Hi All,
You can learn a lot about your bees by monitoring the comings and goings at
the entrance - numbers, pollen carriers, the dead and sick ones,
BUT IF
you have NO FLOOR and a sub 'floor' flap that opens at the rear, you can lie
there (on the wet grass) and see the cluster size, the bottom frame bee
coverage as well as the entrance comings and goings, almost as good as an
observation hive!
AND
there is a 'regular little caring-sharing community' of spiders and webs,
snails on the sides, with a surprisingly 'clear' ground beneath. Well that's
the way it LOOKS.
I expected to see at least a few dead bees on the ground under my floorless
hives, but that is not so.
The bees must carried out the dead and dying BEFORE they 'fall', perhaps a
trait inherited from their 'wild hollow tree' forbearers. I seldom see a bee
on the actual 'clear' ground under the floorless hives.
SO
The floorless hives have passed the shortest day here in the Southern
Hemisphere, Auckland, New Zealand with no apparent problems.
DETAILS
The West and North hives are floorless'. (no screen, nothing)
The sub-floor volume is enclosed on all sides by a 6mm tanalised plywood
surround (or stand) 250mm above the bare ground. The rear wall of this stand
is hinged to open DOWNWARDs. The bees enter in the 'normal' manner through a
'winter entrance reducer'. A 10mm X 120mm opening.
In summer, the entrance reducer will be removed and the rear flap (180mm X
280mm) left swung open for ALL to come and go and increase the ventilation.
I have a 'white card' which can be laid on the ground via the rear opening
flap, to catch all 'fall' material over, say, a 24 hour period, for mite
counts and general 'health' monitoring.
I have measured the distance the 'bee cluster' extends below the bottom
frame bar at dusk. (by opening the rear flap and inserting a scale on a
stick)
Date 8April 15 Apr 22Apr 29Apr 12May 22May 29May 19June 14 July
North hive 40mm 55mm 68 40* 37 20 15 18 22
West hive 30mm 55mm 50 55 45 30 35 38 38
Temperature/C 11 8 11
Cheers Paul b. ..... you will only find out if it WORKS for you, by TRYING
IT.........(can I claim this quote?)
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