Thanks to Brenda R. for assisting with the inspection and partial removal of the entrance reducers on Sunday.
Entrance reducers are used to help the bees better defend the hive, or to more easily maintain temperature within the hive on cold days. When the hives were initially set up in early March, the entrance was narrowed to 1.5 inches wide using two pieces of 3/4″ x 3/4″ wood. Now that the weather is warmer, and the population has built up, we have opened up the entrances leaving in a 6 inch long reducer. As the weather continues to warm we remove the last portion of the reducer to limit congestion and help the bees cool the hive. Here is what the entrance configuration looks like now
