Non-Wasp plastic entrance Nicot® (green)

01 · 5.5 MM: THE BEE GETS THROUGH

The measurement is the whole explanation

The way it works comes down to one dimension: 5.5 mm of clearance, spread over two openings 65 mm long. A worker goes in and out unhindered — enough for the colony's work to carry on — and a Vespa velutina, considerably bulkier, does not fit. There is no mechanism, no trap and no bait: it is geometry. Which is also why it works with no maintenance and no consumables, its great advantage over other approaches.

02 · IT ONLY FITS NICOT FLOORS

It clips into the slots, it is not screwed on

This is the first thing to check: the guard is made to clip into the pre-cut slots of NICOT hive floors. There are no screws and no adaptors — if your floor is wooden or from another maker, this piece has nothing to hold on to. It measures 419 × 38 mm at 3 mm thick, and it is reversible: turned the other way it closes the entrance and leaves only ventilation holes, which is how you move a hive for migratory work without stifling it.

03 · THE DRONE PROBLEM

And it clashes with hornet season

Here is the decision nobody spells out. Those 5.5 mm also shut out the drones, which are larger than a worker — hence the advice to limit its use in spring and summer. The trouble is that hornet pressure peaks precisely from June to September, the very same window. There is no single right answer for a whole apiary: on production hives, where you have no use for drones, fit it and forget it; on hives raising drones for queen mating, either you leave them open or you go without mating. It is a decision per hive, not per apiary.

WHAT AN ENTRANCE GUARD DOES NOT DO

Worth being clear about, to avoid disappointment: this piece stops the hornet getting into the hive, which prevents the raiding inside. What it does not prevent is the hornet hunting on the wing in front of the entrance, and that is where most of the damage comes from — the hovering cuts foraging even if not a single wasp gets in. It is one more piece of the management, combined with trapping in its season and with keeping an eye on the apiary; on its own it does not solve heavy hornet pressure.

04 · BEFORE YOU BUY

It is made in France by NICOT, in recyclable food-grade plastic, and weighs 60 g. It cleans by scraping and with pressurised water at 60 °C, and takes bleach disinfection — welcome if you plan to reuse it between hives or between seasons. Buy one per hive you intend to protect, and note the colour is green: if you sort batches by colour, that is what there is.