Anyone bringing shade to their bees for the forecast heat wave?

[Beesnaturally]

Whatever you do don't use matchsticks. It would invite sarcasm and ridicule from the Forum and maybe risk being banned for evermore.....

I've already been banned twice, a third time would be clumsy even for me.

 

[madasafish]

I do nothing. All mini nucs have a separate ventilated wooden roof slat which reduces direct contact with sunshine and my nucs/hives have insulation..
In 34C yesterday, no signs of distress.

 

[Swarm]

Possibly more like 35C The Sheffield Beekeepers temperatures are often quoted as a reference:
https://sheffieldbeekeepers.org.uk/important-temperatures-beekeeping/
We've got a temperature probe in one hive and an external one in the same area - the figures today (well yesterday now!) show the bees weren't too bothered by the apocalypse going on outside. The graph below shows the brood box temperature (yellow line) and the outside temperature (in blue) over the last 24 hrs. This was a cedar national with a couple of supers on, OMF, stock tin roof (and probably propolis filled vents). I checked the outside wall wood temperatures by IR gun and it was 60+ in the morning, but had fallen to below 50C after lunch, possibly due to the sun moving around. The increasingly crisp desert wasteland that we once called a lawn had a surface temperature of 64C

View attachment 32984

A classic example of keep calm and carry on.

 

[Moobee]

Interesting that even with the incredibly hot night (another record I hear), the bearding outside the hive was minimal so it can't be that warm inside. They are all as busy as ever although did I read somewhere that at a certain temperature and lack of ground moisture, nectar dries up?
I gave my oregano a water yesterday as the bees have been all over it and i'm sure there are twice as many today.....

 

[blackcloud]

Whatever you do don't use matchsticks. It would invite sarcasm and ridicule from the Forum and maybe risk being banned for evermore.....

The whole matchstick thing unfairly erupted because the oroginator innocently didn't specify which brand.
Swan are thicker B+May are thinner .
Cooks are clearly the obvious choice because they can straddle corners.
Undeniable common sense.
And of course timing is a factor.
I take mine out at the beginning of February when there's a LOT fewer bees to hinder a full inspection.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Ambient air temperature in the UK hasn't exceeded the mid 30s. You must have your thermometer measuring something else...

This is my weather station in the shade. What is it measuring when the sun hits it?

 

[Erichalfbee]

The concern is entirely about direct sunlight on hive walls, and what that does to the inside. (think hand on a black car roof etc) I had a lot of slump damage in a couple of hives a year or two ago. To my mind the solution lies in better hives (thicker, proper wood - some of mine are ply), and shading - either initial positioning or reactive. But I'm considering putting a couple of 2p coins under the coverboards, and/or increasing entrances. that hot.

This the hive facing south
The brood is poly, there are 4 supers on top two of which are wood, hence the extra insulation. The floor is solid with a UFE. The top super is raised above the one below at the corners.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Whatever you do don't use matchsticks. It would invite sarcasm and ridicule from the Forum and maybe risk being banned for evermore..

anyone suggesting propping up the crownboard with anything deserves all the ridicule that can be thrown at them

 

[user 20297]

I've already been banned twice, a third time would be clumsy even for me.

Ah, but you've admitted to an even more criminal offence according to forum "law".

 

[peteinwilts]

A water source and a well insulated hive is good enough.
The comb is designed to act as a cooling tower. Bees may build brace comb to shape the air inside the hive, particularly if there is space where they want less or need to create extra ventilation by creating cooling channels.
Many beekeepers fight this process by cutting off all excess to keep the hive tidy, regardless of whether the bees feel they want or need it.

Last week I saw hives between LV and the mojave with an ambient temperature of 46 degrees. Sadly no beekeeper, or obvious owners (or buildiings for miles!), so did not approach or investigate further..

 

[fizzle]

Probably best thing to do is not throw on a bee suit. Wish I heeded my own advice, sweating buckets!

 

[blackcloud]

anyone suggesting propping up the crownboard with anything deserves all the ridicule that can be thrown at them

Not even those gas struts you see on old hatchback cars?

 

[Beesnaturally]

This is my weather station in the shade. What is it measuring when the sun hits it?

That is the air temperature. When the sun hits it it is heated by radiant energy, and could easily go up 70 degrees or more. The temperature of the air is what should be measured, and that must be done in shade.

 

[SWEET]

Potting shed bees

What are Potting Shed Bees?

 

[Beesnaturally]

anyone suggesting propping up the crownboard with anything deserves all the ridicule that can be thrown at them

I propped up a few crownboards yesterday, opened the odd second entrance and opened some entrances fully. 50 or so bees fanning at the entrance was enough to make me think more circulation might be wise. I also expanded the drinking stations. As I said: I've experienced slump. Have you?
Hurl away.

 

[Beesnaturally]

Interesting that even with the incredibly hot night (another record I hear), the bearding outside the hive was minimal so it can't be that warm inside. They are all as busy as ever although did I read somewhere that at a certain temperature and lack of ground moisture, nectar dries up?
I gave my oregano a water yesterday as the bees have been all over it and i'm sure there are twice as many today.....

I've had some bearding. It depends how packed the hive is: if the can't shift air to where it's needed because there are too many bodies in the way they'll make room.

 

[Amari]

The top super is raised above the one below at the corners.

Surely not with............................?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I've experienced slump

no wonder, if you've propped up the crownboard, allowed warm air to rush through the hive from entrance to top and totally b*ggered up the bees' efforts at balancing the hive internal dynamics

 

[madasafish]

I propped up a few crownboards yesterday, opened the odd second entrance and opened some entrances fully. 50 or so bees fanning at the entrance was enough to make me think more circulation might be wise. I also expanded the drinking stations. As I said: I've experienced slump. Have you?
Hurl away.

I did nothing.
My bees did nothing unusual.
They are still alive today: as am I

 

[JamezF]

That is the air temperature. When the sun hits it it is heated by radiant energy, and could easily go up 70 degrees or more. The temperature of the air is what should be measured, and that must be done in shade.

Indeed so. Most of my weather-measuring kit is in a double-roofed "Stevenson screen" type box I made. Ideally I think they're supposed to be out in the open, but mine is attached to the north east wall of my observatory:

James