>>In any case, as invaluable as my screened bottoms have been, since I went to all screened bottoms I've had dramatically worse trouble with slow capping times and moisture. Warm moisture does not drop easily. It's optimal to bring the moisture out of the top. I replace the inner covers with full screen frames and prop the telescoping covers up to provide maximum top flow. You can smell the moist air coming up from the tops. Especially on cool nights, they can evaporate a lot of water. Even without bottom screen, with the top screns, the bees drive a lot of air through the hive to bring the moisture out of the tops. If air humidity is high in the summer it will take them longer to evacuate the moisture. I do this on strong colonies when night time temps climb up into the 50's. This set up also keeps the hives a little cooler on hot days. My hives are pretty much in full sun. It will be a few years before the jujube plants grow tall enough to shade the hives. Waldemar PS. I keep the top screen on the hive till late October. This seems to cause the bees to set up a very tight nest with well positioned stores for the winter. ****************************************************** * Full guidelines for BEE-L posting are at: * * http://www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/guidelines.htm * ******************************************************