I'm starting to wonder what effect my screened bottom boards are having on
how long it takes the bees to cap my honey. The thought has been in the
back of my mind for a while. What are y'all's thoughts on the subject or,
better yet, what have your experiments shown?
My suspicion is that although screened bottoms provide much more
ventilation, they make it harder for the bees to *regulate* the airflow
through the hive. In any case, as invaluable as my screened bottoms have
been, since I went to all screened bottoms I've had dramatically worse
trouble with slow capping times and moisture. This year makes 5
consecutive years of unusual trouble.
Eric
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