclusions.

 

[REDWOOD]

I close the omf on my hives for the winter, just leaving approx. a inch open at the front, then I raise the rear of the hive slightly so that water does not collect on the floor. The winters in this area are usually very wet (rain) with gusty cyclonic winds. I've found that my hives come throu winter stronger using this method.

I found with closing the OMF to a few inches dramatically increases the brood nest compared to fully out when building up in the spring and swarms but I use 14x12 boxes which will take more heating. Fully out in the summer though with full hives.

 

[Finman]

I found with closing the OMF to a few inches dramatically increases the brood nest compared to fully out when building up in the spring and swarms but I use 14x12 boxes which will take more heating. Fully out in the summer though with full hives.

And your temps were same in summer as on spring. Hardly went over 18C.

I have now entrance reducer even if temp are in these days 23C. When hive does not get real yield, it need not much ventilation.
. Nights are 5C. But I have couple upper entrances in hives.

 

[mbc]

Ok, poppycock it seems to be in this case, but does anyone advocate solid floors at all nowadays as you would think that the warmer brood temperature helped development.... And does anyone close the mesh floors over winter months any more?

All my new floors are solid and I will cycle out the mesh as they get older. Bees do better without a drafty arse in my opinion, this is very evident with smaller nucs, if anybody disputes this try setting up a couple of payn nes nucs with a frame of brood a queen and enough bees to cover, block the bottom mesh on some and not on others then sit back and watch how they develop.
Talk of poppycock ignores the expansion and contraction of bees according to temperature, three seams of bees on a cold day can look like seven on a warm day.

 

[fred scuttle]

The main point of this thread has absolutely nothing to do with OMF or solid floors over different periods in the year. This thread was simply poppycock for the time scale.

A week from 3 seams to 8 seams has nothing to do with the number of bees between any two hives being connected to swapping the floor for a week. Get real and report results after 6 weeks and the thread might make some sense. As it is, it is a waste of discussion. A week is not long enough to get any results, let alone draw conclusions.

Good old RAB, always rely on the curmudgeonly perspective although once the degree of poppycock was firmly established I then expanded the question around leaving boards in for the winter and people using solid floors versus OMF... Quite interesting replies from others so far with the random interspersed ramblings of RAB to keep livening it up now and then .

 

[fred scuttle]

All my new floors are solid and I will cycle out the mesh as they get older. Bees do better without a drafty arse in my opinion, this is very evident with smaller nucs, if anybody disputes this try setting up a couple of payn nes nucs with a frame of brood a queen and enough bees to cover, block the bottom mesh on some and not on others then sit back and watch how they develop.
Talk of poppycock ignores the expansion and contraction of bees according to temperature, three seams of bees on a cold day can look like seven on a warm day.

Good point about the seams and how they appear less on a colder day something to take into account during inspections for sure

 

[Finman]

Good old RAB, always rely on the curmudgeonly perspective although once the degree of poppycock was firmly established I then expanded the question around leaving boards in for the winter and people using solid floors versus OMF... Quite interesting replies from others so far with the random interspersed ramblings of RAB to keep livening it up now and then .

i wonder what you laugh. Rab was right. Your experiment was out of all limits .
I do not laugh a bit go that experiment

 

[REDWOOD]

And your temps were same in summer as on spring. Hardly went over 18C.

I have now entrance reducer even if temp are in these days 23C. When hive does not get real yield, it need not much ventilation.
. Nights are 5C. But I have couple upper entrances in hives.

Correct for the day temps but no the night temps was very much colder in march compared than july

 

[Finman]

Correct for the day temps but no the night temps was very much colder in march compared than july

What ever but you have had a cold and rainy summer, and so did we too.

Reason is high pressure centre in Eastern Europe. On the edges of hot area warm front meets cold air front, and result is continuous rains. It depends, where the rainy zone situate and go it moves its site.
My hives are in the South east corner of Finland and we have often those hot weathers. IT is 30 miles to Russian border from here.

 

[Dusty Rhodes]

Reason is high pressure centre in Eastern Europe.

IT is 30 miles to Russian border from here.

I blame Putin, raising international tensions..

Dusty