Advice needed please, Colony building slow.

[drex]

50 mm of Celotex or Kingspan or any polystyrene you can get your hands on. Certainly get the super off, it is a waste of space which they must heat. They generate heat by eating stores, waste of stores.

 

[drstitson]

more kingspan/celotex.

 

[Finman]

F

Today it has been 10 degrees C here, the rest of the UK much warmer. Are you still under snow?
B

this has nothing to do with our snow.

I use this nuc concept in Summer. Like in last Summer we had 25- 30 C day temp during 6 weeks. I had in nucs only 2x2 cm entrance with solid bottom and 3-5 frames in splitted polynucs. Bees did not ventilate which tells that the ventilating was suitable.

Yes, we had today +7C but stormy. I have a measuring stick in the middle of yard. Snow depth is 70 cm. Last week it snowed 10 cm more.

After 3 weeks snow will be gone. Then I start patty feeding.

Colonies will loose still quite much bees when they try to make cleansing flights. An army of birds (tits) are waiting that a bees drop onto snow.


When weathers are bad, colonies often loose much their bees. During good weathers colonies have enlargened brood area, and then they hard job to make brood warm. That is why hives often get chalkbrood in Spring. Restricted ventilation is the best cure to chalkbrood.

it is better to take this seriously.

.