fatshark
29-01-2013, 06:13 PM
I'm not sure how many people use floors like these (http://www.edinburghbeekeepers.org.uk/downloads/diy_open_mesh_floor-graham-white.pdf). I think they discourage robbing and rodent break-ins and have them on several hives. With the temperatures in double figures for the first time in 6-7 weeks I was checking my apiaries and noticed one hive on a double brood box had no flying bees at the entrance. I knew the colony was alive as I'd added fondant a few days ago and it has a perspex crown board. After a bit of prodding and poking I realised that the entrance was blocked so I lifted the brood boxes and was faced with a pile of corpses almost an inch deep.
All my hives on a single brood and with the same sort of floor are flying free with no problems. I suspect the large colony size overwhelmed the ability of the bees to clear corpses during the prolonged cold period (but won't be sure until I actually inspect things inside later) and the larger number of corpses simply formed a physical block with the L-shaped entry.
So, check your entrances if you use this sort of floor ... and perhaps carry a bent piece of coathanger to clear things as my experience clearly shows that any number of hand-selected twigs aren't up to the task :eek:
All my hives on a single brood and with the same sort of floor are flying free with no problems. I suspect the large colony size overwhelmed the ability of the bees to clear corpses during the prolonged cold period (but won't be sure until I actually inspect things inside later) and the larger number of corpses simply formed a physical block with the L-shaped entry.
So, check your entrances if you use this sort of floor ... and perhaps carry a bent piece of coathanger to clear things as my experience clearly shows that any number of hand-selected twigs aren't up to the task :eek: