few questions

[ajs32]

hived new pkgs last saturday, am using screened bottom boards.. some of the bees are more interested in going under the screen than in the hive,,,blocked it w/ grass and they removed it! seems a small number of them so should i not worry or would it be safe to remove the screened bottom board for better fit
ALSO.... using entrance feeders, but temps are 50 to 60 not much sun can i set these up as top feeders or will this confuse the bees? also ants are getting to be a common site on my visits
generally how many holes to poke in the lids for drip feeding? afraid to give it too fast...thanks for any replies

[mgmoore7]

Not sure why the bees are missing the entrance and going under the hive. I would not worry about it though unless a whole bunch are getting confused.

Do 4-6 holes. A thumb tac makes good holes. I know a huge beekeeper that does just one hole for his queen breeding hives. It just give a constant source of feed. For a package though, you want to give them as much as they want. If they don't want it and find better stuff they will ignore it.