We received an email from our chairman warning us about mouldy hives as a result of our long, wet winter. We have a very good and considerate chairman, but I'm not sure about his advice this time. He suggested replacing the affected crown board and roof (that's fine) and increase ventilation through the hive by checking that vents in the roof and crown board aren't covered or clogged up with propolis. He also suggested adding extra ventilation by lifting the crown board with match sticks. With an open mesh floor air will then flow up through the hive keeping things dry in the process.

I think he was mainly referring to wooden hives, but even in my polys I occasionally see some mould in the corners of inner plywood crown boards (meaning they fit inside the hive) and I'm sure I'll see mould on some of the outside frames of some hives when I open them in the spring - but usually the insides of the hives are nice and dry. I don't have top ventilation, and I don't remove the inspection trays (but there are openings in some trays and they're fairly loose-fitting).

I don't want to reply to his email and squeal, 'You'll create a draught through the hive' (so I'm doing it here!) - but also because I realised that I don't have an alternative suggestion to remedy mouldy hives if, at the same time, I want to avoid a draught. I might suggest increasing the insulation above the crown board - will that help? Are there still people here using top ventilation?

Kitta