Today is hive building day! I have been watching your videos and designing new hives. I’ve committed to the 38mm top bars and I really like the periscope entrance. It’s simple and can be reversed if it doesn’t pan out. Though as far as the top side of it I will slant it out and down because we have a great deal of rain and snow in the Pacific Northwestern United States (Washington). I LOVE the ‘mouse-guard’ strapping. Everything I need to build this hive is sitting in my shop! One of the biggest issues is WASPS! The local barn wasps dive at full speed into the face and head and sting on impact. I have an extreme allergy to them. One thing I’m learning is that wasps will not tolerate a bee hive writhing 8m of their nest and will quickly abandon the nest when they find bees in the area. This means bee hives will be strategically placed around all four barns and the main house (except on the windy sides). Thanks for sharing.

I'm in the process of building my hive and that will be added, well thought out thank you.

This certainly resonates with the idea of the Hivegate from BeeIQ Solutions. A restricted entrance and a narrow, more easily defended tunnel into the hive.

Excellent idea!!

I'm new to bee keeping, but have been studying it for some time. The top bar hive always attracted me above all else. I love these simple solutions and the experimental nature of them. I made a topbar hive with some interesting modifications this year. That I think I will use on future hive builds. I'm going to be building some new hives this winter and have some interesting ideas for floors. 👍

one of the best things i have taken from you my friend. i modified mine for summer and robbing. there is a window screen under the 2 piece of luan plywood. i take the 2 inch strip thats over the top where the holes are off in the summer / fall so the robbers go to the screen to get in and the field bees go to the bottom also keeps small hive beetles out for those of us that have them.

I've tried but after 2 seasons I'm back to the low entrances. I had the impression the bees didn't like it. When there was a little hole at the bottom they clearly preferred that one. I also had the impression that they were less enthusiastic about keeping the hive clean.

I put a version of this periscope entrance on one of my hives after seeing this video a few years ago, but the bees hated it. They would look for absolutely any other way in or out. Instead of blocking up little cracks like you sometimes get if a topbar isn't pressed down super tight, they would start chewing at it until it was big enough to squeeze themselves out of. And they'd empty the ego floor under the follower boards so they could get out that way. And then the guard bees would get super defensive about the multiple entrances making walking past the hive without protection dangerous. Also, the colony in that hive didn't do as well as my other two hives with simple lower entrances so when they didn't survive a winter that the other two sailed through I gave up on the idea. Maybe I just had a weird colony, but it was my experience.

Phill u asked how to switch between high and low power, on my CRT Milenium video. Its all in the video matey, how to do the modification, and how to switch between high and low power.

Great idea!! the hive scent will be concentrated too , which welcomes bac foragers.

Hello Mr. Chandler! That's a very interesting plenum design that certainly would frustrate those robber bees and wasps that like to make a direct entrance and escape. How will how do you plan to measure or quantify the effectiveness regarding the varroa mites? Thanks for sharing your ideas!

I like the idea might give it on go on my next build

I like the idea and will give it a try

How did this work out in the end?

Interesting idea.

I LOVE IT!!! GENIUS MY GOOD SIR!!! GENIUS!!!!!

Damn you must have a big varroa issue in the UK. Sounds like it’s raining down varroa 😎

Iv seen something similar on the cathedral hives. But it was only a bee space wide. In theory it should make the entrance more defensible too, in so much as it would slow down any invasive wasps ect.

It's been years. How did this work out? Did bees eventually make comb in it or did they just walk through?

Interesting. Winter woodshop project.

Great ideas Phil. But. If you would use a piece of metal with 5 mm holes. The bees will be able to get in but a hornet is not able to do so. Wasps will be slowed down much more because of the small entrances which will be defended very good by the bees.

With this sort of entrance it will be more difficult for bees to ventilate the hive, no?

Hello Phil, I saw you using polystyrene beehives. Can you tell me about your experience? I imagine an advantage in not creating cold corners, but what about their lack of absorption or breathing capacity ?

You will have to let us know if it does the job, but on another hive idea, your Zest hive, it's to deep for me (bad back)

Have you ever tried out the layens hive? Also do you think that you can promote and breed bees that are able to cope and coexist with varroa in Ireland and England ?

seems like it would make it difficult for the bees to ventilate the hive