"I have seen feral colonies build down from the entrance if the entrance was
at the 'ceiling' of the chamber.  When hiving packages/swarms, they always
start at the top."

Is it possible that feral bees choose their location partially based on
being able to construct comb BELOW the entrance?  I think so.

Without exception, every beehive I have seen in a tree or in a building has
had the comb constructed below the entrance.  Once, in a dark barn, the comb
was totally exposed and ran 10 feet below the entrance, and about 30" wide.

Yep, when a swarm or package is hived they start comb at the top and build
down.  But my guess is that they do that because it is warmer at the top
(hot air rising).  I often hive swarms in equipment with a generous top (and
bottom) opening. They immediately use the top opening as their preferred
entrance/exit, and still start drawing comb from the top down.

At this time of year my bees only have a top entrance, as the mouse guard
and hive debris often block the bottom entrances.  When I take off the mouse
guards and clean the bottom boards the bees will still use the top entrance.
But gradually, over the summer, as the bees fill the top of the brood nest
with honey and the brood nest itself moves down, they will change to the
bottom entrance and use the top for ventilation.  In July/August, when the
inner cover is taken off there are a couple of hundred bees on the top bars
(immediately back from the top entrance) beating their wings like mad.
Presumably to draw air up from the bottom entrance, through the hive, and
out.

I was just at the Wooster Ohio seminar (700 attendees, at $30 each PLUS
lunch) as was the nice guy with the 'new' top entrance hives.  He was doing
a land office business!  Too bad, as his equipment is expensive and $.25 in
wedges for the underside of the inner cover does almost the same job.

As for setting the brood hive bodies back from one another, this is an
old-time commercial beekeeper trick.  Our largest in the area (about 1200
hives) runs three deeps as a brood chamber and in mid to late May the third
will be set back about an inch.  By mid-June, that is the preferred
entrance/exit.  Again, it provides an 'almost' upper entrance for no
additional cost.  In October, the three hive bodies are again aligned and a
top entrance is created for the winter.

Hives without a bottom entrance will work just fine, but how does one super
if the entrance is at the 'top'?  Unless the beekeeper adds all the supers
at once, the constantly changing location of the 'top' will reduce
production.  Creating an upper entrance below the top may be the best
solution of all.

Lloyd
Lloyd Spear, Owner Ross Rounds, Inc.
Manufacturers of Ross Rounds Comb
Honey Equipment, Sundance Pollen Traps
and Custom Printer of Sundance Labels.

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