Hives with a top entrance vs a bottom entrance?

[bayareaartist]

Hi,
I was reading on the beesource website about the queen excluder and how if the entrance to the hive is on the top it is better for the hive.

Is anyone running any hives like this.
where there are two brood boxes then an excluder then the entrance and then the honey supers above the entrance.

thank you,
Donn

[Horns Pure Honey]

Its suppose to be more natural to the bees.

[Jerrymac]

Now Ryan, how can you say it is more natural to the bees? In nature the bees go out seeking a home. Some will find a hollow tree where the entrance location will only allow them to build above the opening, below the opening, or end up with the opening somewhere in the middle.

The bees may find shelter in a pile of rocks. Under a ledge, in tree branches, ahole in the ground, a cave,ect.  With all the man made junk lying around it can be in gas tanks, water heaters, tires, discarded boxes, Use your imagination and that is where bees will build a home.

As far as the natural size of an entrance it can be small enough to allow only one bee at a time to pass, or up to the hive being out in the open.

[Michael Bush]

I have onlyl top entrances on mine.  I went to them because I was tired of feeding all my bees to the skunks and the mice moving in all the time.

IF you run an excluder you really need an entrance above and below the excluder.  The drones can't  get out if the only entrance is on the other side of the excluder.  The field bees have to squeeze through the excluder (and the brood nest) every trip if you only have a bottom one.

[Lechwe]

Micheal,

I built an upper entrance last year and used on my hive. I made sure I payed attention to bees space and things. I left the bottom entrance in as well hoping it would allow for better ventilation. I did not have great results. I Had a queen excluder on the top hive body and the upper entrance above that. I saw very little use if any of the upper entrance and when I open the hive to remove th supers I found that they had built a large amount of burr comb on the excluder and filled it with honey making a large mess.

Did I do something wrong?

[Robo]

Micheal,

Do you do anything special with the bottoms to prevent dead bees/debris build up?

Lechwe,

Here is an interesting concept of an entrance that supposedly eliminates the need of an excluder.   Perhaps you have seen it advertised in BeeCulture.  I have not tried it, but it does look interesting, though it would add yet more equiptment to have/maintain.
Moveable Top Entrance

[Michael Bush]

>I built an upper entrance last year and used on my hive. I made sure I payed attention to bees space and things. I left the bottom entrance in as well hoping it would allow for better ventilation. I did not have great results. I Had a queen excluder on the top hive body and the upper entrance above that. I saw very little use if any of the upper entrance and when I open the hive to remove th supers I found that they had built a large amount of burr comb on the excluder and filled it with honey making a large mess.

Mine have NO bottom entrance and NO excluder so they HAVE to use the top entrance.  I also have SBB for ventilation.  But before I did that I always had a least a small top entrance for ventilation and to let the field bees bypass the brood nest and they always got used.

>Do you do anything special with the bottoms to prevent dead bees/debris build up?

In the winter it builds up with or without a bottom entrance.  In the summer they keep it clean with or without a bottom entrance.  I have to dump the debris off in the spring.

[Horns Pure Honey]

once again I am pretty shure that was in bee keeing for dummies, lol, or was it in "the classroom"?