Steve the only stupid question is the one never asked....
Painting the boxes is to help with the elements...if you are going to paint make sure you use a LATEX paint so the inside moisture can be drawn out of the box. I would paint the top edges and bottom edges. I would not paint the inside of the cover. And I do not paint the inner cover at all. Remember the goal is to keep the hive as dry as possible, both during the flow and during the cluster time. The more ventilation during the flow the better.
There are some real good plans for ventilated inner covers. I think it helps keep more bees inside doing their work as opposed to outside "bearding"
Curtis
[ July 03, 2006, 09:13 AM: Message edited by: Curtis ]
Painting the boxes is to help with the elements...if you are going to paint make sure you use a LATEX paint so the inside moisture can be drawn out of the box. I would paint the top edges and bottom edges. I would not paint the inside of the cover. And I do not paint the inner cover at all. Remember the goal is to keep the hive as dry as possible, both during the flow and during the cluster time. The more ventilation during the flow the better.
There are some real good plans for ventilated inner covers. I think it helps keep more bees inside doing their work as opposed to outside "bearding"
Curtis
[ July 03, 2006, 09:13 AM: Message edited by: Curtis ]