# Are my bees using thier bodies to reduce the entrance?



## odfrank (May 13, 2002)

Some strains of bees cluster out more than others. We had an unusual late rain here today and the hives that cluster out in good weather clustered out today in the rain.


----------



## Keefis (May 4, 2012)

How big is the hole?
I "THINK" it should be 5/8" but some designs have multiple 5/8" holes, of which some can be corked to control egress or help temperature.


----------



## Colleen O. (Jun 5, 2012)

I copied the hole size (but not location) from the observation hive that I bought. That hive is a version based on P. Chandler's design. The holes are 1" Diameter. Their hive has three holes centered on the side at the bottom. I drilled this one the same size but at the top and towards the end due to what I had read. I could try to make a plug to reduce it, but that is the only hole I put in this temporary hive and when the temperatures here get in the upper 90's I'm afraid they won't be able to keep it cool enough.

I could transfer them to the observation hive but the entrances are the same size, so I don't know how much help that would be.


----------



## Tom Brueggen (Aug 10, 2011)

Looks like they are just blocking the entrance for warmth. I noticed mine doing it too and got scared. But over time I observed they only do


----------



## Tom Brueggen (Aug 10, 2011)

Do it when the weather is bad, windy or rainy. My thought was they must do it to keep the hive warm, and possibly to keep wind from disrupting the hive pheromones. If they are wanting to swarm you'll have a lot more bees hanging out. I wouldn't worry about it for now.


----------



## mrobinson (Jan 20, 2012)

The size of a wine-cork (about 1/2" or slightly bigger) worked fabulously here. Picked that size simply because we have lots of wine corks and would have to go to a hobby-shop to get one-inchers.


----------

