Should we leave varroa board under the Mesh Floor in winter?

[Gilberdyke John]

Just now, when I leave my front door open for more than a minute, I can feel the cold air even if I'm at the far end of the house. One of the sliding doors to the patio was badly fitted when new and there is a minor gap where the rubber seal doesn't quite meet; I can feel the cold air when I'm near it.

Obviously, all of my hives have open entrances of various sizes. They have various versions of sliding insert under the floor and all of them, bar the latest Abelo, by design have a loose or incomplete fit. In comparison with my home, the smaller internal volume of the hives in proportion to their "front doors" or badly fitting inserts implies that they are probably getting more than enough ventilation to control excessive condensation and it seems extremely unlikely that the bees will suffer from a lack of air.

Despite being so snugly retained, the bees are obviously still getting a very direct sense of external temperature variations because they appear and disappear in sync. with most reports of bee activity on this forum. I think the root of the debate concerning the retention of the inspection board or tray is related to the bigger dilemma of insulation and whether, in the UK climate, it is better for the bees to be exposed to the cold of the winter or to be protected from it.

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Don't know if you live in a bungalow or a house but in a house with windows and loft hatch closed does an open door downstairs affect upstairs temperatures to any significant degree?

 

[Newbeeneil]

And in my opinion are not needed and another un-needed piece of equipment for fiddlers to fiddle with

I'm sure you are right but idle hands during last winter had me making one to try. But what is interesting is I've just been to check on the hives in the apiary that that hive is in. Of the 9 hives that one looks (from observation through the clear crown board) like it's far stronger than any of the others. Pure coincidence I'm sure.

 

[victor meldrew]

I'm sure you are right but idle hands during last winter had me making one to try. But what is interesting is I've just been to check on the hives in the apiary that that hive is in. Of the 9 hives that one looks (from observation through the clear crown board) like it's far stronger than any of the others. Pure coincidence I'm sure.

I’m not sure this fiddling with hives in Winter time is helpful .
but merely serves to satisfy curiosity but doesn’t do the bees any good .
glass crown boards give the illusion of non interference but admit light which causes at least a relaxation of the cluster and disturbance to the temp regulation.
not life threatening I know but something the bees could do without .
before opening a hive, winter , summer autumn or spring . As yourself “ why am I opening this hive ? “
if no valid reason springs to mind , leave it alone .
this is my approach to beekeeping,not everybody’s I know

 

[Newbeeneil]

I’m not sure this fiddling with hives in Winter time is helpful .
but merely serves to satisfy curiosity but doesn’t do the bees any good .
glass crown boards give the illusion of non interference but admit light which causes at least a relaxation of the cluster and disturbance to the temp regulation.
not life threatening I know but something the bees could do without .
before opening a hive, winter , summer autumn or spring . As yourself “ why am I opening this hive ? “
if no valid reason springs to mind , leave it alone .
this is my approach to beekeeping,not everybody’s I know



I'm sure you approach to beekeeping works as well as anyone else's. The reason for taking the roof off was to add a new container of fondant which the very strong hive seem to be demolishing at a rate of knots in this warm weather.
I think a lot of beekeepers will come unstuck this year as in my experience the colonies are demolishing stores!

 

[Newbeeneil]

I’m not sure this fiddling with hives in Winter time is helpful .
but merely serves to satisfy curiosity but doesn’t do the bees any good .
glass crown boards give the illusion of non interference but admit light which causes at least a relaxation of the cluster and disturbance to the temp regulation.
not life threatening I know but something the bees could do without .
before opening a hive, winter , summer autumn or spring . As yourself “ why am I opening this hive ? “
if no valid reason springs to mind , leave it alone .
this is my approach to beekeeping,not everybody’s I know

I'm sure you approach to beekeeping works as well as anyone else's. The reason for taking the roof off was to add a new container of fondant which the very strong hive seem to be demolishing at a rate of knots in this warm weather.
I think a lot of beekeepers will come unstuck this year as in my experience the colonies are demolishing stores.

 

[victor meldrew]

I'm sure you approach to beekeeping works as well as anyone else's. The reason for taking the roof off was to add a new container of fondant which the very strong hive seem to be demolishing at a rate of knots in this warm weather.
I think a lot of beekeepers will come unstuck this year as in my experience the colonies are demolishing stores.

It used to be said “ The use of fondant is a sign that the beekeepers winter preparations are inadequate ( in his mind ) .
we can’t deny it , the seasons are blurring . I give each hive a kilo of fondant around the time of OA vaping .

 

[Murox]

.....no......my approach is so far to the opposite of that as to have the potential to attract criticism for "mollycoddling".
But from some of the responses on this thread, many people obviously find that the exposure which an uncovered, open-mesh floor allows is of no detriment to their bees or is good for them.

I doubt there is a simple right or wrong way/answer, bees end up and survive in some odd places - I reckon they naturally avoid any place that is "extreme" in any particular way. - balance and moderation plus the occasional bit of mollycoddling/ good husbandry seems sensible enough to me.

 

[madasafish]

I doubt there is a simple right or wrong way/answer, bees end up and survive in some odd places - I reckon they naturally avoid any place that is "extreme" in any particular way. - balance and moderation plus the occasional bit of mollycoddling/ good husbandry seems sensible enough to me.

I treat bees as I would treat my wife: with love, caution and an eye for an escape route

 

[user 20297]

the
Don't know if you live in a bungalow or a house but in a house with windows and loft hatch closed does an open door downstairs affect upstairs temperatures to any significant degree?

One day over Christmas, my stepson came home after a jolly night out, whilst we were asleep upstairs; he left the back door wide open until morning. How we cheered at the extra waking hours made available to us by the arctic blast which greeted us from downstairs.

 

[Murox]

I treat bees as I would treat my wife: with love, caution and an eye for an escape route

 

[Moobee]

The inspection trays in my hives are reborn as wind baffles over winter .
the occasional peep I take before I brush and replace tells me quite a bit about the state of the colony such as where in the hive the bees are , how many frames they are covering etc.
no way are any varroa having fallen through the OMF going to climb back into the hive .
leaving the trays out for ventilation purposes assumes the beekeeper knows more about ventilation than the bees ,
I don’t think so !

Me too. I live on a very windy bit of the West Sussex coast and we have frequent high winds and gales (more forecast for tomorrow ) so it makes sense to me to keep the trays in and as my hives are not far away, I can take out, inspect and clean regularly.

 

[Patrick1]

No screened floors in trees ………….just saying

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I can show you a bee tree where you can stick your head and shoulders in to the hole at the base and look up at the colony which has been happily living there for years.

 

[Patrick1]

It’s a strange subject, in the past few years I have favored solid floors, for no particular reason, it started when leaving the varroa floor in place allowed a healthy wax moth breading area, that stops with the solid floor. I know it’s been discussed on the forum before and in some detail.

We monitor varroa through inspections, having so many hives give us the luxury of being able to compare hives and loads on bees, in reality if you can see the phoretic mites you need to treat.

 

[Murox]

It’s a strange subject, in the past few years I have favored solid floors, for no particular reason, it started when leaving the varroa floor in place allowed a healthy wax moth breading area, that stops with the solid floor. I know it’s been discussed on the forum before and in some detail.

We monitor varroa through inspections, having so many hives give us the luxury of being able to compare hives and loads on bees, in reality if you can see the phoretic mites you need to treat.

Why did Open Mesh Floors get invented ? I fully agree that you can inadvertently create a wax moth haven.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Why did Open Mesh Floors get invented

It was nothing to do with Varroa, there are examples from the early 20th Century.
More to do with bottom air circulation without compromising the ability to control colony heat.

 

[Boston Bees]

No screened floors in trees ………….just saying

No foundation either, but you seem to believe it's neglect not to provide a swarm with it

 

[Erichalfbee]

I always put starter strips in my bait hives. The bees draw them pretty quickly. Some say quicker than foundation.

 

[Patrick1]

No foundation either, but you seem to believe it's neglect not to provide a swarm with it

I am sorry if my observation is disturbing, the neglect is not being available to check the hive as it progresses or not.

A swarm, not a cast, will do very well on its own in May, June and July may be more of a problem as the foraging in some areas like ours where the main foraging is top fruit and gone by June.

 

[deemann1]

It

the
Don't know if you live in a bungalow or a house but in a house with windows and loft hatch closed does an open door downstairs affect upstairs temperatures to any significant degree?

It Does if the door is left open all winter