Why I Leave Entrance Reducers On My Hives All Year
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 ต.ค. 2024
- Why do I leave my entrance reducers on my hives? Is it killing the
bees? What is the benefit of keeping them on versus taking the entrance
reducers off, and is other things in regards to the entrance reducers.
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You will also need the entrance reducer if you have a new colony before it becomes more established! This is a great educational video; please do not mind the few trolls who know nothing about bee keeping! As a licensed bee keeper myself, there is a lot more education we can get/provide to the community and so hopefully many will be engaged and become interested in this so much needed therapeutic hobby! (Especially for me having to deal with PTSD over the years). Cheers brother!
Thank you for your entrance reducer lesson. I live in Maine, am a brand new bee keeper and this makes total sense to me.
The temperament of the bees were defensive due to robbing, I put in mouse guards to reduce the entrance and their behavior improved. Even NUC boxes in the blazing heat are doing fine with a small entrance, these have an insulation board under the top cover to reduce overheating. Massive colonies started bearding and the entrance needed expanded but I'm OK with that because a double deep with a honey super houses a lot of bees.. The industry preaches ventilation, Fredrick Dunn has experimented to disclaim those methods.
Look at some of the huge wild hives we remove with tiny openings. They don't necessarily need a large opening even during the best honey flow. Entrance reducers never hurt anyone. :)
I'll have to disagree on the expert part though. You ARE a gardening expert. That doesn't mean there is nothing more for you to learn or that there's no one know knows more than you. In my opinion it just means you're very competent in this area and you likely know more than about 99% of the population about that particular subject. I'm not shy to claim that my dad, my brother and myself are all experts at bee removals. It's not being braggadocious, we've just done it enough that we have that level of expertise that makes me comfortable in saying that. I think that you are probably the same way with gardening.
+628DirtRooster you are about as close to expert as they come my friend. I can't even begin to explain how much i have learned from your channel. You should write a book.....
+MIgardener | Simple Organic Gardening & Sustainable Living After you my friend.
+MIgardener | Simple Organic Gardening & Sustainable Living Question , would Having two separate entrances or one Solid entrance be better? Basically, instead of Two inches big space opening, there is two smaller one inch opening but it is the same surface opening just different exits/entrances. Or ya think this doesn't do much at all?
After all, you stated later in the video that Bee's generally prefer a smaller opening. I think this translates to all different type of those insects. Wasps, Bee's and what ever they are called. They generally all have one or several small openings. In cold sweden, it is generally One for Wasps and bumblebees.
So technically, if you do want to open up space, wouldn't having two separate entrances with some distance apart be more ideal? Perhaps when you get to larger hives, you might want different altitudes on the entrances so they do not need to fly in, then crawl all the way up to leave honey and then down. Perhaps that second or third brood box that is closer to the queen excluder would need an entrance near it, making the honey collectors have a closer back and forth path?
I would imagine putting a hole in the honey box would make the queen leave hive to enter that portion of the hive so didn't mention that.
Helveteshit I would bet that 2 smaller 1 inch holes would be better. It would be like the topbar hives with just 3 holes.
628DirtRooster Bees - Your turn?
so much emotion over two inches. if it works for you, that's fantastic. it wouldn't work for me down in NE Ohio, but good on ya for figuring out what's good for your ladies
+Alex Petz exactly, as I stated. Someone further south could get away with it, but for us there is a window of maybe 6-9 weeks which is just horrible.
Here's my 2 cents....my bees are in an open pasture with no shade so venting is a big thing I actually vent out the top back of the hive also. I notice that you are shaded so it plays into it. We all do things different for our own situations. We are all so dumb compared to bees....
Why is your entry reducer on upside down? The way you have it the entry can become blocked in winter by a few dead bees that tend to build up over long times of no bees going in and out.
If the bees where blocking the entrance trying to fan then youd either need to increase ventilation or open the entrance a tad. If things are flowing then it's fine. I never open my hives any more than the bees need it to be. 15 or 20 hives thats easy to monitor but 60 hives in 30 different locations would be hard to find the sweet spot, most commercial keepers have a standard I'm sure. I find around 5" wide works well in most cases.
I was actually reading just the other day that about 3/8" tall by 5.5-6" wide is considered optimal, or a 2-2.5" round hole, but is harder to protect. Dr. Seeley, and his teams findings were, that given the option between 15cm², 30cm² and 60cm² (a wide open hive with no reducer) and simulated swarms (basically evicted packages without a home) the bees showed interest in all 3 boxes (around 30-50L volume) but the 15cm² entrance was chosen. And the 30cm² entrance was the second to be selected by a swarm. If I remember correctly, the 60cm² entrance was not selected. When the test was repeated again with other simulated swarms, but with only the option 30cm² or 60cm², the 30cm² hive was selected, the 60cm² hive was not. Pretty much, bees chose to be homeless rather than a wide open entrance with no reducer.
Some say that anything between 10cm² to 15cm² will be acceptable. In trying to learn and understand this, as well as other things, I've been watching videos of cutouts. It seems that bees tend to select locations (cutouts) that are well insulated, have little to no ventilation, shaded for most of the day, and an entrance that's about 3/4 to 1.5 in² (about the size of the end of your thumb, to the size of your thumb down the second knuckle.
I'm not sure I quite believe Dr Seeleys finding on southward facing entrance and 40-60L volume. I feel perhaps the southwars facing entrance may be a coincidence l, being the preference of the woodpecker, or whatever initially made the hole. Because in many cutouts, if you pat attention to the position of the sun and approximate time of day, it seems more tend to face southeast or east. Which makes sense, gets sun earlier in the day and allows them to go to work earlier. Also the volume seems to be slikely larger than 60L. But not by much. Another study I was reading found that, at least in terms of reducing swarming, about 73-75L seems to be more ideal. This is about a deep and a medium, or a double deep when you include the displacement of the frames themselves. The bees seem to consider the total "we can put comb/furniture here" space available, and not the total volume . Frames displace volume.
I intend to do studies and tests on these hypotheses as well. Because my curiosity is thoroughly piqued.
What about during mite treatments? Nearly all miticide product instructions require the front entrance to be wide open during treatment.
I'm sorry I DISAGREE.Reason being my hives would have a MAJOR traffic jam,witnessed it, would definitely overheat, witnessed it.And last but not least they need ventilation to dry honey.How they gonna fan air to regulate temperature?Dry honey? You can get away with this with this with a starter hive or weaker hive,not two or 3 deeps of bees jamming on a good flow and hot weather.I leave my entrance reducers on until it starts causing problems above.U may get away with it longer with sbb but I think your hurting the bees more than helping them, I am talking about once they built up really strong and in production .YES trees have a small entrance,YES they are also Alot thicker than 3/4 of an inch so don't heat up like a Langstroth and since they don't ,they don't need open entrance to fan.My bees bringing in first good pollen traffic jam EVERY time with reducers,they can get more accomplished when they can get in the door without waiting.I believe in reducers,but only until they begin being problematic,my Queens lay too much to leave em in , they'll overheat and Abscond
I agree, though you can pretty clearly see in his video that his entrance is not being crowded, and it is an important consideration in cooler places that may receive regular rain year round.
@@edwardcolhoun6360 there's a difference between a hive and a jamming hive ..
My hives would TRAFFIC JAM,OVERHEAT, even with upper entrances,plus takes Honey longer to dry..If hives in shade shb take over..Keep Strong hives an you can open them ,not to bash a fellow Beekeeper --whatever works for u ,but this would hinder hives in many ways, in southern Missouri if not cause them to Abscomb or Die.....
You have never said that you're an expert beekeeper and you're right in that we can always learn more. I've learned so much about bees just from watching your videos.
+PinkChucky15 Aww thank you! More bee videos coming soon.
Chip on your shoulder much?
Waste of time, if thats the case why not build them that way?
04:45 please stop comparing the Langstroth hive with a natural colony cavity. They aren't the same in any way. In hollow tree cavities, the entrance is also rarely at the bottom etc... entry reducers may be different sizes from colony to colony in "managed" hive bodies. opening up during a heavy flow on a hive with a large population makes perfect sense. You're demonstrating a small low activity colony which does probably need reduction. A large highly productive healthy colony would benefit from an equally large opening to stop that pile of bees waiting to get in and out. I know you're still learning about bees as is ever reasoned individual. Is it killing bees to have a small opening? NO, but it definitely benefits the strong productive colony to hope up during high production periods.
I LOVE the spite in his voice throughout this whole video. Also YEAH Michigan is not the same as the South oKaY
Anyone who thinks he has all the answers actually knows very little. One of the most respected medical doctors said “ The more we find out about the human body the more questions we have.” The human body and bees for that matter are so infinitely complex, only their creator knows everything. To God be the glory.
I don't use a reducer until fall. Let em fly!
+natserog good idea! I may try that with one or two of my hives this year
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I just got back into bees after a 25 year break , we used to run 400 hives and I can still learn everyday , but you are correct about the smaller entrance , it’s better for the bees all around, less guard bees to be stressed out all the time and it’s easier to guard the hive
The entrance has to be suited to your location and temp conditions it is easy enough to alter it if there is fanning going on. Thanks for the video
I live in Alabama and I keep entrance reducers on my hives all year long! When I started, my mentor told me, Help your bees, keep an entrance reducer on the front of your hives.” If you don’t, instead of bees going to get the things to stay alive and make you honey your will be forced to make more guard bees. Help your bee! I agree my friend!
Great video Luke, our weather has just slightly cooled; I have a 6 inch opening and 2-1/2 holes in the boxes. My bees have started fending off other bees that are showing up and I'm thinking about closing up some of the 6 inch hole. I don't want my bees spending most of their time fighting off other bees as apposed to working. We've gone from 90's -100's to mid 70's. Should I close up some of the 6 inches, or wait til it gets even cooler. Zone 8 here. Kim
+The Abled Gardener I would close off the hole and leave just 2-4 inches. The bees don't need any more than that and they will regulate the temperature just fine :)
+MIgardener | Simple Organic Gardening & Sustainable Living Thanks Luke, I'll close some of the opening, thanks for the feedback.
Thanks, as a new beek this little piece of info is invaluable. I know I’ll be going against popular opinion but it’s reducer locked in the on position for me.
Very informative, although I’m in California. My first hive. 👍
If your colony is strong enough, shouldn’t be worrying about the bees defending the entrance! In really hot weather as by me, with the entrance reducer in, my bees beard alot!
We live in Alaska and leave our reducer on all year as well.
I wonder why bees don’t just fill in wax to create the size entrance they want it that’s ideal. They’ve adapted so many other instincts, why not have anything for entrance size?
Because they don't like small entrances for all occasions. This dude is talking out his a ...
It is funny because in the natural environment, bees will take up space literally ANTWHERE, regardless of entrance size lol. I think we as humans tend to over complicate things when it comes to what we think is best for nature specifically in this case bees. I have two bee hives and one is half closed and the other is fully open. Both are doing really well. At the end of the day it boils down to what you thinkdoes best in your area. Just like parenting, there isn't a real guide on how to fully do it properly. You take opinions/research materials and formulate your best judgment:)
The question is why do humans think they know better than bees. No feral bee hive will have an entrance at the bottom of their colony. The entrance Langstroth pateneted was the one he used for convenience, and nothing else, when he was developing the removeable frame. Check out the Upstairs Downstairs Hive intance which is an entrance on the inside of the hive, not at he borrom of the colony and wasps simply wont go in.
You rock! 🙌🏻
Even here in South Carolina I am starting to keep my Entrances to 1.5 inches even in the summer.
Great video! I love your gardening videos and am just seeing your beekeeping vids. Thank you! 🐝
I am a new bee keeper in NE Ohio. I had no idea how to put the hive guard on, thank you !
Makes since to me. 2nd year beekeeper ohio. Great information
Well done! Honey bees like small entrances.
Mimic nature is always the best!
I have been beekeeping for several years, and I also keep my hives reduced year round. Reducers seem to keep hives from robbing each other. A strong hive will rob out a weaker neighbor very quickly if you don't keep them reduced.
I find that the Hole entrance is not that critical, in my experience. If there was a problem with the hive, the bee's would move out. It has been my experience that bee's like multiple small holes to defend and create air flow, if they do not like a certain hole they will block it off with Propolis. If you see a lot of Propolis in your hive then they are doing something to either cover something or block something, maybe damming and creating air channels.
I do not see much of it here in the Arizona low desert would be interesting to know if Northern hives create more of it? Seems like Propolis is kind of insulate, neither to hot to to cold a substance despite the weather.
For the last 5 years all my hives have 2 inch entrances March thru October. In the winter and they are all the way open with 1/2 wire screens to keep out mice.Works for me Very little winter losses so far. My bee can handle cold but moisture is a real killer.
I just caught a swarm in an old hive that was vacated last year. I just put an entrance reducer on to help with hive defense. We have some flies and some other kind of bee that wants to mess with my new bees.
in no way do entrance reducers kill bees. LOL. Here in south Florida, I leave my entrance reducers on all the time too...Guard bee defense is extremely important and should always be considered.. Great video Luke.
+Tim Huffman Thanks Tim! I Appreciate the feedback.
I am in the south.. I leave my reducers on all year long. Hot or cold the bees know how to regulate the temperature all year long... Good video.
+Shannon Hampton Thank you Shannon, i appreciate the feedback.
i watch you a lot. thanks for the great videos. i see youve been losing your patience as the videos go on. friendly tip dont let the negative comments dictate the vibe of your videos.
from where i get this cloth that you have weared
you are always going to have these kind of critics pointing dumb sh!* out. but I myself admire people like you for having the balls to do these informative and entertaining videos. thank you!
+JOSIUM 305 glad you liked it!
Nicely explained. Thanks for taking the time to clear thing us, no matter how stupid it is. Thanks for being you! You rock. I admire you and your gumption!
Another advantage to the reduced entrance is that the hive is easier to defend against robbing. A fully open entrance makes this defense almost impossible, particularly when talking about weak hives. I'm in the southern Indiana area........ I leave reduced entrances on all my hives all year.
What drivel
Your bees look happy :) not only that you're helping keep bees alive and some of us know what's going on with the bee issues so keep doing your thing :)
+rockyourheartandsoul I love helping the bees. Anything I can do is worth it if it saves a few colonies of bees.
Georgia beekeeper here...dude, you have clearly thought out why you do what you do with your beekeeping methods. Great job, keep it up, and continue never being a by the book beekeeper!
I am in North Florida and I use Entrance Reducers Year Round. I also use Screened Bottom boards year round for ventilation. In My opinion, leaving the entrance wide open is begging for trouble from Robbers and pests. In addition, the less guard bees needed means there are more Foragers doing the collecting. This is good advice but it is better advice for everyone in the US to always use entrance reducers. By the way 628DirtRooster is funny looking! Love ya bubba!
A Michigan beekeeper here as well. I was going to try leaving my reducers on all year next summer. My reason being, in my two years with the bees, I've never seen them "beard" on the side of the hive. "bearding" means it's too hot in the hive so they go outside. But, I've never seen them do this even once, and they're in full sun. So it's either too cool or just right in the hive. Too cool means less eggs from the queen and more effort to keep the eggs warm enough, means less bees in the future, which means less honey for me. That's what I came up with at least.
Good point.
cool video👍
+trochartist Thanks!
I just installed a package of bees in my hive a few days ago.
The entrance is reduced to 3/4 inch wide.
After seeing your video i got curious to see how many bees and how often they actually enter/exit the entrance.
Today was very cloudy and they managed to enter the entrance every 1 second at 4 o'clock , that is 3600 bees in an hour and in an 8 hour day like it is now, that would be 28,800 bees that enters the hive in an day. The amount of bees that enter the hive also have to leave the hive, so now we are taking about 57,600 bees per day that are crossing that 3/4 inch wide entrance opening .
That is with an new package of bees. Makes me wonder how many would cross that threshold in an established hive.
The reason that I chose the 3/4 inch wide entrance is. When I tried the 1 and 1/2 inch opening the small hive beetles managed to get pass the entrance opening and entered the hive.
With the smaller entrance opening there was no chance so far for the small hive beetle to enter the hive.