Nicot Evolutive Plastic Entrance

01 · HOW IT WORKS

A closed piece, and you decide how much to open

It arrives completely closed, with sixteen round caps you take off by hand when you want a way through. The point is that you match the entrance to where the colony is without changing the part — and the warning, because it is the thing people regret: once a hole is open, it stays open for good. So you start low and work up, never the other way.

02 · HOW MANY TO OPEN

From two to sixteen, depending on the moment

In a freshly hived swarm or a new nucleus, two to four: less surface to defend while the colony settles. In queen rearing, one or two, so no strange bees get in. In a dearth, between three and five, which is when robbing between hives starts. And in a heavy flow with a strong colony, ten or more, because a narrow entrance during a flow is a plug of foragers waiting to get in.

03 · FITTING AND REMOVING

Slot it in and slide it out, no tools

It slots into the grooves of the Nicot floor with no screws and no tools, and comes off by lifting one end and sliding it sideways. It measures 419 × 38 mm and weighs 58 g, so it steals no height and does not get in the way when stacking. If you run several hives, bear in mind that each entrance carries its own history: one with four holes open is no longer the one for next year's nucleus.

04 · BEFORE YOU BUY

It is made for the Nicot Dadant 10-frame plastic floor: check your floor before ordering. And remember that open holes do not close.