[PDelgado2001]

Hi all. An opening of .135 should be big enough to allow Small Hive Beatles to fall through, correct?

 

[William Bagwell]

Your in the ballpark here. Most commercial screened bottom boards are too small for an adult beetle to easily fall through. Might be able to crawl through on the diagonal, but that is not what you want. The scrounged screen I recently used is #6 mesh, .166 minus the wire diameter of .028 so .138 opening. Nothing scientific just using what I had that is close to what is needed.

Oh, welcome to Beesource!

 

[PDelgado2001]

I'm planning on building a Long Lang and I was wondering if the bees would not like the floor being all mesh. What are your thoughts?

 

[Rader Sidetrack]

I think that such a large 'open' screened area would not be in the bees' best interest. Bees, when necessary, engage in thermoregulation of their brood area. Having free air movement through the bottom of that long Lang will likely make it harder for the bees to control the temperature.

Its not just heating the hive in cold weather, bees also set up their own "swamp cooler" system by hauling in water to evaporate and fanning to control air movement/evaporation when its hotter than what they want.

But you could have a screen floor that had a (removable) solid surface underneath it.

 

[PDelgado2001]

It will be totally enclosed. there will be a 3/8" gap from the bottom of the frames to the mesh then about 1/2" to the pull out trays. All covered by at least 3/4" wood floor. I'm just concerned about the bees having to move around over the mesh.

 

[Rader Sidetrack]

There are lots of beekeepers whose hives have a bottom board 'floor' using #8 screen.

The presence of the screen hasn't been reported as a problem. The controversy that arises is whether or not the screen should be closed off or not.

 

[randallroller64]

I'm planning on building a Long Lang and I was wondering if the bees would not like the floor being all mesh. What are your thoughts?

I built one several years ago, but only used it for the second time this year. I did put a single piece mesh floor, and beneath that is a hinged solid bottom to use during the winter. I caught a rather nasty feral swarm in late May of '22, and hived them up in this as I was out of equipment! They have been fantastically productive bees, but they are very defensive.
To the mesh floor:
Allows debris to fall through to some extent, provides more air flow in summer, frames can be shifted for cleaning or brushing the floor.
A mesh floor isn't strictly necessary, but I am glad I built it that way.
Another handy feature I built is three vented covers with #8 mesh and an "attic" also vented with #8. The advantage is that you need only remove one cover to work the hive at a time, and merely slide the others as needed.
The long Lang can be manipulated with movable separators for creating splits, making new Queens, and working the hive in comfort without all the lifting, stacking, etc.
While it does not lend itself to a commercial application, for a hobbyist it is fun!