entrance holes

[BjornBee]

I have not yet drilled the entrance for the tbh. Any comments on bottom or top, or anything relating to entrances for a tbh?

[Michael Bush]

I didn't drill any holes. I just leave a gap at the front bar (to make the gap horizontally) and (depending on the TBH design) prop the top to make a gap vertically. I see no reason to drill holes in the hive.

In other words: With the bars on top of the sides, you simply leave the first bar back 3/8" or more. With the bars inset in the box, you just prop the top up 1/4" to 3/8".

[BjornBee]

Interesting MB. Not sure about having the bees use the top as an entrance however. I like the idea of working from the top without the guard bees and interference from bees coming and going. I will have to think about that. I do like the concept though.

[TX Ashurst]

I built several TBHs with 1/2" holes in a line near the bottom of one end. It worked, but it seemed like the bees were terribly crowded, so I drilled a couple of 1 1/4" holes at the brood end - one high, one low - and another near the top at the back of the hive.

I think Mr. Bush's idea is just as good, if not better, but here's the deal. Do what you like, because the bees don't care very much as long as they can get in and out and have some air circulation. If you don't believe it, just take a gander at the entrances to a few wild hives.

There are no rules.

[Dick Allen]

Mine was built last year. The bottom is 9 inches wide. I made a front opening there about 5 inches by 3/4 inch. Later I decided to trap some pollen from the bees. My front mounted plastic pollen trap was too wide to properly fit on the bottom. So, I drilled five 1 inch holes spaced about a half inch apart higher up on the face of the hive to install the front mounted pollen trap.

[D. Murrell]

Hi Guys,

I tried putting the entrance on the ends(a series of 3/4" holes). And on each end of a long side( a 3/8" x 12" slot).

The slot entrance seems to give the bees an advantage during the hotter part of the summer. And I prefer it over the end entrance.

David McDonald reports on his site, that the bees will seal the end entrances off and use the side entrances, when both kinds of entrances on the SAME hive.

Regards
Dennis

[limulus]

I just drill holes in the end, sized to match the stoppers that I had sitting around in case I nead to close them up. some have upper entrances as well as lower. Those with both tend to get the upper entrances propolized shut, or at least reduced to very small holes.

[Dick Allen]

Bees propolized the upper holes on my tbh, too, when the pollen trap was not in place and they were allowed access to the lower opening.

[Scot Mc Pherson]

limulus brings up an intresting idea. If you drill holes the size of corks or stoppers you have laying arounf you can drill holes right next to each other to make a line...similar to queen cages...and use corks as entrance reducers.

[Tomas]

My trap hives, which hold nine or ten top bars, have an entrance on both ends about 3/4 of an inch by 3 inches. Many times the bees will just about probalize this shut. These entrances are located more or less in the middle of the trapezoidal end pieces.

On the permanent hives I keep the entrance at the bottom of the end pieces, leaving it the width of the bottom (seven inches). I usually extend the bottom a bit for a landing board and with the idea of maybe installing pollen traps (like Dick). I make my own half-sized pollen traps that rest nicely on the landing board. I have never seen the bees propalize these entrances.

If there is a lot of activity I may leave out the last top bar to make a second entrance at the top of the back part of the hive.
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Tom

[Dick Allen]

When I built my tbh there was a small gap of 1/2 inch or so at the rear when all the bars were set in place. I have other hives in the area and was concerned about robbing so covered the opening with screen thinking the bees would like the ventilation. They propalized most of the screen shut.

[buckbee]

I currently use end entrances, one hole about 1.25", high-ish. These seem perfectly adequate, even when traffic is high, but I am about to experiment with side entrances and they make more sense - bees have free access to several combs and don't have to fly/walk around the front comb as they are now arranged. I think this will provide better ventilation, too, although I have mesh floors anyway.

I think it is important for entrances to be defensible by a reasonable mumber of guard bees, to keep wasps and other intruders at bay.


High entrances seem to make sense - no weed problems, no mouse problems, etc - and bees don't have to walk over a floor that may have mites lurking, ready to pounce.

[Scot Mc Pherson]

Bees "tend" to propolise screening whether they want the ventilation or not. In fact propolis traps work because the bees do this.

[chemistbert]

My bees propolise the entrances down to about .5 inch so that's what size I drill now and they stopped closing it up as bad. one or two is all the seem to like.