Inner Cover Notch Up or Down??
The "Notch"
For beekeepers who use telescopic lids, inner covers are necessary as they prevent bees from propolizing the outer lid to the box. But are you taking advantage of another useful feature of these inner covers?
How to Use the Notch:
For ventilation:
Turn the notch side down on the inner cover and position it at the front of the hive.
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Install the outer cover (telescopic lid) over the inner cover and slide it just slightly forward to allow additional airflow (ventilation) for the hive—but not enough space for a bee to enter or exit. *
Another benefit of the notch is that it can serve as a top entrance to the hive. This is particularly useful during nectar flow, as foraging bees can unload their cargo directly into the supers without having to travel up through the brood boxes.
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When using the notch as a top entrance, install the inner cover as described for ventilation, but this time slide the outer cover all the way forward, allowing enough space for bees to come and go.
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Another way to use the inner cover as an entrance is to place it above the queen excluder and under the honey super. This gives the bees direct access to the honey supers as described above.
Note: You may notice bees building burr comb under the cover when the notch side is down. This is due to exceeding bee space. For this reason, some beekeepers choose to use the notch side down only for winter ventilation. However, when using the notch for ventilation and/or as an upper entrance above supers, it doesn't seem to cause excessive burr comb, as the bees are more focused on building comb in the supers than under the inner cover.