The honeyside entrance gate replicates the entrance opening honey bees often make on their own
In the wild, bees enter through small holes, commonly between 5/32" and 1" diameter in their hive. These are easier to defend against wax moth, wasps and other predators. Bees build a propolis barrier or curtain on the inside of the nest if the entrance is exposed, to deflect the wind and for colony defense.
MEET THE honeyside ENTRANCE gate!
Affordable & easy to install
Made of natural thermoplastic polyester that is derived from renewable resources such as corn starch or sugar cane, and recycled wood fiber, these Honeyside Entrance Gates resemble an entrance that the bees would create on their own using propolis. After drilling a 1" hole, they simply screw into place on the honeyside of a hive.
A GREEN take on BEE HIVE entrance MANAGEMENT
The vented gate mimics the propolis curtain that is often found in wild bee hives. The bees are able to propolize as they want, and leave spaces open where they'd like to keep ventilation.
The sustainably made gate is only 1/4" deep, and will not allow anything larger than that in! I have had zero issues with wax moths in my hives that use Honeyside gates!
Decreased Robbing! Since the entrance is more defensible, hives with a Honeyside Gate are much harder to rob!
The angled outter edge of the gate allows frames to be installed easily. If you hit the gate while placing your frame in the hive, it simply deflects off, in other versions, the frame is stopped abruptly and can stir up the bees.
The provided cork plugs allow you to simply block off the entrances to transport, or treat your hive.
Placing holes 2-3" above the hive bottom allows for bees to make their cleansing flights, even if many of the bees in the colony have died, with traditional hives, it's common for dead bees to block the ground floor entrance in the winter.
The back of the gate, if the girls choose to propolize it, defends against winds, keeping the hive warmer and brood safer in the shoulder seasons
A distinct landing strip is created, it will become coated in propolis thereby improving hive hygiene.
You can place your brood box directly on a board, negating the need for a standard floor, or, you can use it in conjunction with a standard entrance floor, to allow extra entrance space when the honey flow is on!
For those that use Long Langstroth's, or Top Bar Hives, you can add these Honeyside Entrance Gates along the length of the hive, allowing multiple colonies to live in one hive for queen banking.
I've found that 4 entrances, 3 on the bottom brood box, and one in the upper, works really great. I also like to put them on the first honey super, and then every other super after that.
NOTHING OVER 1/4 in. WILL GET INTO YOUR MODIFIED HIVE!
NOT WASP, HORNET, WAX MOTH, NOR RODENT, CAN FIT!
Asian Giant Hornets are much too large to get in and demolish your hive during their slaughter phase!
**Please note... Honeyside is not responsible for any hive loss, there are simply too many things that can wrong with any hive set up**