# Whats the best size for entrance holes



## wltwine (Oct 13, 2009)

Hello to all I have a question, I'm building a TBH and want to use holes for the entrance what is the best size to use?


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## Steven Ogborn (Jun 3, 2011)

I use five, one inch diameter holes in the end of my full size hives. then just one. one inch hole in my 14 inch long nuc sized hive.
You can stop off the individual holes to restrict the size on the full sized ones. I then have a one inch hole in the opposite end of the 
big hives. This gives you the ability to create a nuc by moving bars to the back end of the hive, behind the follower board.


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## AmericasBeekeeper (Jan 24, 2010)

I prefer something more natural - 3/8 inch holes.


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## Daniel Wasson (Jun 2, 2010)

Dr. Seeley, in the Honeybee Democracy points out on Page 50 (and a couple of other places in the book too, I think) that the bees he studied seemed to prefer and entrance size of 2 to 5 square inches. That puts a single 2 inch hole at about 3.1416 square inches, or about in the middle of what the bees find most desirable.

So, a hole 1.59 inches in diameter on the low end, and 2.5 inches in diameter on the high end, if I did the math correctly

2 = 3.1416 X r^2
0.64 = r^2
= 0.79 inches
0.79 X 2 = 1.59 in diameter on the low end.


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## Daniel Wasson (Jun 2, 2010)

That same line of thought puts the standard entrance, wide open to a hive at about twice the prefered size, according to his study.

0.75 X 14.75 = 11.06 square inches


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## Adam Foster Collins (Nov 4, 2009)

This is a question worth considering. I have top bar hives with end entrances which are about 1/2" high by 9 inches wide. Small compared to a Lang entrance, but way bigger than Seeley finds the bees to want.

watching the bees last year, with entrances fully open, they seemed to favor one side of it, leaving most of it relatively light on traffic. I hoped it would aid in ventilation though. But it made it easier for robbing yellow jackets or bumble bees to get in.

This year, I added a second hive and decided to try something new. I plugged all but about three inches of each entrance with heavy nylon "scrubby" material. I love it for that. It closes down the entrance, but still lets air through. I also made the open section on opposite sides of the entrance for each hive to help reduce drifting. 

I feel like this entrance set up allows better protection of the entrance, and the bees seem to have no problem with it, even during the busiest times.

Adam


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

I drill no holes.
http://bushfarms.com/images/Thumbnails/TBHEntrance1_small.JPG
http://bushfarms.com/images/Thumbnails/TBHEntrance2_small.JPG

http://bushfarms.com/beestopbarhives.htm


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Three Inches. IMO.


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## zippelk (Sep 1, 2010)

Seeley and Morse (1976) on natural nest entrances: "Figure 5 shows the distribution of entrance sizes for 33 nests. Entrances were small relative to the nest cavity. Most nests (70 %) had entrances smaller than 40 cm 2 [=6.2sq.in.]. The modal entrance area was 10 to 20 cm 2 [=1.6-3.1sq.in.]."


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

zippelk said:


> Seeley and Morse (1976) on natural nest entrances: The modal entrance area was 10 to 20 cm 2 [=1.6-3.1sq.in.]."


Like I said. 3 inches.


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## Daniel Wasson (Jun 2, 2010)

Yes, but 3 inches is meaningless unless you also include the shape. A three square inch 'round' hole measures 1.94", or 1 15/16 in diameter.

A three inch round hole is 7.06 square inches. Just over twice the optimal size.

A square hole that is 1.75 inches to a side is 3.06 square inches.


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## Daniel Wasson (Jun 2, 2010)

And, I just realize that this is in the Top Bar Hive section. I don't have and have never managed a top bar hive so feel like I intruded a bit. 

Since all the numbers I have been spouting have to do with the preferences of Wild colonys and what they look for in a nest site, I am not entirely sure if it practically works out the same with a managed hive. Common sense says that it would, but theory and practice are two different animals.


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## WLC (Feb 7, 2010)

Don't feel bad.

I had 2 students build a top bar swarm trap. It's about the same volume as a swarm trap, and it's entrance hole is about 1 1/4". They used all recycled materials to do this, with a few exceptions.


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