>The bees will tell the beekeeper what to do, if only the beekeeper is
observant.

Amen.  I am in violent agreement with Allen’s premise here.

One way of observing the hive congestion, as I mentioned earlier, is to
visit the bees at night and check the smarmy-looking bee-beard and then
ventilate according to your set up: SBB, holes, shims, even screened tops
under the outercover with spacers in between.  As many of you have seen in
my last photo, I just knock out a pine-knot came built-in in the wood;
most commercial/budget grade wood contain them at naturally convenient
spots with varying sizes.  When I am out of screened bottoms, I just lift
up the outercover, using two one-by scrap timber beneath.  Yes, insulation
complements ventilation:  I also now use 1-inch Styrofoam insulation on
top of the outercover to block the chill and heat at the same time.  Yes,
Yogi, we can observe a lot by watching them.

Yoon

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
-- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/BEE-L for rules, FAQ and  other info ---
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::