Beehive entrance summer/winter

01 · WHY YOU REGULATE IT

The right entrance depends on the colony, not the calendar

An entrance is not worked the same way all year, and it is not only about cold. A strong colony during a flow needs a wide way in: if the entrance is too small, the queue of foragers jams and that costs crop. A small colony, or any colony wintering, needs the opposite: a reduced entrance is less area to defend against robbing and less heat lost. The toothed angle lets you move from one situation to the other by turning the part, without stripping the floor or changing block.

02 · MEASURE YOUR ENTRANCE

What decides is the opening, not the hive's name

We are often asked «does it fit Layens?», «and Dadant?», and the question is wrongly framed from the start. These blocks mount over the hive entrance, so what decides is how wide that entrance is, not what the model is called. There are two sizes: the long one for hives and the short one for nucs. Take a ruler, measure the entrance you have and pick the one that covers it — if your opening is another width, neither covers it, and that is better known before ordering twenty. On NICOT floors, which have their own slots, the family is a different one: the plastic blocks that clip in.

03 · WHERE IT SITS IN THE FAMILY

First decide what you want to keep out

All entrance blocks do the same thing — govern who comes in — and differ in how much they let through. Choosing well means deciding the aim first and the size second:

04 · BEFORE YOU BUY

Pick the size by your entrance: 428 × 22 mm for hives and 240 × 22 mm for nucs. When fitting, check it sits flat and leaves no gap at one end — a regulating block that does not close at one side regulates nothing. And remember that reducing the entrance helps against robbing but does not solve it alone: with robbing under way there is more to review than the door.