pictures of your hives in the snow

[arl]

Snow in Mid Sussex

Here is what we had in Mid Sussex, yesterday and today, the TBH in the top picture is empty and unused to date, but under the pile in p1_01_12_10 and p2_02_12_10, is a 5 Frame Nuc on pallets with a builders sack over the top, and p3, there is a National under there, and p_4 an old Volvo

 

[steve_e]

Thanks PH - I was aware of the advice on digging a snow hole but wasn't sure if it applied to metal and wood as well.

Dick - there's a QE under the super as well as above it, although it's not clear in the picture. Don't know if I did the right thing but these bees didn't have a huge amount of honey in the BB when I was preparing them for winter, so I left them a super with some honey in below. I didn't particularly want the Queen laying brood in these frames so I added the QE below the BB to keep her in there.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I have one hive with a part filled super underneath too but I left out the excluder because my understanding is that if the cluster needs to move to the super for food in the winter they will leave the queen behind and she will die.

 

[Silly Bee]

Thanks PH - I was aware of the advice on digging a snow hole but wasn't sure if it applied to metal and wood as well.

Dick - there's a QE under the super as well as above it, although it's not clear in the picture. Don't know if I did the right thing but these bees didn't have a huge amount of honey in the BB when I was preparing them for winter, so I left them a super with some honey in below. I didn't particularly want the Queen laying brood in these frames so I added the QE below the BB to keep her in there.

I don't think you should have a QE under the super at this time of year. If she runs out of food she will starve.

Maybe more experienced folk will tell you.

 

[Bee-Key-Pur]

Url.
( Here is what we had in Mid Sussex, yesterday and today, the TBH in the top picture is empty and unused to date, but under the pile in p1_01_12_10 and p2_02_12_10, is a 5 Frame Nuc on pallets with a builders sack over the top, and p3, there is a National under there, and p_4 an old Volvo )

Just a quick question, do you keep bees in the Volvo?

 

[Queens59]

Steve_e: If all the bees move to the super to get to the honey - your queen will get cold and starve...they don't bring food down to her. I know it is the wrong time of year, but the excluder should not be there...

 

[MJBee]

We are at 45 degrees 36 minutes North so quite a long way south of the UK but we have had 30+cm of snow over the past week - very unusual, February is normally our snow month. We have, however, had thaws in between falls so have about 15cm remaining. In the first picture the hive on the left is an overwintering experiment it has a 30mm "Kingspan" poly jacket and 40mm of "Kingspan" under the roof on top of a solid crown board. All the other hives just have the roof insulation. Final pic is my out apiary in the woods - very pretty but bl**dy cold.

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

My girls today hopefully warming up in the sun

 

[oliver90owner]

Steve_e,

The normal movement of the cluster is upwards (as normal colonies all have their stores above the brood nest. Certainly, a Q/E abve the brood and under the super of stores has caused the loss of the queen due to movement of the cluster and death of the queen by the cold.

Never heard of that happening with a nadired store, but every book I have read which has a a consensus of opinion on the subject says 'remove Q/Es in winter'. Good advice, in my view; why even take the risk?

Regards, RAB

 

[steve_e]

OK, thanks people. I'll wait for it to warm up a little and take out the super or lower QE. It's due to warm up quite a bit over the next three days I think!

 

[the naked beekeeper]

No snow here...nothing....not even a bloody flake.

 

[TOBY-3652]

Lucky no snow for you weve got over a foot and minus 5 at mo

 

[TREVOR HILL]

W b c

WBC IN SNOW

 

[the naked beekeeper]

Lucky no snow for you weve got over a foot and minus 5 at mo

2C it got up to today here!!
The wind makes it feel like -10 though!!!

 

[keith pierce]

beautiful pictures

 

[Hombre]

We are at 45 degrees 36 minutes North so quite a long way south of the UK.

At 52 degrees 49 minutes Northe, I would say that that is around "7 degrees of separation". One degree above the critical 6.

Someone on the TV weather forecast this evening mentioned that they expected the cold spell to last until the New Year. Tidings of OA and fondant.

 

[MJBee]

With 60 nautical miles per degree that puts us about 420 nm south of you as the bee flies. - Still bl**dy cold though

 

[MuswellMetro]

what snow!!! My Hives are nearly snow free


As the rest of you shiver, quite nice here ,sun low in the sky, it really shows the need to put your location on the profile

All the snow gone here except little patches of Slush, London micro climate has already recovered to 8c today at 1.00pm, a bit different from last few days when it did not get above -3c

Bees are flying on cleansing flights and the undertakers are clearing the corpses

 

[drstitson]

Hives in Snow

Here's mine tuesday morning before and after shielding entrances. And the final picture of foragers at a fondant station was just two weeks earlier!

 

[jimbeekeeper]

And the final picture of foragers at a fondant station was just two weeks earlier!

Was that station a "free-for-all pot"? Do you think that was wise? I note the wasp in there, what else has also been there?