# How many corks?



## Beethinking (Jun 2, 2008)

Steve,

I leave only one hole open on my hives and they seem to do fine.

Cheers,
Matt


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## SteveBee (Jul 15, 2010)

Thanks, Matt. I see on your design that you have entrance holes at both the top and bottom along the side. My entrances on my hive are all at the bottom on one end. Do you leave a top or bottom hole open? And is this the ONLY opening into the hive? On the new hives I've built for next spring, I've added an additional hole at the top for ventilation.


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## Beethinking (Jun 2, 2008)

Steve,

The top 3 holes are just ventilation -- the backside is covered with screen. Toward the winter I seal all of the top vent holes. Often the bees have already sealed them with propolis.

I just leave one of the bottom holes open -- one that is closest to the brood. In most cases this is the far left hole (I usually start my colonies at that end). 

Cheers,
Matt


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## Adam Foster Collins (Nov 4, 2009)

This is an area that I'm quite interested in, but really don't know much. My fear is that we (beekeepers) recently are over-ventilating our hives. In some areas where the temperatures are extreme, this may be fine, but I wonder if bees can actually better control their hive environment with fewer openings...

At this time, I just use an end entrance, which is about 9.5 inches wide, and about .5 inches high. The bees do beard a bit during the hot season, but I'm not ready to say that's a bad thing.

I need to learn more.

Adam


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## Beethinking (Jun 2, 2008)

Adam,

I hear you. From looking at numerous feral hives in the wild, they definitely don't seem to have the same ventilation configurations that many beekeepers think integral to a healthy colony. They may have a few entrances, but they are usually quite small and there definitely aren't any screened bottom boards! 

I keep many standard Warre hives with no screened bottoms or any other ventilation and they do very well in our wet Oregon winters. 

I've tried screened bottoms on some top bar hives but have since switched due to a couple reasons. 1) I don't like making screened bottoms and 2) I haven't seen any difference in the success rate. In addition, there have been many reports of beekeepers with horizontal top bar hives with screened bottoms having issues with their newly-installed bees absconding. 

It's been interesting to watch the horizontal top bar hives now that we've started adding the three vent holes on the sides. Half of the time the bees immediately propolize them shut. Other colonies, however, seem to use the holes and I've watched bees fanning through them. 

There have been some very interesting discussions on ventilation as well as hive shape recently on the UK Warre group at http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/warrebeekeeping/ . That's definitely my go to place when I have a very complex/strange question!

Cheers,
Matt


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## Countryboy (Feb 15, 2009)

_They may have a few entrances, but they are usually quite small and there definitely aren't any screened bottom boards!_

Often feral hives have no bottom. There is a lot of empty space below the combs.

Of 5 feral hives nearby, one has an 8 or 10 inch hole as an opening, and the hollow tree is open at the bottom....one is in a wall of an abandoned farmhouse, with a half dozen openings including wooden siding that is separating....another feral hive in a tree has an entrance hole, and the tree is also has an inch wide split 6 or 8 feet down the side of the tree....another feral hive has a 1 to 2 inch split 3 foot long up the trunk that the bees use as an entrance....and I can think of another feral hive that has a couple inch hole into the tree.

The feral colonies I have removed from houses and trees had openings with a larger area than most well ventilated hives have.

When I find a feral colony, they typically are extremely well ventilated.


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## Adam Foster Collins (Nov 4, 2009)

I'd say the question of ventilation and how much is really critical - and one that really has a ton to do with one's location and climate (temperature and humidity).

I've heard of a lot of packages absconding from hives with no bottoms, or open screened bottoms, yet Phil Chandler in the UK doesn't see much of that. In the UK people seem to have great luck with the bottom wide open and just a screen. 

In some places, feral hives have not much opening, and in other areas, they have tons. There are even cases of the bees building a nest in the open air.

I think this is a case where you have to do some experimenting in your region and let the bees tell you what they want. Punch a few holes and see what they do. Also ask around and pay attention to people talking about areas with similar climactic conditions.

For my own region, I'm starting with one entrance on the end, and we'll see how it goes.

Matt, thanks - I'll check that site out too. I'm thinking a lot about the warre and might try some this year.

Adam


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## Oldtimer (Jul 4, 2010)

Cacklewack said:


> I've tried screened bottoms on some top bar hives but have since switched due to a couple reasons. 1) I don't like making screened bottoms and 2) I haven't seen any difference in the success rate.


Good point, when screened bottom boards came into vogue I spent several years experimenting with them on my langs. End result is I hardly use them now.

Although we don't have hive beetles here yet, if we get them I might be running some more tests.


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## misslechunker (May 26, 2010)

I have a total of four holes. All are sealed for the winter except for one. I started my colony in April and they missed filling the hive completely by three T'bars. The one hole that I did leave open has been propolized half the way across so as to leave only half the hole open! They appear to be safe and sound!:applause:


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## DavesBees (Jun 2, 2009)

SteveBee,
Slap that sloppy old bottom board on and give them 1 hole and they will be so happy if you put your ear on the hive you will hear them giggling. I give 1 hole and they do fine here in Ohio. The sloppy bottom board gives them enough ventilation in the winter. To be honest I left my bottom boards on all summer and just flipped them occasionally to dump the debris that piles up under the screen. I did not put any mouse guards on the top bar hives and had no problems. I do keep weeds down around the hive.

Chris,
I’m glad to hear of your success….U Da Man! :thumbsup: 

The rest of you guys...I love you too and have a great Holiday season!opcorn:


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## mmiller (Jun 17, 2010)

The first 2 hives I had in the spring only had entrance holes in the end. There were no open bottoms or vent holes. Both of these hives developed a black mildew pretty heavily inside. I left one hive alone and with the other hive I drilled a 5/8" hole from the top of the follower board down into the hive and stapled a small piece of screen over it in. My thoughts were this would allow moisture to vent up into the "attic" area. That made a noticable difference in the "dryness" of the hive and I figured if the bees didn't like it they would easily propolis the small screened hole shut. They never did. I built my 3rd hive the same way with a vent hole into the attic area and the bees have not shut that hole off either. This makes me wonder if they propolis the holes more often to stop wind which would be the case of any holes in the wall of the hive. I did leave my first hive alone without the "attic" vent. I would like to see how they compare after the winter. 
Just some of my playings around

Mike


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## SteveBee (Jul 15, 2010)

Thanks for all the good info!

mmiller...I'll be interested to hear from you in the spring to see how your different options worked over the winter. I'm down to one hole, which I'm sure the bees appreciated since it got down to the mid-twenties last night.


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