I don’t think it’s just genetics, nice boxes
Edit:I have bees with the same genetics at different sites and they vary with the amount of propolis they collect
Thank you
; these were really just a test as read lots of negative stuff about OSB, yet plenty of people have used them for years (with zero issues) - after a winter, mine still look new. I won't be making more though, but they seem great.
They will display different traits depending on XYZ from the same pool of queen/drone(s) DNA. Good test, move one of your propolis collecting hives to another location, chances are they will show the exact same behaviour. Even if you use SDI to focus on a particular trait, you'll still get sisters showing different traits (they are not clones).
THESE BEES - Wax nightmare, it took me hours to break this lot apart, they welded the lot together. Super strong, loads of food/warm no holes yet decided to turn the lot into a candle. For ref, once swarm risk has passed, I switch from 7 days to leaving them alone till end of August.
Yes, if the resource of workforce and propolis is present then thermoregulation can be adjusted by sealing roof vent mesh, but why put them to needless labour? Don't forget the other consequence of an open roof: a cold top face to the CB and condensation on the underside.
There's a difference between a colony surviving in the face of nature (include the fiddling beekeeper) and the same colony thriving. I stick to Jim Ryan's simple advice at the end of a lecture: think like a bee. From that flows a question: would a colony choose an open roof? We know they choose unusual, inhospitable and daft places to nest, but
Here are a few images showing it's not as simple as that. Unsure regards needless labour, sealing those small mesh vents would be trivial stuff if the bees were concerned by them. I've seen bees seal a 460mm square mesh in little time.
Poly nucs at the same site (lots), all bar one left the floors open. Second pic, was totally sealed before I started cleaning it. These are all the same regards workforce/food/etc etc
You mention open roof, those national vents look small and hardly in the same ballpark as a totally open roof. But they do seem pointless so maybe sticking tape over those vents?, that way leaving a CB hole open (for whatever reason) seems a non-issue. Never had issues with condensation (even with perspex CB's, bees tend to use it or runs down the insides, then again most of mine are poly. Some water gets into DB+ stacks but again, runs down the inside wall.
generally, bees choose an enclosed space with thick walls and a small entrance
But you may be mistaken, and as it is cheaper, quicker and easier for a beekeeper to supply a favourable environment than favourable genetics, why not give it?
Yeah I never said supply favourable genetics, it was around why bees do XYZ because of traits etc
, totally agree regarding giving them a favourable environment etc no issues there. But I will say, should those favourable environments become *not so favourable*, then the bees seem to manage just fine - few examples
Jan 2023 - huge hole from woodpeckers - fair to say a large vent.
Same hive summer and the second harvest of 2023.
Finally, these cheap OSB units I tested over winter. Zero insulation, 9mm roof etc - really strong and give it a few weeks will need another BB and super
I've 15 of these running, i'll not open the rest till March (ish) but all very active. Warm and sunny today, a good portion were out flying.
I've not lost a single hive this winter, even the roof-free ones (ref a few posts back)
Cheers
