Mating Hives
 
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Mating Nuc Entrance Standard

The entrance standards used on Leicestershire and Rutland BKA mating nucleus bee hives and those used on the mating nucs of Dave Cushman, along with an adaptor block that allows the use of a 50 mm diameter disc entrance.

Entrance lips... The design of this part is due to John Groocock. I have used it to maintain standardisation between my mating nucs and those of L&RBKA.

They are used in pairs spaced 22 mm apart.

Various screens or restrictors may be slid into the slots so formed.

  Entrance Lips

entrance standards Leicestershire and Rutland BKA mating nucleus bee hives

Original L&RBKA Entrance   The Version I have used

The right hand diagram shows how the lips are placed in relation to the entrance in the L&RBKA Nuc. The white colouration is due to the originals that John Groocock made being made from a white plastic material. The ones that I have made used a type of marine plywood that was about 5.5 mm in thickness.

The nuc box wall is 9 mm exterior grade plywood and in the L&RBKA version is treated with micro porous brown stain. My own nucs are treated with raw linseed oil and the entrance holes are 16 mm diameter.

entrance standards Leicestershire and Rutland BKA mating nucs Dave Cushman,

Shown here is the basic size and shape of the slide in restrictors. They may be made from sheet aluminium, fibreglass printed circuit material or white plastic cut from old honey bucket lids.

If the slide is to be used as a frame for mesh or other material, the dimensions of the inner aperture can be used.

entrance standards Leicestershire and Rutland BKA mating nucleus bee hives

  Entrance Slide Dimensions

The various types are:-

4 mm queen excluder slot (below left),   5 mm drone excluder slot (below right),

Two sorts of ventilated closure are shown on the middle row.

And a restricted entrance with a single 8 mm diameter hole is shown at extreme bottom right.

Drone Excluder Slide

entrance standards mating nucleus bee hives mating nucs Dave Cushman,

Sheet aluminium is the easiest to make these two items from.

entrance standards mating nucleus bee hives Dave Cushman nucleus bee hives

Queen Excluder Slide
Ventilation Slide with Mesh

Mating Nuc Entrance Standard 50 mm diameter disc entrance nucleus bee hives

Aluminium or plastic sheet is easily drilled or mesh may be glued in place onto a fibreglass blank using epoxy resin.

Mating Nuc Entrance Standard 50 mm diameter disc entrance nucleus bee hives

Drilled Aluminium Ventilation Slide

Those items made from aluminium sheet are held in place by slightly bending the part so that it binds on the slot formed between the entrance lips and the box wall.

There are various types of Disc Entrances available, either proprietary or home made and so the adaptor block illustrated below was designed to cater for their use with these types of mating box.

Anti Robbing Slide

The block should be made from tight grained hardwood or hardwood plywood

Use an M2.5 CSK bolt and nut with washers to fit a 50 mm diameter disc entrance.

The whole assembly sides into the entrance lips from the left. The view at furthest right (or the lower of the two on small screens) shows the block with a disk fixed in place using a nut and countersunk screw.

  Adaptor block for Disc Entrance Adaptor block for Disc Entrance with disc in place

 Written... Data lost. Upgraded... 15 January 2006,
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