Hive positioning Poll

[Norfolk]

Following on from my question about hive siting I wished I had polled the esteemed members for their preference, so here goes.

If you had to choose to either........

A sheltered position, think 3 sided shed, to protect the hive from rain and wind (plenty here near the coast) or

A less sheltered spot that got plenty of sun.

What would your choice be ?

 

[Anduril]

Voted for sunny position. But mine are sunny semi-sheltered from wind not rain.

 

[madasafish]

Voted for sunny position. But mine are sunny semi-sheltered from wind not rain.

+1

 

[For want of a better word]

Mine seem to thrive in a sunny position, but shelter is essential... and definitely not in a frost pocket!

Has anyone built a long roof over their hives to protect the beek from a downpour ?

 

[alanf]

Voted for sunny position. But mine are sunny semi-sheltered from wind not rain.

+1, a bit of both is ideal. I had a hive against a North East facing fence, It was sheltered and did OK. Moved it around 4m (cold Feb) to face South West and the relative improvement against other hives was easy to see.

 

[Nige.Coll]

mine are in a clearing in a wood. i tried to make sure the morning sun shines on the hives and luckily the evening sun also shines on them.
when the leaves have fallen they should get sun most of the day.

 

[GrumpyBunny]

Neither.

Mine are simliar to Nige's as they are sited on the edge of a copse. They get sun in the morning and evening but sheltered from the midday sun by the canopy during the summer.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

My home apiary has hedges around which is good for shelter with trees to the East - far enough away not to afford any shelter - just a windbreak and the hives are tucked up against a hedge to the west and North they get sun all day but only direct sunlight from about 0900 to 1700 my out apiary is in a treed spot in an orchard so only gets 'direct sunlight for a gew hours around midday but gets good shelter, another prospective apiary is in a copse but with luch I will be allowed to site the hives in the shelter of the trees but facing East over an open field.
You should have had a third box for a sheltered but sunny position!

 

[Itchy]

Sunny with mid day shade

 

[Queens59]

Voted sunny but should have a 'semi' bracket as that is where mine are...

 

[Luminos]

Mine are in a sunny area with a small amount of shade from Eucalyptus.
Most apiaries here seem to be along the edge of deciduous woodland, and I wish I'd done the same - far too hot inspecting in summer.

 

[dpearce4]

one of mine is in a disused chalk pit with the chalk wall behind so they get sun from that aswell as direct. the other has a 10ft high flint wall behind that radiates heat well into the evening, they are both well sheltered from the wind but not rain.

the bees seem very happy in both places.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Sunny with dappled shade from silver birch tree mid dayish

 

[pargyle]

Voted sunny but mine get clear morning sun but dappled later in the day, sheltered position with 6' wall and greenhouse behind the hive.

 

[Norfolk]

Thanks for all you replies and votes.
85% stand in favour of Sunshine over Shelter.

A re-think of my plans is now taking place.

 

[Suzi Q]

Voted sunny. I used to have my hives in a sunny position, south facing. For various reasons it was not possible to keep them there. They are now in partial shade, they do get some sun but not as much, the difference is very noticable not as active, especially late and early in the day. The only benefit is to me, I don't boil in my suit in hot weather!

 

[REDWOOD]

Thanks for all you replies and votes.
85% stand in favour of Sunshine over Shelter.

A re-think of my plans is now taking place.

What someone may prefer they might not get if you have an option well yes sunny but more important is your not on a floodplain, not facing north or east and no cold damp spots which the later is hard to find in Wales

 

[sipa]

When choosing a site for our bees, we look at numerous factors.

Sun, shade, wind protection, falling branches / trees, dampness, waterlogging, livestock, walkers/ramblers, hare coursers and power lines.

Together with access, security, forage, spray risk etc etc.......

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

What someone may prefer they might not get if you have an option well yes sunny but more important is your not on a floodplain, not facing north or east and no cold damp spots which the later is hard to find in Wales

As Redwood and I were discussing yesterday at the association apiary not many apiaries are in full sunshine, facing South,mid-day shade (?hmm - why?) etc. The easiest way to picture our association apiary would be a country lane (grassed not tarmaced not that narrow, nor that wide), tall hedge to the West (six feet or so behind the hives) newly laid stong hedge to the East twelve feet or so in front of the hives bordering a copse of mature mixed deciduous trees. the further South you go in the apiary the narrower and more overgrown the 'lane' gets. I'm happy the bees get enough sun, the honey crop is good - the 'training' apiary has the best spot and yield was acceptable considering the state of the colonies. two members have hives further down in the narrower bit of the apiary and some of the hives had five supers on this year and yielded excellent honey.
My feeling would be to give your location a try - if it's no good move them on after you have given it a good trial.

 

[Norfolk]

Just to give an update on this discussion.

The most sunny (south facing) spot in my garden is right next to a shed.
The trouble with this spot it's not very well protected from the wind.
I have considered putting some kind of windbreak in but I'm now leaning towards using the shed as a bee-house to get both shelter and the most sun.
Not to mention a kettle, radio & old armchair.