Barmy Weather And Bee Hive

[Millet]

I love you Millet!

And here's me thinking only my mother would ever Love me,

 

[Honeybeeco]

Could it be a few little increases making a big one show on your scales, made up of :-

A small increase in moisture absorbed by the wood inside the insulation - from the atmosphere and/or water brought in by the bees.

Nectar and/or pollen

Increase in brood, if the queens still laying?

 

[Millet]

Could it be a few little increases making a big one show on your scales, made up of :-

A small increase in moisture absorbed by the wood inside the insulation - from the atmosphere and/or water brought in by the bees.

Nectar and/or pollen

Increase in brood, if the queens still laying?

To be honest that is all i can think of from all the other sensible suggestions, they will be sugar syrup in there that maybe needs water to break it down and the bees have obviously been out collecting water when i have not been there to see it.

 

[BeeJayBee]

Sorry BeeJay

But most posts seem repetitive because folk don't read them properly ME being one of the offenders .
My hive can't absorb water from the outside as it's insulated ..

It'd be a miracle (or nasty trick from the other place) if any decent wooden hive absorbed that much water. It was intended to be a slightly silly suggestion

[there] ... will be sugar syrup in there that maybe needs water to break it down and the bees have obviously been out collecting water when i have not been there to see it.

15lbs is a lot of extra weight, especially at this time of year when there is minimal forage. It might be worth checking the accuracy of your scales and method of weighing against a known weight - say a few bags of sugar on a tray?

The syrup they've stored won't look like syrup any more, it'll have been processed to form a more concentrated solution and then the cells will have been capped in the same way as they cap processed nectar. They'll add water as, and when, they need to eat those stores. (I know you already know this, but somebody reading this thread might not.)

Forward planning isn't exactly the honey bees' forte otherwise there would be no cases of isolation starvation and no absconding because they've gathered in so much food that they haven't left enough space for the queen to lay.

 

[Millet]

It might be worth checking the accuracy of your scales and method of weighing against a known weight - .

I use the same scales each time and even if they where wrong from my first weighing they are still showing increase, you do however have me thinking though and i will have to check the scales for accuracy when i am next near the hive.

 

[wessexmario]

it depends on HOW the scales are inaccurate.

If they consistently give the same reading for the same weight, then fine.
If they give differing results for the same weight then get a new set of scales!