Hive Upper entrance issues.

[Joe Ridenhour]

So I used quilt boxes as suggested in class.  Bought them from Woods, easy to use, well built but they have a entrance on them.  Both hives over wintered better then expected but the bees have taken to using that upper entrance (and it is small) almost exclusively.  They have quite the traffic jam going on.

Would blocking the upper entrance cause too much confusion for the bees?  Can they relearn where the bottom is?

Thanks

Joe

[Charlie Garrott]

I think the quilt boxes should come off pretty soon. I have been coached that the hole in the inner cover should be screened (1/8" mesh) during spring, summer, and fall. This prevents the bees from exiting at the top. The bees will figure it out. I have been coached to put a 3/4" x 3/4" x 6" block on top of the inner cover at the rear of the hive. This slightly lifts the upper cover and allows for ventilation out the rear of the hive. The point of putting it at the rear is so that the air flow goes from the lower front of the hive to the upper rear of the hive for good ventilation. In the winter, the screen is removed. You can find bees on top of the inner cover in the winter basking in the warm air exiting the hive.

Get other ideas!

Charlie Garrott

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[Nathan Allan]

It might simply be that the top entrance is more convenient. If you are using two brood deeps you might want to flip them.

Some people leave the quilt box on year round. It makes it easy to feed internally and to do quick inspections.

I think most beekeeper I know have moved away from top entrances.

On Wednesday, April 15, 2026 at 10:05:44 PM UTC-7 charlie...@gmail.com wrote:

I think the quilt boxes should come off pretty soon. I have been coached that the hole in the inner cover should be screened (1/8" mesh) during spring, summer, and fall. This prevents the bees from exiting at the top. The bees will figure it out. I have been coached to put a 3/4" x 3/4" x 6" block on top of the inner cover at the rear of the hive. This slightly lifts the upper cover and allows for ventilation out the rear of the hive. The point of putting it at the rear is so that the air flow goes from the lower front of the hive to the upper rear of the hive for good ventilation. In the winter, the screen is removed. You can find bees on top of the inner cover in the winter basking in the warm air exiting the hive.

Get other ideas!

Charlie Garrott

On Wed, Apr 15, 2026, 7:27 PM Joe Ridenhour <joer...@gmail.com> wrote:

So I used quilt boxes as suggested in class.  Bought them from Woods, easy to use, well built but they have a entrance on them.  Both hives over wintered better then expected but the bees have taken to using that upper entrance (and it is small) almost exclusively.  They have quite the traffic jam going on.

Would blocking the upper entrance cause too much confusion for the bees?  Can they relearn where the bottom is?

Thanks

Joe

--
Olympia Beekeepers Association Discussion Group
For more information visit https://OlympiaBeekeepers.org/
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[Joe Ridenhour]

I already did the flip and have a queen excluder in place.  She's got a real good pattern now in the bottom box and I'll remove that soon.  Quilt box came off last night and I'm going to check traffic out of the bottom entrance soon.  

 

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