Tunnel Entrance..

[Millet]

Several years ago when i got my first colony i was tortured with wasps..i asked advice on this very forum and Beefriendly came up with a cracking idea which i modified to suit me..
I had never heard of or seen them before but it was a tunnel entrance attached to the outside of the hive made with various pieces of wood...
After a bit of playing and thinking i came up with this idea for a standard national open mesh floor..
Height and width wise may vary depending where you buy your floors from or if you make your own regarding the full entrance block size..

The tunnel entrance it's self is 100mm wide x 100mm deep into the hive and 8mm high..all the cutting can be done with a good electric chop saw or a good old hand saw and wood chisel...

You will see a small shim of wood with a screw...that is to narrow the entrance down to 50mm wide and other shims can be used to go to a single bee space..
I have made and used underfloor entrances but imho from viewing the entrances and floors of eight colonies over the past 4/5years the tunnel entrances win hands down..not a wasp on this planet can fight it's way through those narrowed down tunnel entrances..these entrances also double up as mouse guards and i leave them in all year but pull them out when the double brood colonies are bursting summer time.

I will now try to attach some picture's..
Dani Feel free to edit as i do not know what order they will come or if the images are acceptable but i can take more pictures tomorrow..
Steve.

Ps i think it worked ok.

 

[Beersmith]

Great post.

 

[pargyle]

This sort of tunnel entrance would work on Paynes Poly hives as well .. the only concern I would have is that the front three or four frames will be sitting on top of the timber at the sides with no bee space at the bottom the odds are that my bees would stick the frames to the timber.

I think there is a way round this though ... if you cut the timber into a T shape leaving the tunnel entrance with thin sides and the bits to either side just the size of the brood box front wall. Only four more cuts on the table saw.

 

[Millet]

Great post.

Thank you..if you have any problems fire away.

 

[The Poot in Somerset]

Thanks Millet - looks simple enough. I had intended to make some last year but didn't get around to it - regretted it in the Jasper season!
It's on my to do list again now.

 

[Millet]

Thanks Millet - looks simple enough. I had intended to make some last year but didn't get around to it - regretted it in the Jasper season!
It's on my to do list again now.

...thank you Mr poot..if you do make some leave them in for winter also..no mice can get through them +.

 

[Anduril]

This sort of tunnel entrance would work on Paynes Poly hives as well .. the only concern I would have is that the front three or four frames will be sitting on top of the timber at the sides with no bee space at the bottom the odds are that my bees would stick the frames to the timber.

I think there is a way round this though ... if you cut the timber into a T shape leaving the tunnel entrance with thin sides and the bits to either side just the size of the brood box front wall. Only four more cuts on the table saw.

Are you using top bee space?

 

[pargyle]

Are you using top bee space?

Yes, but I create the top bee space with a rim on my clear crownboard. I have't had chance yet to check with an empty hive and a frame whether the frames come down below the level of the top of the entrance block. If they do then there will need to be a bit more modification to make it work.

 

[Swarm]

Yes, but I create the top bee space with a rim on my clear crownboard. I have't had chance yet to check with an empty hive and a frame whether the frames come down below the level of the top of the entrance block. If they do then there will need to be a bit more modification to make it work.

That rim just creates space over the bees, your frames are still operating as BBS. When sitting on the runners, the bottom bars should reach the top of the rebate on the bottom of the brood box.
I believe JBM makes his floors with no rim and finds the bee space sufficient for the bees. I run mine TBS, so I add a rim around my floors to provide space under the frames, otherwise they would be touching the floor.

 

[user 6228]

The interaction of the honey bee colony and entrance is potentially one of the most complex facets (e.g. defence, bee traffic, humidity, heat and air transport) of the honey bee colony, Yet is probably the least studied. Restoring at least some aspects of the feature that would be present in a tree is a start.

 

[Lancs Lad]

The interaction of the honey bee colony and entrance is potentially one of the most complex facets (e.g. defence, bee traffic, humidity, heat and air transport) of the honey bee colony, Yet is probably the least studied. Restoring at least some aspects of the feature that would be present in a tree is a start.

Through your research where and what kind of entrance do you recommend.

 

[user 6228]

Through your research where and what kind of entrance do you recommend.

At the moment it points to long, 12cm^2 crossectional area and with a long distance down from the top of the nest.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Restoring at least some aspects of the feature that would be present in a tree is a start.

Make them from wood then

 

[Hachi]

At the moment it points to long, 12cm^2 crossectional area and with a long distance down from the top of the nest.

A bit more detail in the answer please Derek, Bee goes into the entrance level with top of comb inside hive, into a tunnel that goes down to the bottom of comb where the bee exits tunnel into hive proper at base of comb,

Or:

Goes through entrance at top of hive into short tunnel, thickness of wall of hollowed out tree, into hive at the top. This design asks more questions than it answers...….

 

[Erichalfbee]

A bit more detail in the answer please Derek, Bee goes into the entrance level with top of comb inside hive, into a tunnel that goes down to the bottom of comb where the bee exits tunnel into hive proper at base of comb,

Or:

Goes through entrance at top of hive into short tunnel, thickness of wall of hollowed out tree, into hive at the top. This design asks more questions than it answers...….

I took it to mean that the bee goes into an entrance well below where the nest starts.
I have an insulated box about 14x12 and a half size attached to a tree at the bottom of the garden. It has two entrances. One at the bottom in the middle and one at the top in a corner. The bees use the top one blocking up the bottom one in winter and opening it up again at peak times. I don’t know whereabouts in the box the nest is though.

 

[user 6228]

Bees go for bottom entrances when tree nest is ~1.5m tall - so you need maximise the difference in height between the top of the hive and the entrance (1.5m may be a bit impractical but adding an extra 200mm on the bottom is doable ), entrance tunnel length 150mm +