[log in to unmask] wrote:

> Of my 4 outstanding hives for honey production this year 2 were on SBB open
> to the ground and 2 were on solid floors.  (snip)I gather that most of North America alternates between scorching and
> freezing.

In two prior years there was not much difference and both summers were
"normal" , but this year was cool for most of the summer and the two
with open bottoms were well below the closed bottom for production. When
the temps increased, the open bottoms also increased and matched the
closed in rate of production. We have not had a freeze (usually about
Sept 20)  and it has been warm, so the bees are still very active.

I shifted the completely open bottoms to screened with a bottom below
the screen that I can take out or leave in and have the best of both
worlds. Plus it allows easy mite counts.

Maine's temperatures can vary all over the place in the summer. We get a
lot of tourists who vacation here because it is cooler in the summer
than places to the south.

One problem with talking about screened bottoms is to differentiate
between fully open bottoms and those with a bottom below the screen, as
Chris noted.

Bill Truesdell
Bath, Maine