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Hi Teemore, Only because my own bees tend to still be in a good tightish cluster at that temp, say 11 or 12c, and also means if the temp drops quickly as it can do on winter days it also means it reduces the temp decreasing effect of the OA on the outer part of the cluster as the outside bees...

Arguments aside as to whether OA should be used at all for your colonies (that will, amongst other things, depend on levels of varroa infestation and that's another story!!!) as long as you feel confident that there is no or at worst very little brood (this of course depends on your bees and...

hi guys (or girls?) please see quote... "In mild weather the bees can break their cluster many times during the winter, enabling them to reach food anywhere in the hive. However, when the bees are more active they consume more stores than if they were kept inactive by the cold." Clive de...

Hello everyone, This isn't really directly answering the original question but it does help when discussing the issue of insulation.......the first thing to bear in mind is that bees do not eat more stores because it is colder or if they are on an OMF. I know that sounds completely against all...

agree with above, but also check that entrance isn't blocked, Q's not there, feeder's ok, and try and do it on a warmish (what a joke!) day. Basically check everything is sound first. do they have enough room in the hive by the way?

yeah - extraction would be tricky - you'd end up with all sorts in there unless you then strained eveything. also - you need to consider things like what you would do if there were queen cells on the super frames and you wanted to remove the frame they were on and wanted to use that frame and...

Hi skyhook - I think your apiguard is working perfectly (in fact, brilliantly!). I suspect, but don't know as I've never met your bees, that you simply have (or had!) lots of varroa, hence the large drop. Perhaps you may want to consider thinking of it a bit more postively - you are killing tons...

depends what you mean by 'opening up'.....if it's just to add oxalic when broodless then it doesn't really matter as long as it is dry and not too windy and you're quick. But if you want to do an inspection then the answer is really, you want it to be as warm as possible but if they are...

yes - this is true if we assumed that you got a colony and somehow, magically at the end of each summer, every summer, somebody then delivered all the profits from honey sales to your doorstep. Kind of like saying that buying a cow is cheap (which is) and then wondering why steak is so expensive!

interesting point about weak colonies maybe not surviving due to low numbers. I suppose that's where we should be 'earning our crust' as beekeepers.....identifying weak colonies as we see them (and importantly, identifying why they are weak) and uniting (or dare I say it, allow them to die off...

space board sounds sensible to me......however, why bother at all? I've never seen or even heard of bees dying from the cold.....condensation and damp will do it for them though so whatever you do, let's hope it doesn't add to any condensation or damp that may form. Hope they have happy winter!