Today I built a new open mesh floor.
I have incorporated a few ideas from seeing other designs and reading about problems that can happen with a traditional floor, so have tried to minimise the entry of wind driven rain, and robbing by wasps and mice.
Ok, probably a little over-engineered, but hey, I only have two hives.
Everything including the landing platform is inset in the 460x460 footprint, this is so that if the hive is transported or a sliding door restricter is in place, there are no projections from the basic square outline.
I've come to the conclusion that full width entrances are no more required than matchsticks, many hives have much smaller entrances than the maximum third width that I've given this one.
Any approximately sized block of wood placed flat against the doorway can be used to block or variably restrict it, without having anything projecting from the side or front of the hive. Having found that the supposedly identical sized entrances of my previous traditional floors were anything but, this removes one 'aggravation factor'.
The entrance is a "periscope" spanning a third of the width, the first half is vertical, the second coming back at 45 degrees so that the floor access is at the front edge of the hive. The periscope prevents wind driven rain being blown in, and the opening at the front edge avoids having a section of flat floor without mesh that I've seen in other periscope designs. The 45 degree slope also diverts dropped varroa back to the removable board.
The periscope opening is 9mm beespace, I have plenty of rodents in my garden, they've been a problem with my chicken eggs, don't know if they'll be attacking the hives in the winter but this should keep them out. It should also help against robbing by wasps as there's a much deeper defensive area than normal between the outer doorway and the inner hive floor.
I'm wondering if any wasps that do manage to enter the hive might also find it more difficult to flee a counter attack by the bees, as with a open mesh floor and no direct line of sight along the entrance, finding the exit won't be so easy.
I'm putting the second application of apiguard into the hive tomorrow, so will replace the old solid floor then. I plan to set the frames 'cold way', no difference with the OMF of course, but I think the ladies will prefer the access that way.
