Perspex / Polycarbonate Crown Boards

[E&MBees]

Hi,

I have a wooden national hive, that has a wooden crown board with two slots for the porter bee escapes. Although I’m in the south, I’m on top of a hill & tend to catch the worst of the weather. The hive is protected somewhat by the greenhouse and the fence. This will be the first winter that I have kept bees.

Is it worth getting a Perspex / polycarbonate crown board for added insulation and ease of inspection when quickly checking the cluster over Christmas? Should it have Porter bee slots, or is it better to avoid those ones? I have an eke should I need to feed with fondant.

I also have some sheep’s wool insulation, is it worth using it? Or does it cause more problems?

Thanks,
Emily

 

[enrico]

The best thing to do is fit some kingspan or the like, into the roof. Close all other roof holes. Also it helps to have a feeder board with holes, a crown board without holes and no holes to take porter bee escapes as there are better methods for clearing bees. My feeder board has a 3 cm hole in the centre for a feeder which I can put a piece of perspex over to cover it if necessary.
Perspex crown boards won't offer much more insulation but they are good for you to see inside rather than breaking any propolis seals.
E

 

[Erichalfbee]

As enrico
Polycarbonate crown boards are better than Perspex. Have a central feeder hole and cover that. Leave it till spring. The bees would have propolised the top for winter. 50 mm of kingspan cut to fit is ideal. A lot of people have a square permanently fixed into the roof.
As for fondant they shouldn’t need any till late winter if you have fed the bees up with syrup or left them a decent amount of honey. A rule of thumb is 40lb of stores which is 8 ish brood frames full. If you want belt and braces as a beginner then put fondant in now but be mindful of space for the queen to lay in the spring if they have lots of stores left
This is what I have done with fondant in the past

 

[E&MBees]

Thank you! I shall have a look for a polycarbonate crown board. Any suggestions?

 

[Swarm]

Maisemore sell them, various versions with or without holes.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I get mine cut from the polycarbonate shop.
3mm is sufficient to take the weight of a 2 litre feeder without deforming. I glue/screw a beespace rim on one side
The nucs get the same

 

[mike99]

I get mine cut from the polycarbonate shop.
3mm is sufficient to take the weight of a 2 litre feeder without deforming. I glue/screw a beespace rim on one side
The nucs get the same

I need to put some beespace lats on the one I have. A depth of 6mm or less?

 

[enrico]

6mm is ideal if you need a top bee space because there is none.
E

 

[Erichalfbee]

6/8

 

[mike99]

Thanks for the information. I have enough to make one and there is a local place that will make it to size

 

[Poly Hive]

Remember to get some insulation to go on top. Bees love warmth.

PH

 

[E&MBees]

Thanks for all the advice. I am going to build a custom polycarbonate crown board, one side will just have a bee space, the other, enough space to accommodate a lump of fondant on top of the brood frames if needed. When the deeper side is not in use, I can pack insulation into it. I will cut a central hole for a rapid feeder, and reuse the circular cutout to cover the hole when not in use.

Thanks again,
Emily

 

[Poly Hive]

The insulation should be on all the time. I repeat, bees love warmth. We all like a snuggle, and whippets and bees REALLY love a snuggle. I have both.....

PH

 

[E&MBees]

I’ll make sure that they are nice and snug! Thanks for the advice.

 

[Survived-til-now]

You have a cover board with two porter bee escapes. Is it worth getting a polycarbonate board for insulation and ease of inspection?

Short answer - No.

Polycarbonate is a better insulator than glass NOT the wooden one you already have! After any use, polycarbonate is unlikely to be much use in providing information on your cluster - you'd be better off learning the sound a colony over-wintering well makes than relying on looking.

If you put a small perspex square (B&Q) over the feed holes you can see if the bees are right under the coverboard anyway and don't leave the porter escapes in or they get propolised. Insulation on top of the cover board is a must and sheeps wool would be pretty good as long as it cannot get wet. If you use artifical building insulation sheet then seal the exposed edges with duck tape.

One porter bee escape has a disadvantage in that it can get blocked by bees and then not work which is why there are usually two and two is more flexible when putting fondant on top because you can usually find the cluster under one of them. You can also change the fondant without disturbing the bees if you do it first thing in the morning when they are tightly clustered below.

An eke is good if you need to feed fondant (placed over a feed hole) and only if necessary place the fondant on top of the frame bars or you could get wild comb in the spring.

If your hives are exposed, consider buying a closed cell foam sleeping mat from Sports Direct (£4 - £5) and wrapping it around the brood box (leaving the entrance clear), The extra insulation keeps off wind chill and keeps the wood dry, which makes it thermally more efficient.

 

[Beefriendly]

You can also change the fondant without disturbing the bees if you do it first thing in the morning when they are tightly clustered below.
.

Why would one want to change the fondant?
Add more or remove perhaps...

 

[Survived-til-now]

Why would one want to change the fondant?
Add more or remove perhaps...

Both! Assuming it is a fondant block in a clear cellophane wrapper you can see when it is close to being used up, slide in a sheet of acetate between the fondant and the crown board (when the bees are clustered below), take off the old block and discard, pop on another and slide out the acetate - job done - no interference with bees. Or, if another block is not required, pop on a perspex square, take out acetate, and the crownboard is sealed.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

take off the old block and discard,

Why? it's bee food not an used up air freshener

 

[Newbeeneil]

I have some polycarbonate crownboards which can be fun when showing the hives to guests who want to see but don't want you to open up the hive.
All my crownboards have beespace one side and a 50mm eke on the other. This eke is ideal for feeding fondant in the centre of insulation. (As per attached photo) I then add a further layer of insulation to encapsulate the fondant "pocket"
If there are any bees on in the takeaway container when I need to replace I remove the empty one and immediately "clap" it onto the new container of fondant. If you get this right the bees are transferred to the new container which can be quickly put onto the crownboards.

 

[Ian123]

Both! Assuming it is a fondant block in a clear cellophane wrapper you can see when it is close to being used up, slide in a sheet of acetate between the fondant and the crown board (when the bees are clustered below), take off the old block and discard, pop on another and slide out the acetate - job done - no interference with bees. Or, if another block is not required, pop on a perspex square, take out acetate, and the crownboard is sealed.

Never discard the old block even if it’s concrete chuck in a bucket save and dilute for a spring feed.