staggered supers or holes in supers.

[BCBEE]

Hi
I have read in a couple of books about some Beekeppers drilling a 10mm hole in the super to save the bees a trip all through the hive and QE etc so save their little legs and wings and increase honey storage. It seems a good idea if robbing can be prevented.

What about staggering boxes. Does anyone esle do this. ?

 

[Arfermo]

No - but I know a man who does!!! Works well until it rains I imagine and then you need to provide cover over the staggers.

 

[Poly Hive]

Were these UK or North American books?

PH

 

[Finman]

.
I have done this 50 years. The super hole is not so important/favorit than upper hole in the brood box.

I have in every box 15 mm entrance hole, but I seldom use them open in supers.

10 mm hole is too small. There will be too rush on the door.

 

[Finman]

Works well until it rains.

You must drill the hole a little bit upwards that rain water does not go into hive.

 

[Skyhook]

.
I have done this 50 years. The super hole is not so important/favorit than upper hole in the brood box.

I have in every box 15 mm entrance hole, but I seldom use them open in supers.

Makes more sense if you have them closeable.

 

[wightbees]

So do the bees leave by the floor exit and return to the upper entrance?
or is it a bit of what ever .

 

[Rosti]

Would it not be easier to use a modified snelgrove with the inner crown removed rather than compromising the BB fabric?

 

[Midland Beek]

to save the bees a trip all through the hive and QE etc so save their little legs and wings and increase honey storage.

Bees with nectar do not crawl from the entrance all the way up into the supers to spit out whatever they are carrying. They pass it over to house bees which are just inside the hive and it gets passed from bee to bee, with each bee mixing in a little bit of enzyme.

I thought beeks knew how honey was made.

 

[Finman]

.
When bees use some entrance, they carry pollen too. In my hives most of pollen stores are lowest box, but most of pollen are consumed in brood boxes.

I use 3 brood boxes and bees prefer to fly into round upper entrances where the queen lays.

I use solid bottoms.

In the picture there is a hot summer. All entrances are open. It is first week of July and birches are dropping their leaves fo dryness.

 

[Into the lions den]

Have no holes drilled in any of our boxes. Just too inconvenient at migration time.

However, at certain times and in certain circumstances we DO stagger boxes.

1. As part of demaree, to allow the drones hatching from brood that is now above the QEx to fly free and not end up dead on top of the QEx causing serious issues for bee passage.

2. In very hot weather and very strong colonies as an assist to ventilation. Its amazing just how quickly it reduces 'hanging out'.

3. Very strong hives in heavy honey flows. A ventilation assist again which speeds up the ripening process (at the Ling especially, which can have very thin nectar in huge volumes if there is a heatwave after a good soak.)

4. Tall colonies containing a mix of box sizes, as Hoffmans in the deeps and Manleys in the shallows gives rise to an impeded air flow which can hamper yield. The stagger partially helps with this.

5. After reuniting requeening spits back to the mother colony. Helps the bees to find their home without having to run down the surface of the hive and get access through the broodbox that is not their own.

We are using Smith and Langstroth hives and the stagger only opens about a half inch at the front, over the lugs, and because of the box wall thickness you can carefully set it so there is no rear entry as well. Rainfall is then not actually important as any that goes in will just run down the internal box wall. Its not directly falling rain thats the issue anyway as the amount that hits the stagger is minimal, its driving rain from the wrong direction, hitting the box face above the stagger then running down it. A rare occurence not really worth worrying about. The stagger is eliminated as soon as it is no longer needed, as it can lead to excess ventilation by convection heat rising out of the stagger. It is never needed on hives that are less than four, even five, boxes high.

Look up the 'Imirie Shim' for a US origin gadget that tackles this issue. However, if you are really NOT fussy just stick a couple of little sticks or wedges in between the boxes one the sidewalls almost right at the front. Small amounts of ladder comb can be an issue in these cases.

 

[Finman]

.

3. Very strong hives in heavy honey flows. A ventilation assist again which speeds up the ripening process (at the Ling especially, which can have very thin nectar in huge volumes if there is a heatwave after a good soak.)
.

That is perhaps the main reason why I use upper holes. Mayny beekeepers do not use them. But I may close them as much as I want. Only soft plastic into hole and that's it.

I use huge hives on rape fields. I put 1 hive / 5 hectares field.
Hives are 5-6 boxes tall, and it they are not, I join them.

When a good flow begings, there are soon a big cluster of bees on outer walls of the hive. But note, the the rape field is over 1 km away from hives, there are never a cluster outside the hive.

It means that bees fill combs with nectar and they have big difficulties to dry up the yield and cover it.
When I have looked into combs, bees put nectar droplets to dry even into larva cells.

Our rape blooms at the end of June or at the beginning of July. Then arrives fireweed yield and it is as strong.

When bees start to use some hole, you cannot shut and open them all the time.

 

[BCBEE]

Were these UK or North American books?

PH

It was in books written by beek in Auz and NZ