Arrangement of hive entrances and minelayers

The design of any hive includes a special entrance for bees – a narrow rectangular or round hole in the wall. Entrances in hives can be upper or lower, side entrances are less common. Their gaps are regulated by latches or wooden plugs.

The content of the article

  • 1 Location and dimensions
    • 1.1 Dimensions and placement in the lounger
    • 1.2 Dimensions and placement in a multi-body system
    • 1.3 Dimensions and placement in a two-body system
    • 1.4 Dimensions and placement in a 16-frame hive
    • 1.5 Sizes and placement in the Ukrainian lounger
  • 2 How to regulate
  • 3 Installation relative to the cardinal points
  • 4 How to make yourself
  • 5 Заградитель
    • 5.1 Round made of old plastic
    • 5.2 Rectangular metal profiles

Location and dimensions

The size of the entrance directly depends on the time of year, the amount of food reserves, the strength of the bee nest and its placement in the hive.

In their natural habitat, bees inhabit tree hollows. The notch here is always located opposite the nest in order to avoid it being walled up when it falls to the floor of the winter dead.

As for the artificial keeping in the hives, here bees have a choice – to use the lower or upper entrance. And more often they prefer the upper tap hole, as in the wild.

Upper tap hole should be at approximately equal distance from both the ceiling plane and the floor. The diameter of the hive entrance is 25 millimeters. If necessary, plug the hole with a wooden stopper.

Lower entrance gap placed at floor level. If we are talking about a multi-hull system, the lower notch is the one that will be located at the very bottom. The size of the hive entrance depends on the type of construction – there are slots for the entire width of the body, adjustable by inserts in the winter / summer position.

Side (corner) tap holes are made only in special design hives, designed to change the position of the frames relative to the entrance – cold or warm skid. For example, the Ukrainian lounger has such a feature. The size of the side slit here is 100 in length and 12 mm in height.

In shop extensions designed for a half-frame, you do not need to make an additional entrance.

Adjustment of any slotted taphole in length is made using a metal or wood gate valve.

Dimensions and placement in the lounger

On one body in the lounger along the front wall, two holes are cut, equipped with boards for arrival and latches.

arrival board

For double-matted keeping in sunbeds (placement under one roof of the donor family and a branch or nucleus), it is necessary to equip two sets of entrances:

  1. At the bottom, the front wall does not reach the floor by 12 mm. This slot is divided by a stationary sleeve.
  2. At the top, 25 mm holes are drilled or slots 100 mm in length are cut. Each upper entrance will have a separate arrival board. The boards must be different in color! Sometimes the entire hive is painted in two different colors.

Dimensions and placement in a multi-body system

In multi-hull hives, tap holes are available in all sections, with the exception of special designs that provide only the lower entrance.

A 125 mm hole is drilled in the center of the front cabinet walls at a height of 25 mm. A wooden cork (sleeve) is made in the kit for it.

bottom

The lower admission slot is arranged in the bottom harness. More often it occupies the entire width of the front wall and is regulated by an insert with dimensions of 20 by 20 mm. The length of the gap varies depending on the season: for the winter it is reduced to 100, and for the summer it opens up to 375 mm.

The upper entrances in such hives serve as additional ventilation. And during honey collection, bees actively use them.

Read about other ventilation methods:

Hive bottoms with a net – a whim or a necessity

Dimensions and placement in a two-body system

In double-hulled hives, the lower entrance gap is formed by the front wall, which does not reach the floor level by 15 mm. The dimensions of the entrance are regulated by two valves. Above the slot there is a sleeve through which the debris is removed and ventilation is increased.

In the upper body section, in the center of the front wall, 70 mm from the top, one 25 mm hole is drilled, complete with a bushing.

Dimensions and placement in a 16-frame hive

In the insulated 16-frame structure, the space between the walls is closed by an insert – the tap hole should be continuous on the sections.

This type of beehive is equipped with only 10 mm high slotted hives:

  • the length of the slit at the bottom – 250 mm;
  • length at the top – 100 mm.

Each of the entrances is equipped with gate valves and landing boards. At the bottom, a block of 400 mm long and a section of 30 by 30 serves as a support for the plank. The space under the frames is 20 mm.

Sizes and placement in the Ukrainian lounger

Ukrainian sun loungers contain 20 cell frames. They are designed for two-queen keeping of bee colonies. They differ in the original placement of the tap hole on the side wall (at the end).

Location:

  1. One lateral tap hole is directed by the entrance to the end part of the honeycomb frames. Equipped with a latch and board for arrival. Size 100 x 12 mm. Located 35 from the bottom of the sidewall and 170 mm from the corner edge of the hive.
  2. The two lower anterior notch slits are 200 mm long and 12 mm high. Entrances are made 100 mm from the corners of the house.
  3. The two upper entrance slots are located strictly above the lower ones, 160 mm from the corners of the hive and 340 mm from the lower cut of the front wall. Sizes 100 by 12 mm.

The lateral notch most often contains layering. After the unification of the old and young bee families, this entrance is closed tightly.

How to regulate

beehive-2

The upper entrances in the hives are opened in the spring, allowing the bees to enter and exit through the top. In the warm season – in summer and late spring, the lower admission gap is also used.

By the time of wintering, it is tightly closed with a latch, and the upper entrance holes are left completely open – the bees themselves reduce them as needed.

As for multi-hull systems equipped with a tap hole in each hull section, the adjustment here is carried out taking into account the following points:

  • when growing brood in the same body, the tap hole must be opened;
  • when placing the body section under marketable honey, the tap holes do not open.

This adjustment is due to the fact that the hive entrance determines the location of the brood. The uterus always sows near the inlet, and the nectar is stored by flying insects in the most distant part of the combs.

Important! When adjusting, maximum attention is paid to the strength of the bee colonies. Much in this matter is solved empirically.

For example, in a weak family, by nightfall, bees weaken the security of the entrance, which attracts thieves. This means that the gap at the bottom must be covered. Torturing a strong bee colony (“beard” on the boarding board) indicates stuffiness inside the hive – all cracks and holes must be thrown wide open.

Installation relative to the cardinal points

The orientation of the entrance to the hive relative to the cardinal points is an important factor for the health of the bee colony.

There is an interesting opinion regarding the installation according to the Earth’s magnetic field. Experimental beekeepers turn their hives with their entrances strictly to the north, as bees like to rebuild combs in the direction from north to south. This method is quite interesting, but it has not found fundamental confirmation in scientific works.

Deciding in which direction to place the hive with the entrance is quite simple! Traditional installation rules are based on taking into account the prevailing winds and climate characteristics in a particular area:

  • in the southern regions, the entrances to the hives are directed to the northeast;
  • and in the middle and northern lane to the southeast.

The main thing here is that the first rays of the sun touch the entrances, encouraging the bees to work.

How to make yourself

Do-it-yourself hive holes are made using woodworking machines or a saw, depending on the type of entrance – round or slotted with a rectangular section.

To make a round hole, you need a 25mm Forstner drill and a machine tool. The passage is made with an upward slope to prevent rainwater from flowing into the hive.

Arrangement of hive entrances and minelayers Arrangement of hive entrances and minelayers Arrangement of hive entrances and minelayers

Slotted entrances can be made with a sharp saw according to the drawings of a particular hive model. All sections are additionally sanded with sandpaper.

In multi-hull notch systems – an integral element of the bottom strapping… First, the harness is assembled from the bars, in which the grooves for the flooring and quarters are selected for connecting the parts of the harness. The entrance is organized through an adjustable insert located on the front wall of the harness.

Заградитель

Hive fly-bys are a protective barrier against rodents and thief bees. They are also used as a summer limiter when transporting an apiary or treating fields with chemicals. Attached to the tap holes.

minelayers in action

In the standard version, these are two metal plates, one of which has cutouts for the passage of insects. The plate with holes is movable – it fits into the grooves of the upper fixed part of the trap.

Material – black sheet or galvanized sheet iron (steel or aluminum).

Dimensions (in mm):

  • 250 lengths;
  • 31 widths.

Round made of old plastic

To save on this inventory, you can do-it-yourself hive hives from scrap materials. For example, used plastic canisters.

For this, one factory round-shaped barrage is purchased, which is used as a template. For cutting blanks, sharp scissors will do. The holes are drilled with a drill and sanded with sandpaper.

Arrangement of hive entrances and minelayers Arrangement of hive entrances and minelayers Arrangement of hive entrances and minelayers Arrangement of hive entrances and minelayers

Such a simple model is suitable for upper entrance holes. It can be used instead of a bushing (cork) to limit summer and protect it from thief bees at no time.

Rectangular metal profiles

On the lower entrance slots, which have a length over the entire width of the body, homemade metal gratings are used, fixed on self-tapping screws.

For the same purpose, an angle profile 23,5 by 23,5 made of steel 0,3 mm thick is suitable.… The holes in the profile keep rodents out and at the same time do not interfere with the work of the bees.

from the corner profile

This building material is realized in 3 meter segments. After cutting out the parts of the required length, the homemade minelayer is inserted into the taphole and fixed on the bottom with self-tapping screws with a press washer. If the part fits tightly enough between the bottom and the front wall, the screws may not be used at all.

A U-shaped profile for drywall with 7 mm holes is well suited for the same purpose.… A minelayer with a “corridor” is made of it, which protects the hives from tits and clogging with snow. To clear the snow, it is enough to raise the structure – on one side there is a slot that works like a hook.

Arrangement of hive entrances and minelayers Arrangement of hive entrances and minelayers Arrangement of hive entrances and minelayers

This is the simplest and cheapest solution for protecting bee housing from pests. Up to 50 apiary barriers can be made from eight pieces of standard length angle profiles!

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Anna Evans

Author ✓ Farmer

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