I have used 4” by 3/8 entrances on my hives for 40 years. 

I live in a windy climate and I found with open entrances the bees wouldn’t put brood in the bottom inch of the frames. 



I looked at feral hives and found most have small entrances and bees just queued to get in.



Since that time the restricted entrances have been on the hives all year.



Before adapting to mesh bottom boards I put an inch top vent in the hive mate to provide some top ventilation to reduce the moisture given off by the bees.

.

Since adopting mesh bottom boards and two inches of foam under the roof, this top vent is no longer necessary.



Initially I played with this top vent width. Too much and the bees chewed through the honey stores too quickly and finally settled on the inch width. 



The beauty of these as they can be turned over and used as an entrance for a nuc on top of the main hive.



Frank Lindsay

Windy Wellington 

New Zealand



Sent from my iPhone





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