Laurence Edwards shows his winter hive setup: a single deep brood box with an under-floor entrance, mesh floor, queen excluder left in place, top feeder, polystyrene lid, and straw above the cluster for extra insulation. The bees stay warm and happy, and you skip the work of swapping or cleaning the excluder.
So this is my standard winter configuration now. Works a treat, really simple, but most importantly, the bees absolutely love it. Underfloor entrance with an open mesh floor, either a single National Deep or a single 14 by 12 brood box. Leave the queen excluder on there, that makes it easier for me. Then I have my feeder on top, and then I have my polystyrene lid. So really top quality insulation, but then we get the Brucey bonus inside that I leave the straw in situ. They come up here into this slot, finish off all that syrup, and then I leave the straw in to give you added insulation above that cluster. Okay, you lose a little bit by leaving the queen excluder in there, but it saves me loads of time. Means I never have to swap queen excluders. Means I never have to clean them either. And the bees are very, very happy.
