Hi Peter,

ah mesh floors ......  you guys in the West really are spoilt for choice :)

The type of hive we use here is commonly known as the Taiwanese box.  Why ...  well the system came from Taiwan say 60 years ago.  It is a two piece box - a removable top and a box.  The box holds up to ten Langstroth fames.  There is a ventalation grill on the back which is closed during the cool season.  Another ventilation grill on the front is opened when the bees are moved and the entrance closed.

The hive is more or less all that is used here (ok some others for A. Cerana and A. Florea but that is not common).  The manufacture is cheap but it really is horrible.  It is made of 15mm grade C plywood.  I swear that the people making them do not use a rule, cutting is best guess.  I imagine that they are making to standard sizes but if you measure one hive and compare with any other there is a variation of anything up to 2cm in size difference (in either direction).  So it can be a total pain if you get the tops mixed up since getting them back on the right box is really hard to work out....

Early this year I made some supers for two existing hives.  The super system is not used here at all.  From my perspective this is a much better approach but I am very much finding my way.  I am viewed with total curiosity by the people who know what I am doing ...  the industry here is ...  "well if it worked last year and the year before then do it again next year, do not think about why".  I have my doubts that the local farmers will use a system of supers since it makes moving hives about quite a bit more difficult but I can also see major advantages of this approach.

I think condensation is a problem with the existing designs or at least excess humidity in the hot season.  Trouble is that it is the hot season when honey gets capped.  Temperature ...  well yes that has to be an influence ....  I do not like to work the bees in the afternoon, they play too much at that time and the sun is the hottest between 12:00 and 15:00.

You say that your entrance sizes are 7mm ......  mine vary a lot.  I would not dare measure them ...  I would be too annoyed .  I do not know how they cut out the entrance but it is not done with any degree of precision ..

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