Re upper entrances
 
   The conventional wisdom around here varies, but generally people
   wintering outdoors have an upper entrance, which often is closed in late
   spring to avoid excess bee activity from the top of the hive during
   inspections.
 
   Another version (wintering indoors) uses no upper entrance during winter
   (no snow blockage). In early spring, weak hives managed like this
   (always 2 boxes) don't seem to have an easy time, sometimes having to
   dig through a layer of cold dead mouldy bees near the entrance. They
   survive in spite of it perhaps.
 
   One large outfit has adopted a combined queen excluder/entrance (full
   width) above the brood chamber, to reduce forager traffic in the brood
   chamber and traffic through the excluder (feeling it damages bees).
   Although bee colonies process nectar through the brood chamber during
   light flows, it's hard to believe they do so on days the hive gains 20
   or 30 pounds. There's lots of flight from these entrances during a flow,
   but I don't know if the nectar goes straight to the supers, as the
   beekeeper hopes..
 
 
   Kerry Clark, Apiculture Specialist
   B.C. Ministry of Agriculture
   1201 103 Ave
   Dawson Creek B.C.
        V1G 4J2  CANADA          Tel (604) 784-2225     fax (604) 784-2299
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