At 07:17 PM 3/12/1999 -0800, you wrote:
 
I am not sure what benefit would be achieved by a top and bottom entrance.
My four and five frame observation hives have either a bottom or a top
entrance.  Assuming that the hives are indoors, I prefer a bottom entrance.
 
However, the hive in my office has a top entrance - otherwise the bees
would exit the window too close to the lawn.  The bees had no problem
adjusting to the top entrance, but they don't do as good a job cleaning out
dead bees.  Dragging them up to the top is difficult.  If they drop the bee
and it falls to the bottom - they rarely go back down.  Out-of-sight,
out-of-mind or the bee equivalent.  The colony also tends to hang high in
the hive, often ignoring the bottom frame.  I had to provide a cleanout in
the bottom.
 
The bottom entrance makes for easier management. The bees usually take out
the dead bees, and they work more from the bottom up in the hive.  It is
also easier to feed them with a bottom entrance hive.  We found that you
can't put a feeder at the bottom of a top entrance hive and expect the bees
to find/use it.
 
I always provide ventilation at the top of the hive.  In our climate,
without some air flow, moisture condenses on the glass sides.  Also, until
recently, I used glass, but I now use Lexan.  The bees haven't glued it up
any worse than glass, and it sure adds a big safety margin.
 
Cheers
 
Jerry
 
 
>Would a top and bottom entrance benefit a six-frame observation hive?
>Would such a system improve the wintering success of a six-frame
>observation hive in Calgary, Alberta, Canada? Thanks for any and all
>input and shared experiences. Ted Leischner.
>
>
Jerry J. Bromenshenk, Ph.D.
Director, DOE/EPSCoR & Montana Organization for Research in Energy
The University of Montana-Missoula
Missoula, MT  59812-1002
E-Mail: [log in to unmask]
Tel:  406-243-5648
Fax:  406-243-4184
http://www.umt.edu/biology/more
http://www.umt.edu/biology/bees