Insulation?

[gmonag]

What means active bees?
What was your argument? But please, in practical world.

Post #62
https://beekeepingforum.co.uk/threads/insulation.49810/post-756640

 

[Finman]

Post #62
https://beekeepingforum.co.uk/threads/insulation.49810/post-756640

But I do not understand you. Do you have bees ?

You had 2 seems bees and you made some rule from that?

You know, these things have researched tens of years ago. No need to make own arguments or science.

And this forum has argued about insulation for years, and guys do not understand what insulation means
Hands up, who know what means an insulated human house!

 

[Boston Bees]

This thread:

Person 1: I think apples taste better than bananas

Person 2: Are you some kind of idiot? Clearly steak tastes better than chicken!

Person 3: Morons! Manchester City are obviously a better team than Liverpool!

 

[Erichalfbee]

Derek Mitchell.
Derek and Elaine Mitchell gave DWBKA an excellent talk on the benefits of insulating our hives. They argued that we have been doing it all wrong since the National was first introduced in the 1930’s when a light and easily portable hive was sought. Their hypothesis is that given a choice in the wild, a colony of bees will take up home in the middle of a large tree trunk and thus have a tall thin space with thick walls. Their entrance would be at the bottom. The thick tree walls insulate the bees in winter and summer and thus the nest stays warm enough to avoid clustering and the need for large amounts of stored food to be converted to heat. This is in stark contrast to the National Hive.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I stated my argument, challenging the statement, "Active bees use fewer stores" . Does anybody here have an argument refuting mine? I don't want to argue about poly hives vs wood, winter temperatures, feeding sugar or insulating crown boards. Please, someone tell why I am wrong and that active bees do actually use fewer stores than clustered bees. Otherwise I shall assume I am correct.

What do you think I meant by “Active” ?
I meant wintering bees not in a cluster.

 

[user 20297]

If the ambient is higher than 4C the bees will use more stores as they will if it is lower. Bees will only be "active" at temperaures above 4C. I rest my case.

......and I don't know why it keeps being re-opened. There is some good information here: https://www.wur.nl/upload_mm/6/a/8/...83f9f_The_Honeybee_winter_cluster_is_warm.pdf
.......if anyone who declines to accept what you have said is prepared to be convinced of it by a scientist. Mind you, this information refers to the temperature outside the hive, which may be an important difference.

But, if insulation means that the temperature inside the hive is more regularly above the "magic" number, presumably, the bees won't simply be wandering about, wasting vast reserves of energy for the sake of it. Won't they be doing something constructive which will eventually need to be done in any case?

 

[user 20297]

Is it be better for their welfare, for bees to spend most of the winter vibrating their wing muscles in order to keep warm, or for them to have an environment in which there is a reduced need to actively "shiver"? If the result of insulation means that their normal metabolic activity maintains them at a healthy temperature for much of the time, won't they come out of winter in a more healthy condition?

 

[Antipodes]

Is anecdotal evidence worth less than experimental?
And perhaps I should clarify that I mean overwintering bees in case somebody assumes I meant actively foraging, flying, bees.

What do you think the answer to your question is?

 

[Erichalfbee]

What do you think the answer to your question is?

No

 

[gmonag]

What do you think I meant by “Active” ?
I meant wintering bees not in a cluster.

Yes that is what I took to be your meaning.

 

[gmonag]

But I do not understand you. Do you have bees ?

You had 2 seems bees and you made some rule from that?

You know, these things have researched tens of years ago. No need to make own arguments or science.

And this forum has argued about insulation for years, and guys do not understand what insulation means
Hands up, who know what means an insulated human house!

No Finman. Post#62. The link I posted generated a spurious bit of text! I did not post that.

I think I've fallen into the twighlight zone.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Well how about all of us agreeing to disagree?
You keep your bees the way you want and I will and so will everybody else in the thread

 

[Finman]

What is active...

Germans say: as long a human farts, he is alive

 

[gmonag]

Agree to disagree? But you haven't disagreed with me. I have repeatedly asked for a counter argument to mine and neither you nor anyone else has provided one. There have been lots of comments about insulation, poly, wood, etc. but nothing actually relevant to the discussion.

I am not getting at you, or your methods or choices or anyone else for that matter. I was just inviting debate.

I give in. I'm off to Gilead where they really know how to have a reasoned argument.

 

[Earthboy]

Insulation is the most important in spring when brooding starts and bees get pollen fom nature. The colony becomes sooner ready to catch yield when the hive is warm.

In spring I add 15W electric heating on the bottom . Big hives are able to rear 3 times more brood with heating

Excellent comment! I do not insulate mine during winter, but I do in the spring. Isn't that odd or what? By not wrapping in winter, my girls do not consume as much winter store as it gets cold. Yet in the spring I even close the vent so as to increase the moisture content inside the hive to kick start brood rearing, having closed the screened bottom.

 

[Amari]

Well how about all of us agreeing to disagree?
You keep your bees the way you want and I will and so will everybody else in the thread

We've all got cabin fever. Probably my bees too: today was the first day they've been able to fly for 10 days - it's been horribly cold and windy. Today = little wind and T 10C.

 

[Earthboy]

In my neck of the woods, sand plum, wild pears, daffodils, and Bradford pears have started to pop about two weeks late due to recent spill of polar vortex that chilled the region for two and a half weeks a-cold. My girls are hauling in dull yellow and bright orange pollen in cool to cold weather. I am in the People's Democratic Republic of Oklahoma!

 

[Finman]

I have repeatedly asked for a counter argument to mine and neither you nor anyone else has provided

Polyhive is an answer to all problems.

.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Polyhive is an answer to all problems.

.

Yes, where is he these days?

 

[Finman]

Yes, where is he these days?

Where I am?

I am on soffa and I look TV.
Place is Helsinki.

Strong wind. A little bit snowing. -4C.
Terrible weather.