Open mesh floors and brood space above them

[charentejohn]

Setting up for next year and just wondered how close the brood would be to an open mesh floor. Just thinking that it could be colder if some air movement. I know the bees keep the brood warm but when the queen is laying, to be extreme, you don't want a cold blast of air.

I am using Warre hives and so the bees will build down until year end. How close should they be to the floor at that point ? Just considering number of hive boxes as I can leave them a spare underneath.
Just curious as to what gap they normally leave, in any hive format, as I can't seem to find any info on that online.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Just curious as to what gap they normally leave, in any hive format, as I can't seem to find any info on that online.

summer - mine have brood all the way to the bottom of the frame - a bee space from the mesh floor.
In the winter it doesn't matter as the brood contract to almost nothing and will just be a spot in the middle of the frame, as they eat the stores the cluster will creep further away from the bottom.

 

[drex]

I m with JBM on this one. If my Warre is in two boxes come winter set up, I leave it as it is, but if the population is small, such that they enter winter with just one box, then I put another underneath. It makes me feel better, probably makes no difference to the bees, since as winter progresses the cluster tends to move up anyway

 

[charentejohn]

Thanks, that makes sense just wanted to hear it
I can see how they would reduce or move any brood up over winter so should be no problem then as well clear. I was just concerned about the open floor, I am using a tube type one and it says to just leave it open, which I will. I have a gap below it so any wind does not blow directly on it but the air just above will be the same as outside as regards temperature. That said by the time the temp is low they will be long gone in an upward direction.

I will by then have 3 boxes which I will leave all year round. If they are fully in the lower box by winter I will be amazed. I would expect about two boxes and maybe a bit in the lower one.

 

[madasafish]

I experimented with this in spring in my early days.
Draughts in the lower half of the brood box slow spring growth - when climatic conditions vary in Spring..

(The sunny South is less prone to this.. with Winter there often being warmer than our Spring)

 

[Beefriendly]

With most of my hives on double brood I find, in spring, many of my queens are reluctant to lay in the colder lower box. I manage the colonies by taking frames of brood downwards and bring empty frames ready for laying upwards.
Noticeably as the weather warms up this reluctance for queen to use frames in lower boxes next to open mesh floors seems to disappear.
If you just have the one box you are not giving the queen any choice where she lays.

 

[drex]

In spring I swap positions of my double brood boxes. Encourages queen to lay right up against the excluder and fill the empty space. I think it enhances Spring build up and is said to delay swarm preps.
Am further south than bee friendly however.

 

[mdotb]

I have experimented (not very scientifically) with Slatted Racks this year to see if using them encourages better laying to the bottom of frames (I run 14x12). They seem to be largely unused in the uk, so I built my own. From reading, it appears they had a spell of popularity in the US, though I don’t know if there’s anything more than anecdotal evidence of any benefit.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I have experimented (not very scientifically) with Slatted Racks this year to see if using them encourages better laying to the bottom of frames (I run 14x12). They seem to be largely unused in the uk, so I built my own. From reading, it appears they had a spell of popularity in the US, though I don’t know if there’s anything more than anecdotal evidence of any benefit.

And did they make any difference?
They are popular with Flow hive owners.

 

[mdotb]

And did they make any difference?
They are popular with Flow hive owners.

I’ve had a good year, and good laying patterns, with full depth of comb used. It’s one season on two hives, in a not-particularly scientific method with no fair ‘control’ (only nucs or splits to compare with), so really not possible to attribute any of that quantifiable to a benefit of the racks. What I would say is that I’ve not experienced any problems or detrimental effects of having them in, so they’re staying for now.