We inadvertently found out how to size bees.  Years ago, we made pollen traps of plastic about 1/8 inch thick - drilled out on a drill press.  We experimented with different size holes, went with one that seemed best for a trap.  Sent to a bunch of volunteers in a study - worked great for all but one beekeeper - his bees could get out, but couldn't get back into the hive.  He was warned to try the traps for short period before selecting the best hole size - but like most of us, didn't read the caution.  Heat prostrated the colony - I ended up buying a colony of dead bees.  This doesn't work as well with thin sheets of plastic or metal.  The hole sizing is more critical when the perforated barrier has some thickness - to a bee, the thin stock is something  to wiggle through, the  thicker stock is like crawling down a tunnel.

So, if you can figure out how  to get you bees to move through a perforated barrier, this works like a champ.  You can even determine what % are too 'fat'.


 


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