Ventilation Anxiety

[Poverty Hill]

Hi everyone, We're total beginners at this and was hoping some of you can share you thoughts. We installed our first two packages last weekend and I will be doing my first inspection this coming weekend. We're extremely excited and can hardly wait! The installations went smoothly, after the first few days we saw plenty of pollen coming back into the boxes.. Our packages are in deep ten frame brood boxes with solid bottom boards with top feeders.

Everything I read told me to keep the reducer down to it's smallest opening at the beginning to stop robbing until the worker population can grow enough to guard the larger opening. However, I'm a little concerned that the hive doesn't have enough ventilation, especially since this weekend it's supposedly getting into the nineties here in SE Wisconsin! Am I just over worrying, will the girls not roast inside the hives??? (I know, stupid question probably) I've heard about propping the outer cover open a little..;.. would this just open new entrances that the workers will need to guard and invite potential robbing (especially with a top feeder right there under the inner cover)? Or is 90 plus days okay with the small reducer and solid bottom board. I almost went with screened bottom boards but read so many pro and cons, my head was swirling! Thanks in advance for any help!!!

[Vance G]

If you have well established packages I would have about a two to three inch opening. They are masters at ventilating. They build hives in old car gas tanks and nary a SBB in one of those. Keeping temperature up so they can draw comb and warm the maximum amount of brood is paramount. Your bees will build faster than with an SBB which stands for slow brood buildup.

[scdw43]

A three pound package should be able to defend a hive. I don't have any experience with packages but ten thousand bees should be able to defend a hive.
I have hives with less than a thousand bees in them as they are nucs in ten frame box with no reducer. You won't have problems with robbing during a flow. There have been a lot of questions about reducers and robbing in the last few days. I can't understand where all this fear comes from all of a sudden. Ventilation is important year around. I run SBB's open all year but I have temps in the 100-105 range in the summer and very seldom below 10 degrees in the winter. But bees will cook in a hive if the temps are in the nineties and up in full sun without enough ventilation. Just my opinion. With the weekend coming up, open them up and see what happens if you see bees fighting on the landing board put the reducer back in, if you dont leave it out.

[Poverty Hill]

Thanks for the help, I think this weekend I'll open the reducer a little and maybe prop up the outer cover.

[Rick 1456]

I was asked to look at a colony that had established itself in a house for possible removal a few years back. This was a two story brick colonial from the late 1600's. A seam/space had warped creating an opening 8 inches by half inch or so, between the facia board and roof line just below the apex. This was a slate roof. The bees were in the facia/soffet "chamber. Seems like there would be a bit of heat in that area but the bees survived. They will establish a ventilation system.
Look at what bees do in a natural cavity selection (swarm) Not too many 14 inch long openings that I've seen. One may have 10,000 bees in a hive but only a fraction are "guard" bees. Too much real estate to guard and "things" get into the hive. JMHO

[stajerc61]

You will be able to tell if they are getting hot. They will be hanging out the front door.

[Slow Modem]

put some popsickle sticks under the top cover to allow a little air flow but not bee traffic.

[tjmuenc]

For new bee keepers a lot of things are pretty straight forward, but ventilation is not. Lots of information, but conditions change. To vent other than the reducer area? Our hives don’t have a lot of summer installation as a tree trunk or a car gas tank which is cover by dead air space and outer skin.
My hive is in northern Minnesota and temps don’t get into the 90+ very often and usually the bees are heating the hive. But, when the humidity goes up with the temp, how should I vent or should I?
Assuming the reducer is out and the temp is going to be 90+ what to do?
1) If I put something to prop up the top, am I doing the bees a disservice as they might have a harder time controlling the hive humidity and temp themselves.
2) When you have a SBB do you also vent the top?
3) I’ve heard over and over too much heat will kill a hive or they will swarm.
I am thinking I will cut some branches with leaves and cover the hive with shade on those days it gets to hot and let the bees control the temp. Although I want honey and the bees to do less work cooling and have more time to gather nectar.
This is still a guessing game for the newbie cause there is so much info from different areas.
Comments please.
Tom

"Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it" Psalm 127

[Oldbee]

> "Everything I read told me to keep the reducer down to it's smallest opening at the beginning to stop robbing until the worker population can grow enough to guard the larger opening. However, I'm a little concerned that the hive doesn't have enough ventilation,.."<

Most packages for our area are available and installed during the first week of April through the first week of May. The weather at that time is cool enough to use the smallest entrance. Since you installed the package only last weekend, [I know you have to get packages when you can, and when still available] you are right to be concerned about ventilation and the coming hot weather. The established hives at this time of year are focused on gathering nectar from plentiful natural sources, and not so much on robbing from new hives being fed syrup, or weak hives. I think it would be a good idea to open the entrances a little more and just keep an eye on them.

I use pieces of paint stirrers under the outer cover; most of them are only about 1/8th inch thick, so no bees can enter.