Hello Peter & All, >I think the various supposed benefits of upper entrances in summer are >nonsense. I don't think it helps them to "ripen the honey faster". I think I use upper entrances ( propping lids) to manage the bees better. often we will see thousands of bees on the front trying to fan air during the *main* honey flow. Prop the lid and soon the bees are back inside and half can resume foraging. We only do this in a strong flow as can cause robbing after the flow is over. However for the most part storng hives do not rob strong hives. Strong hives rob hives which put up the least battle. Robbing out the *dinks* saves me work. > The one that cracks me up is putting an upper entrance in the supers so they "don't have so far to go". They already flew a couple of miles, I don't think they are too tired to walk a few extra inches to off load the honey. The above is silly but with double deeps we are talking almost twenty inches plus through a queen excluder in my yards and few is "three inches " last I checked. but the real reason some beekeepers use an Immirie shim or prop the supers up (stick etc.) is to provide an upper entrance in the height of the honey flow is to stop thousands of bees racing through the nursery area causing needless congestion. Many times in a strong hive in a strong honey flow is like people after a fire alarm and has to upset the hive for the constant climbing over each over. At least what all my mentors have said and a reasonable explanation I think. Many ways to keep bees. bob *********************************************** The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html