I have a confession to make

I think I made a huge mistake when I built my top bar hive.  I was doing some reading today on Mike Bush's site and started thinking about when I put my hive together.  One of the features of the design that I used was the screened bottom board.  I was taking a beekeeping course at the time and we spent some time discussing the varroa mite problems.  When I read that people were having luck with screened bottom boards as an integrated pest management solution, I was excited to find a design that incorporated it.

The design that I used was David Bench's (http://www.wasatchbeekeepers.com/top-bar-hive-plans-david-bench/).  It is very detailed and easy to read and specifies the use of #8 hardware cloth for the bottom screen.  I read it several times and made my materials list.  Somehow when I came back from the hardware store, I had #4 hardware cloth and that is what went onto my hive.

For those of you who have used hardware cloth to restrict bee movement, you are probably saying a collective "Oh no" to yourselves.  Yes, when I came to the same realization today, I said the same thing.  For those of you who don't know, some worker bees may even make it through #7 hardware cloth if there are a couple loose wires.  #4 hardware cloth will keep out mice, but is an open door for bees.  I have a restricted front opening, but the entire bottom of the hive was basically wide open.

Now italian bees are known for robbing in the first place, but I have been feeding my bees like crazy--both the swarm side and the package side (before the package side absconded).  What do you think foreign bees were doing with the bottom of the hive wide open.  Could this have been a factor in my package bees absconding?  Well you learn from your mistakes, so I must be getting pretty smart.

The bees that were out foraging have to figure out where the front door is.  Notice the bee with its pollen basket full.  There was another one flying around with a pollen ball as big as its abdomen.

This little girl crawled out when I lifted a top bar to check the feeder.  It stood over the crevice between two top bars and kept fanning.  These top bars are upside down sitting on the cut down Langstroth frames that I first received.