[Rick_Bee]

A screened bottom board does not control humidity. You do not control humidity, the bees do.

Why are you asking about humidity?

Is it due to condensation?

Condensation is caused by a cold surface, not by humidity.

I have a 30 frame horizontal that is insulated and closed up with a 1/2" x 5" entrance. The humidity hovers at 75% regardless of what the outside humidity is.

 

[Rick_Bee]

I must apologize for the tone of that post.

No, actually I have a stack of them for sale.
I suppose a screened board is good during summer, but its extra work to change them and redundant gear.

Anyway the heat and moisture rise so an open bottom is like forgetting to close up the trap door in your jammies, gonna chill your giblets. It's a big gulp, when the hive only needs a sip

Coins under the top cover will vent excess moisture when they are drying honey.

 

[Rick_Bee]

For certain beekeeping is local! X10


I'm also in zone 8 25° this am!

And that is Pacific North Wet, the "s" is silent.... :^)

Finished this post the next day 55° and raining and the bees are not flying.

 

[Rick_Bee]

I think I read somewhere that the bees are good to 116° before showing signs of distress?
Morning sun - afternoon shade.

 

[Rick_Bee]

One of the guys that was working on cooking the mites worked out how high the hive temp can be before the bees are in distress.
Our bee species was originaly a tropical resident and can survive quite high temps.

I'm not poo pooing screen boards year round, just in the winter. If you stuff it, it's not really a screen board anymore, only in name.

Location location! We are in the same zone but have totally different weather!
If you take wet, and make it a lot wetter you will be close,
April showers bring May flowers, but May showers flood the fields.
Then someone flips a switch and the clouds go away and it jumps to weeks of 100+ with high humidity except during the winter freezes.
We don't hardly see any hive beetles here and winter is cold enough to stop the moth from being too much trouble.

 

[Rick_Bee]

I don't buy into the varroa cooking thing I just used that as a reference as to the bees ability to handle heat.

 

[Rick_Bee]

Why did the hive not have adequate ventilation?
You can close up an entrance without messing with air flow, by folding a piece of #8 screen and inserting it in the slot.
Spring pressure will hold it in place. You can have a 1" entrance and the full width open for venting.

I built slatted bottom boards for this season, 1.5" of air space below the slats.

My Horizontal colony has moved away from the only entrance (5/8" X 5") maybe 4 frames of honey between the cluster and the entrance now.
I set only 2 frames of honey and then the brood when I installed them.
it feels like they want separation from the entrance.
I may take that hive apart this summer and change the bottom to a slatted bottom.
Maybe as a drawer, that would solve the cleaning issue.
And It could still potentially house 3 colonies, a drawer front center and one on each side.