Inner Covers and Notches...

I've been watching a hive that belongs to one of our new members whose vacation coincided with our bee package delivery. This was my first time working with someone else's set up, so it was nice to see some of the differences in hive set- up, from major to subtle. One of the things I noticed was the absence of a notch in the inner cover. My bees use their inner cover notches quite regularly as second exits/entrances, so I thought this was important enough to mention to the vacationing beekeeper. I'm glad I did. Because this is his first hive, he did not immediately notice the notch was missing, and it was not intentional. Upon discussing this with some other new members in class last week, it turns out there were a few other people who received notch-less inner covers. The offending covers came from multiple sources, beekeeping supply companies and local woodworkers. So to make this long story short... New beekeepers, check your inner covers. If your inner cover does not have a notch like the one pictured here, you may want to make one, or have one made. They provide for better ventilation and act as an upper entrance/escape for the bees.