Storm damage, bias, and a strange winter.

[viridens]

Looking around this morning after the storm I found a gate bolt had ripped out and the gate had swung to swipe my experimental trough hive over. I.m not sure what time this happened or how long the colony was exposed. I spent some miserable hours in the rain trying to sort out the mess of cold wet bees and wet and broken comb. It's no fun trying to rubber-band detached combs back onto top bars. I wouldn't be surprised to have lost that queen, but live in hope... I always feel so guilty for not anticipating such disasters and so failing in my bee husbandry.

Anyhow, during this unplanned and unwelcome winter 'inspection' I was interested to see a comb with bias, including a hand-sized patch of capped brood. probably chilled and dead now, but time will tell. I also harvested a couple of kilos of stores since they had plenty, and it saved re-attachment of these combs. February honey!

This winter. The temperature here has only dropped below zero on four nights so far. My colonies have all been finding pollen every time they have been flying, which has been quite a few days. This winter the colonies have spent most days occupying most of the hive and have not often clustered. (My hives have windows. -No need for Thermal Imaging cameras.)

A footnote to those considering Warres and other top bar hives. In the (hopefully) unlikely event of hives falling over, consequences are likely to be worse than for a hive using frames. Putting things back together is certainly much more difficult. In fact full restoration is impossible in my experience.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

during this unplanned and unwelcome winter 'inspection' I was interested to see a comb with bias

Not surprising - people don't seem to realise that regardless of the weather bees will start brooding in earnest again after the solstice

 

[madasafish]

A footnote to those considering Warres and other top bar hives. In the (hopefully) unlikely event of hives falling over, consequences are likely to be worse than for a hive using frames. Putting things back together is certainly much more difficult. In fact full restoration is impossible in my experience.

When I had TBHs. one 4 foot wide hive with hinged roof (and a heavy roof.. about 7kg?) caught a gust which lifted the roof up, and the roof acted like a sail and hive went onto its side. Most of the frames were heavily propolised in place and of the ones that fell out, not too much damage was done... But then the distance to fall from hive on ground to ground was only about 0.5meters tops... and the combs were at least two years old so quite sturdy.