Polar vortex

[Finman]

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IT has been written quite much about forecasts now.

A week ago TV forecasted that weathers will become really cold.

Now quite well forecast has became true. A week ago it was forecasted that nights will be -8 but now forecast is - 20 every night next 5 days.

What I do is that I put a terrarium heater into smallest hives.

6 W was too big but 3 W is proper. Last nuc where I will put today the heater, has 5 frames. Impossible to know how long that cold lasts. Problem is that some seen of bees may die when food is finish in the seam. Bees cannot move to next seam over cold frame bar.
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[eltalia]

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Problem is that some seen of bees may die when food is finish in the seam. Bees
cannot move to next seam over cold frame bar.
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... and right there is the "why?" one should be wintering in a single
deep with a minimum of 40mm polyurathane walls and 50mm in
the roof. Applies for beekeeping in temperate zones falling below
-5celcius.

Bill

 

[Finman]

... and right there is the "why?" one should be wintering in a single
deep

Bill

Where then?

Winter cluster is the size of brood area before the brooding stops. Professionals reduce the brooding with excluder to one box and then bees do not need more space over winter. And 20 kg sugar for 9 month wintering is enough.

Hobby beekeepers may do what ever, but no one use 3 langstroth wintering like in USA.


I like 2 brood wintering, but about half of my hives are that size when I start winter feeding.
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[Hivemaker.]

Where then?

...down the rabbit hole.

We only have three months of winter.

 

[maddydog]

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6 W was too big but 3 W is proper.
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What happened with the more powerful heater?

 

[Finman]

...down the rabbit hole.

We only have three months of winter.

We do not have rabbits. Our hares dig themselves into snow cavity. In Australia they have colonies in rabbit holes .
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[Finman]

What happened with the more powerful heater?

Winter cluster had too hot and many bees run in panic in their box.

Cluster have to survive up to May.

Soon they have poo in their pants if they believe that spring has arrived.
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In brooding time in April I use 6-15 W heaters.

 

[Curly green fingers]

...down the rabbit hole.

We only have three months of winter.

Our winters up here can be up to 4/5 months. But then I live at 450 meters.

 

[Hivemaker.]

Our winters up here can be up to 4/5 months. But then I live at 450 meters.

I live at 518 meters... but the winter is still only about three months, down here in this country the winter months are December, January, February, then three months of spring followed by three months of summer... and then three months of autumn.

 

[Finman]

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Our yield season is 3 months, from May to July. In August nature prepares for wintering and stop blooming. Bees do not forage much pollen in August because there are flowers.

Bees live with sugar from September to May, 9 months.
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I live 10 miles from the sea, and that has much meaning to weather.

 

[eltalia]

Where then?

"often food is finish in the seam. Bees
cannot move to next seam over cold frame bar"

I like 2 brood wintering, but about half of my hives are that size when I start winter feeding.
.

So take them back to one brood, fix your box, and say goodbye
to heaters.. too easy.
Whilst you like it, the bees, your bees in your boxes, do not... or so
your OP says

Bill

 

[Finman]

"often food is finish in the seam. Bees
cannot move to next seam over cold frame bar"



So take them back to one brood, fix your box, and say goodbye
to heaters.. too easy.



Bill

Heh heh heh. Bill, have you ever seen winter cluster?

I use heaters in spring in build up. It gives to build up 3 fold speed with pollen patty.

When I give brood from big hives to small hives, the heater keeps brood alive that they all emerge.

I know. You have never heard about these technics.
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Winter in Australia in one month and temp is then 12C . I know that. Then Canola starts blooming.

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[sean-a]

Heh heh heh. Bill, have you ever seen winter cluster?

I use heaters in spring in build up. It gives to build up 3 fold speed with pollen patty.



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How do you power the heaters Finman?

 

[Finman]

How do you power the heaters Finman?

I collect my hives into cottage yard for winter. I take power from cottage wall. 220 volt. I June I move bees to outer pastures.

 

[Finman]

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Electrict heating teach, what heat means to the colony. Very usefull to see that.

When I start patty feeding in April,
night may be -8C. In May night may be -6C. Heater is very helfull in these extreme weathers.

A heater helps up to +17C. After that bees start to ventilate on entrance.

 

[eltalia]

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Winter in Australia in one month and temp is then 12C . I know that. Then Canola starts blooming.

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Winter at my latitude is 18Celcius. It does not need to be -40Celcius for me to know about
wintering bees, beekeeping knowledge decrees such.
What I am doing here is asking you to consider what you do do, have done, does not
help the bees. You're not alone in this.

Bill

 

[SDM]

You'd likely find if he reduced his winter cluster size, they'd either succumb to cold, dwindle or simply not be able to raise colony size fast enough for him to hit the short season he has

 

[eltalia]

You'd likely find if he reduced his winter cluster size, they'd either succumb
to cold, dwindle or simply not be able to raise colony size fast enough for him to
hit the short season he has

I am not suggesting Fin-ol'-chap reduces the cluster, just the real
real estate used in whole .. and what is used is insulated, not
wrapped, insulated. That all done back in winter prep.

Now, today... when intervention is able to be done to change heater
wattage it follows it is equally viable to sort the remaing stores into
one box at the same time taking a screwgun and sheets of urathane to
the externals of that revamped broodchamber.
At the very least there has to be gains in bees no longer being
required to "crawl off seams over bars", roughly paraphrased.

Bill

 

[Finman]

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I have 55 years experience im beekeeping and 15 y experience in heating hives

I try to go with these.

 

[Finman]

At the very least there has to be gains in bees no longer being
required to "crawl off seams over bars", roughly paraphrased.

Bill

I have polyurethane boxes, but in the -8C out temp condensation does not make water inside the hive. It makes snow and ice.



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