Tuesday, October 27, 2009

New entrance reducer works like a charm!


Sorry for the less that stellar picture, but I made it with my cell phone. Its rainy and gloomy so I decided to head out and see what was going on around the hive.

As you can see, I have a new homemade entrance reducer in place. I made it over the weekend. Luckily for me, I have a duplicate hive set-up in my garage, so it was easy to measure and make the wooden reducer that would fit my hive. As I mentioned before, since I'm using the new Dadant heavy-duty plastic screened bottom board, a standard reducer is worthless -- too long and to thin to work. So I made my own and its working great it seems.

I'll share manufacturing details later, but for now I can take satisfaction in knowing that unwelcome visitors will have a hard time getting inside this hive. And none too soon either...I found the girls dragging a wasp out the day I put the temporary reducer on. Then this past Sunday, when I put the new one on, the guards were fighting a honey bee at the entrance. It wasn't a member of this colony either...she was extremely dark colored (my bees are a bright Italian orange)...and they were giving her a hard time, dragging her out and letting her go, then doing fly-by knock downs when she would land on the front of the hive. So it looks like it is working as it should. 

More later! 

2 comments:

  1. Hi Mark. It's raining buckets here today so I've just been messing around on the computer - BORING! I'm learning that as long as the dimensions are correct, most hive components are fairly easy to make. Sure saves money.

    My bees have had to fight off yellow jackets but, I hope with the recent cold weather here, they are about gone. Take care and keep posting. It's gonna be a long winter here in the mountains.

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  2. I just put my reducers on too on the weekend. It does take the bees a few hours to all figure it out, but they do. It'll be warmer inside too.

    Now you're probably starting to realize you're not so bad with a saw after all. Before we know it you'll be making bee hives :)

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