#Honey bee hive winter insulation how to
#Honey bee hive winter insulation trial

You will know it’s time to begin your spring beekeeping chores when the dandelions begin to bloom. So, with the exception of feeding your bees–do not rush the season. However, there are still a number of cool, rainy and unpleasant days to come–when little is available in the way of nectar. When the snow finally melts away, and those warm, sunny days of spring arrive–it can be difficult to resist the urge to get out there and do something with the bees.

#Honey bee hive winter insulation trial

How did your bees fare during the long cold winter? With diligence, and perhaps a little bit of luck–your hives came through the winter, and if you’re anything like me–the long winter months when there is little a beekeeper can do for his or her honeybee colonies are a seemingly endless trial in patience.

MiteCalculator.Hooray for spring! Let beekeepers everywhere rejoice! The sun is shining, and the trees are beginning to bud, it’s warming up and the bees are flying again!

Horrible Decision Yields Horrible Resultsīee Paralysis Virus and What I'm Doing About It

#Honey bee hive winter insulation how to

How to Split a Hive (Or Raise a Queen in a Queenless Colony) How Many Bee Stings Would it Take to Kill You? Tracking Bloom Dates for Better Beekeeping Oxalic Acid Approved for Use With Honey Supersīeekeeping as a Gateway to Conservationism

The Impossible Task of Putting on Gloves with Sweaty Hands If I’m proven wrong by myself or others, rest assured I’ll change my ways, because my goal isn’t to be right about this it’s to have each colony flying come spring. While I have little doubt that mite management plays the biggest role in winter survival, I do believe my winter hive setup-with its attention on controlling moisture-plays some role in my overwintering success. Honestly I don’t expect to lose hives in the winter like most beekeepers do ( though it does happen every now and then). Meanwhile, my average winter loss rate is well under 5%. Just a bit up the road in Iowa, that loss was an astonishing 54%. The most recent figures from the Bee Informed Partnership show beekeepers in my state, Missouri, suffered a winter loss of over 23% last year. The insulation is meant to keep the inner cover warmer than the outer walls of the hive, thereby directing any condensation to the walls where the bees can use it for water without it posing a significant threat to the cluster. Then comes a moisture board and a piece of foam insulation. The vented super also gives me space to put fondant for winter feeding.Ībove the vented super is the inner cover, which provides a top entrance in case the bottom entrance gets obstructed. The eighth vent I leave open on front of the hive-this is to discourage any air flow from crossing over the cluster while still venting moist air before it can condense. Of the eight vents, I almost always keep seven of them plugged with rubber stoppers. I'll plug and open the vent holes throughout the winter to try and manage the temperature and moisture inside the hives. The picture below shows a vented super above my hive bodies. To combat this cycle of wetness, I make a “winter sandwich” on top of my hives. The bees that get hit don’t stand much chance to survive, and over time these losses could shrink the cluster to the point it can’t withstand the cold anymore. The danger of this condensation is that-like the ceiling of a tent-it’ll start dripping down on the winter cluster of bees. This is a recipe for condensation…warm moist air contacting a cold surface. The humid warm air hits the top of the hive, which is cold from the outside air. Then the relatively warm air around the bees carries the water vapor up to the top of the hive. Some of the water in the honey gets breathed back into the surrounding air. What causes this water build-up? First, the bees eat honey for the energy they need to generate heat. I found this-and several others-inside hives I’ve been winterizing over the last week. The picture above shows the inside of an inner cover absolutely saturated with water. If you’ve ever been camping in the fall and woken up early in the morning with condensation inside your tent and sleeping bag, you can relate. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: a colony is pretty adept at surviving the cold, but horrible at surviving the cold when wet. But it starts to make more sense when you factor in moisture. And frankly I understand why they’d be skeptical, because on the surface it doesn’t make sense to encourage air flow in a hive you’re trying to keep warm. Specifically, there are people who can’t fathom why I’d intentionally put vents above the nest. I’ve taken some heat about the way I winterize my honey bee hives. Winterizing Hives Why I Use Vented Supers