The Honey Factory

[Ascholten]

I am not a beekeeper so my comments are about worthless,but with that being said, im gonna say them anyways

Id think as they started moving out of the cluster and towards the outside of the hive they'd quickly feel the chill and figure it out for the most part. They huddle to keep warm or move to certain parts right? They might think the heat is just from their work etc etc.

Also on that, while it may allow them to move, would their instincts etc get them to move to the right place, where the food is? Also it'd speed up their metabolism and they'd burn what energy they had faster too. Could be some unintended consequences there


Aaron

 

[MarkJr]

Question for you bee geniuses..

I am thinking about the dead bees. They were not dried out so they were not dead long.

They needed a slight break in the cold to move to another place. I am wondering if I put a pet heater pad in the hive and used it during the extreme cold would of give them a chance to move if need bee.

Or would it fool them into thinking spring as come and they would either break cluster or would they think it’s warm enough to make a poop flight and freeze to death?

Most likely the second option.

When you tear apart the colony, where were the bees in relation to the capped stores? Cold bees move up fairly easy. They cannot move sideways frame to frame so easily. If you're on wax foundation, they can/will chew completely through the comb to allow the cluster to move through without breaking cluster. If there's plastic foundation in a cold weather hive, the chances of failure are much higher.

Another thought is mite load. 2-3% of your colony can have varroa mites and be considered healthy. So 2-3% of 50k bees is 1000-1200 mites. Their numbers are always growing. But for the sake of discussion we will assume they keep same numbers. You colony contracts say 50%. Cold weather bees can actually shrink further. So 25000 bees with 1000-1200 mites puts you in 4-5% which is terminal mite loads.

First step is to figure why they died.

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

https://beekeepclub.com/best-beehive-heaters/#the-post​

A Final Word​

Heating beehives has many advantages and benefits in beekeeping. Above all, it greatly increases the survival rate of honey bee colonies going through winter. A beekeeping operation benefits from investing in beehive heating. Beehive heaters can be deployed when heating is necessary to prevent starvation of the winter cluster of honey bees. By being used periodically, beehive heaters do not add too much to the total cost of running the beekeeping operation. Use the information in this guide and the review of the best beehive heaters to get more out of wintering your honey bee colonies.

( I guess it's a thing, I hadn't heard of it. Interesting)

 

[MarkJr]

I went to 8 frame equipment in North Idaho. There is less reliance on side to side movement.

I also moved to quilt boxes on top.

I had the least losses with unwrapped, quilt box hives. I moved hives to a protected shed that shared a wall with my shop on two different years. Lost them all both years.

I cannot advocate supplemental heat or wrapping hives. I simply haven't had any success with it

 

[CLSranch]

I went to 8 frame equipment in North Idaho. There is less reliance on side to side movement.

I also moved to quilt boxes on top.

I had the least losses with unwrapped, quilt box hives. I moved hives to a protected shed that shared a wall with my shop on two different years. Lost them all both years.

I cannot advocate supplemental heat or wrapping hives. I simply haven't had any success with it

I was going to suggest wrapping during severe strange cold spells. Maybe not a good Idea. I do like the 8 frame suggestion from what I read It's all I bought to start with. The winter time not side to side spreading in the cold.

 

[duluthralphie]

I was going to suggest wrapping during severe strange cold spells. Maybe not a good Idea. I do like the 8 frame suggestion from what I read It's all I bought to start with. The winter time not side to side spreading in the cold.

We never have a “strange cold spell”. They are normal. They occur every year. I had the hives wrapped, I had a moisture board on top of the frames. Above that I had a ventilated winter quilt blanket above that and the cover above that.

The hives were surrounded on three sides with wind breaks. The nice bees even had a cover attached to the windbreak.

I have a couple pet warmer pads that look kind of like this:

I am thinking I might place them in the hives next fall. I will need to find a way to not allow them to work unless it’s below freezing, or some other temp.

 

[R2elk]

I am thinking I might place them in the hives next fall. I will need to find a way to not allow them to work unless it’s below freezing, or some other temp.

Plug in thermostats with remote sensors are readily available.

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

No activity around my 2 hives. I'll have to check them soon.

 

[CLSranch]

Plug in thermostats with remote sensors are readily available.

They are readily available for winter warming. Such as light's under a house, chicken coops, etc... But I'm still not sure about your other fears trying to leave and freeze setting brood to early then running out of food etc. being a problem. Then you HAVE to feed every warm up and be careful of what time you do patties.

 

[duluthralphie]

They are readily available for winter warming. Such as light's under a house, chicken coops, etc... But I'm still not sure about your other fears trying to leave and freeze setting brood to early then running out of food etc. being a problem. Then you HAVE to feed every warm up and be careful of what time you do patties.

Starting brood too early would be a problem. But freezing to death is a problem. I won’t decide for sure until next fall.