Hive Floor
Lexikon
The floor is the lowest component of the hive and carries the entrance.
The floor is the lowest component of the hive and carries the entrance. A distinction is made between the closed floor and the now-dominant screened bottom board, in which a fine mesh holds the bees back but lets dead mites and hive debris fall through.
Under the mesh lies a removable board, the varroa board or floor insert. Hive debris collects on it, which the beekeeper counts for debris diagnosis. The method of the Bavarian State Institute calls for leaving the insert in place for seven days and calculating the natural mite drop as the number of mites divided by the number of observation days. Between counts, the insert should be protected from ants, otherwise they carry the mites away and the result is wrong.
The mesh size of common floors is around three millimeters, a value that bees cannot pass through but mites can.
Tall floors with more empty space beneath the combs are especially practical for feeding, for migration and for treatment with formic acid, because they create room for evaporators and airflow. The floor is also the place where the entrance is narrowed, whether with an entrance wedge, a slide or a mouse guard.