Ratnieks a no insulation and winter ventilation advocate

[B+.]

I keep bees along the Canada border of Vermont and New York, and have done most of what he says, and been sucessful at it for decades. Of course, my climate is not your climate as yours is not mine.

Its interesting that you are able to select for bees that thrive in such a harsh climate with little insulation.
Perhaps the european fascination with polystyrene has more to do with marketing and factors of production (i.e. cost of wood vs polystryrene). In any case, Charles Handy had some interesting observations in his book "The empty raincoat" on what happens to the cost of goods when you lose the means to produce them yourself.

 

[Finman]

Perhaps the european fascination with polystyrene has more to do with marketing and factors of production (i.e. cost of wood vs polystryrene). In any case, Charles Handy had some interesting observations in his book "The empty raincoat" .

Europa has not much to learn from America about insulated hives, because America does not use them.
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Alaskan beekeepers use same hive boxes as Florida.

Canadian beekeepers are wondering what a heck is that polyhive! Can bees live in them?
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[Finman]

Perhaps the european fascination with polystyrene has more to do with marketing and factors of production .

Polyhive produces much more honey than cold wooden boxes.

Strong spring build up is the real success of poly hive.

In Scandinavia price of polybox is half that in UK. Frame prices in UK are 2.5 fold compared to Sweden and Finland.

Can markets be wrong?

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[For want of a better word]

Europa has not much to learn from America about insulated hives, because America does not use them.
.
Alaskan beekeepers use same hive boxes as Florida.

Canadian beekeepers are wondering what a heck is that polyhive! Can bees live in them?
.
.
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***
Cousin Geoff keeps bees in Canada... has had polly hives for ages... probably before Finland discovered plastic!

Yeghes da

 

[Finman]

***
Cousin Geoff keeps bees in Canada... has had polly hives for ages... probably before Finland discovered plastic!

Yeghes da

Sure. We bought first Swedish Nacka hives. Then two companies just copied them. Nothing to invent in it.

But UK has invented a hollow tree. 200 litre tree cavity with 15 cm wall. Its insulating value is equal to 2 cm Nacka's poly wall.

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[Finman]

***
Cousin Geoff keeps bees in Canada... has had polly hives for ages... probably before Finland discovered plastic!

Yeghes da

Da da, i forgot to say.

Before polyhives (30 y ago) Finnish beeks used two wall plywood hives.
50 y ago Langstroth was quite rare in Finland.

We had lots of insulated long hives, which are now all burned to ash. They had 10 cm saw dust in the wall.

Rose hive ? Normal hive without excluder.

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[user 6228]

Well, I wouldn't know him from Adam, but must agree with most of what he says. I keep bees along the Canada border of Vermont and New York, and have done most of what he says, and been sucessful at it for decades. Of course, my climate is not your climate as yours is not mine.

that is a very good point we tend look at climate through human eyes with our cultural conventions.
Lets do a quick assesment

Vermont has 10C colder winters than NW England. but they are with 2.1m of snow
Vermont has 77% more hours of sunshine.
vermont only 73% of the rain.

From the human perspective we see this as cold harsh winters and pleasant warm summers in Vermont, with mild damp NW England winter and summer.

lets look at this not with a human temperature focus but energy with a honeybee focus.

The insulating 2.1m of snow is going largely negate the effect of the 10C colder winter as it nails the ambient temperature under it to close to zero C and removes forced convection from the wind to a greater extent.

The extra sunshine in vermont is going to dramatically improve the energy gain through nectar gathering

lower rainfall at low temperature is a sizeable improvement in energy loss compared to the wet windy north west of England

From an honeybee energy perspective Vermont is distinctly better than NW England providing nothing goes wrong in winter.

 

[Finman]

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I looked, what polystyrene hives Canada sells. At least Paradise Honey's hives. Is it made in Canadian or in Finnish factory, I do not know.

Paradise Honey company has 3000 own hives. It is nothing cousin company..
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[pargyle]

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I looked, what polystyrene hives Canada sells. At least Paradise Honey's hives. Is it made in Canadian or in Finnish factory, I do not know.

Paradise Honey company has 3000 own hives. It is nothing cousin company..
.

Probably making them in Finland Minnesota alongside the Vodka factory - just can't remember where they put them ....

 

[Finman]

Probably making them in Finland Minnesota alongside the Vodka factory - just can't remember where they put them ....

You loose nothing from yourself if you do not remember all vodka factories in the world. Use google.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

You loose nothing from yourself if you do not remember all vodka factories in the world. Use google.

Just how many factories do you need to keep your vodka consumption satisfied?

 

[Finman]

Just how many factories do you need to keep your vodka consumption satisfied?

That vodka myth is totally innovated by Greath British fantasy.

But we do not have sheeps here. That is why we are so lonely.
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Norton saved you from google picture
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[Michael Palmer]

My God Finman, that was uncalled for.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Time to throw another log on the fire I think.
You had any snow yet, Michael?

 

[Finman]

My God Finman, that was uncalled for.

Dear Mr Palmer. When you have friends in Americas, do you have a habit to call them alcoholic once a week, because you really do not get another idea into your head. Or do you restrict that greeting only to foreign friends?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

What friends?

 

[Finman]

What friends?

Like you

 

[user 6228]

That vodka myth is totally innovated by Greath British fantasy.

But we do not have sheeps here. That is why we are so lonely.
.

Norton saved you from google picture
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[Finman]

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What about that?

What is the big idea?

Ireland 3.4 litre
Finland 3.2 litre
UK 3.0 litre

Total alcohol
Finland 12.3
uK ...... 11.6

UK alcohol consumption is 0.6% smaller than we have.



Pargyle, you have totally lost the point.
Alcohol is 5th biggest killer in UK, if you try to explain that.
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[B+.]

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What about that?

You've misunderstood the data Finman. It wasn't litres. It was for a "shot" (small glass). You have to overlay the accepted size of each shot in different countries to get a better representation of alcohol consumption (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shot_glass)

Finland = 3.19 * 40 = 127.6ml
UK = 3.01 * 25 = 75.25ml