Importance of SUNSHINE

[tonka]

Dear All,

I'm investing in my first hive since moving to london. I kept bees previously in the north east, where i had loads of space and the hives were in the sun. My new proposed site however doesnt really get the sun till just after noon.

I'm aware that this is not ideal, but is it a BIG deal or a little deal? Are my bees really going to suffer from a lack of sun in the morning, and is this indeed a reason to scrap that site and look elsewhere?

THANKS

Will

 

[Winker]

In some country's they keep their bees in hive, in a shed. So I guess these hives get no sun light on them at all and they appear to do ok with it.

 

[Skyhook]

In some country's they keep their bees in hive, in a shed. So I guess these hives get no sun light on them at all and they appear to do ok with it.

Not to mention that a lot of wild colonies will be in woods. The idea of them facing east is that they start a bit earlier in the morning, but general opinion seems to be that the effect is small.

 

[RoseCottage]

I consider it very important indeed. Last year I had to move my hives mid year from a sunny location to one that had them in shade until early afternoon. It was summer and generally warm and bright with long days and the colonies were large. All seemed ok.

Then winter came and went and we arrived at spring. Large colonies had virtually collapsed and due to the short, colder days the foragers just didn't fly enough to bring in sufficient pollen to get the queens kick started.The queens too were probably struggling with the general cool atmosphere and shade.

The result was a serious crisis.

I moved them again into sunshine and the colonies immediately started to respond and have now recovered (although I lost one queen in the recovery process).

So we all know that our situations and experiences are different and unique, so what worked for us may not for others but we will not be placing them in a situation like that again. Period.

All the best,
Sam

 

[louiseww]

Dear All,

I'm investing in my first hive since moving to london. I kept bees previously in the north east, where i had loads of space and the hives were in the sun. My new proposed site however doesnt really get the sun till just after noon.

I'm aware that this is not ideal, but is it a BIG deal or a little deal? Are my bees really going to suffer from a lack of sun in the morning, and is this indeed a reason to scrap that site and look elsewhere?

THANKS

Will

I have one colony that only gets sun after about midday - the others also have part shade - I don't think it matters - particularly if we have really hot weather they may be glad of not being in direct sun - in the winter they will also be protected. Site it where it suits in terms of flight path and other people so they are not bothered by the bees and vice versa!
Louise