# "Cloakgrove Board?"



## Lee Bussy (May 28, 2021)

While reading about different splitting methods, it struck me that one of the Snellgrove board's most important capabilities was the screened space allowing two colonies to share some heat. One of the better qualities of a Cloake board was the ability to shakedown the colony and pull up some frames of brood, and allow the colony to re-populate the nurse bees without worrying about finding the queen.

What if that were possible with one device?

If you used a Cloake board to execute the split and then inserted a double-screen to make them queenless, that seems to me like the best of both worlds. What am I missing?

The one "gotcha" I can see is the thickness of the double-screen section that would have to slide in. Having space for that would ruin bee space, but I'd think you'd only be in that condition for a day while the nurse bees equalized.


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## wildbranch2007 (Dec 3, 2008)

the cloake board has a metal slide that goes under the queen excluder, no need for the double screen.


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## Lee Bussy (May 28, 2021)

wildbranch2007 said:


> the cloake board has a metal slide that goes under the queen excluder, no need for the double screen.


I am aware - what I am suggesting is leveraging the advantages of the double-screen for sharing heat instead of a solid slide.


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## jtgoral (Mar 24, 2018)

Lee Bussy said:


> While reading about different splitting methods, it struck me that one of the Snellgrove board's most important capabilities was the screened space allowing two colonies to share some heat. One of the better qualities of a Cloake board was the ability to shakedown the colony and pull up some frames of brood, and allow the colony to re-populate the nurse bees without worrying about finding the queen.
> 
> What if that were possible with one device?
> 
> ...


I think you can make a *Cloake board* yourself so that instead of a metal divider you insert say 1/8" plywood and if you want to use it as a *double screen board* you insert 1/4" plywood with the hole inside and 1/8" mesh stappled on both sides. You can still add Snelgrove entrances on all 3 sides if you need them. I think 1/4" is enough so the bees from opposite sides do not touch each other. Maybe 1/8" and 2x wire mesh is good, too.

Or you can make a *Morris Board* using the same idea. This is what I use.


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## Lee Bussy (May 28, 2021)

jtgoral said:


> I think you can make a *Cloake board* yourself so that instead of a metal divider you insert say 1/8" plywood and if you want to use it as a *double screen board* you insert 1/4" plywood with the hole inside and 1/8" mesh stappled on both sides. You can still add Snelgrove entrances on all 3 sides if you need them. I think 1/4" is enough so the bees from opposite sides do not touch each other. Maybe 1/8" and 2x wire mesh is good, too.


That's sort of where I was going with that. Mainly allow all of the manipulations from the "outside" without having to crack the boxes and disturb things. It's probably about like the difference between a really nice knife, and the little thing in a leatherman when you try to do everything with one thing, but it's just something I've been musing about.



jtgoral said:


> Or you can make a *Morris Board* using the same idea. This is what I use.


Nothing quite so complicated and unwieldy - but the potential to use two nucs up top is something I was considering.


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## jtgoral (Mar 24, 2018)

Lee Bussy said:


> That's sort of where I was going with that. Mainly allow all of the manipulations from the "outside" without having to crack the boxes and disturb things. It's probably about like the difference between a really nice knife, and the little thing in a leatherman when you try to do everything with one thing, but it's just something I've been musing about.
> 
> 
> Nothing quite so complicated and unwieldy - but the potential to use two nucs up top is something I was considering.


This is my single 6 frame version of the Morris Board. I use 6 FR over 6 FR boxes.


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