Windbreak netting distance & height

[Erichalfbee]

Some of ian123’s bucks are dark also.

Yes. I have one.

 

[Curly green finger's]

Yes. I have one.

Have you spoke to him of late?

 

[Antipodes]

All my bees are local mongrels which tend to be on the darker side (including the queens).
This is a pic from one of the surviving nucs in the autumn - same lineage.

Thanks Moobee.
I wonder if there are any stats on lost colonies over there as to the lineage of the queens?
I've used Italian queens here and they tend to brood a lot and eat a lot. At a guess I'd say they would potentially be less likely to have issues with room (as mentioned in earlier posts-see Hemo), because they eat so much and brood so much. In any case I can't get them any more because of the ban.
My mongrel bees have never starved (touch wood) or died out in winter and seem really frugal. They look about the colour of yours. I would be pretty reluctant to feed them here.
There was an old and really experienced beekeeper here who only fed his bees one year in about 70 years of beekeeping.

 

[ericbeaumont]

who only fed his bees one year in about 70 years of beekeeping.

Single Langs with frugal bees, or doubles with extra stores?

 

[Antipodes]

Single Langs with frugal bees, or doubles with extra stores?

It's actually neither.
He used a one box size hive system. It's what I have too. There is no dedicated brood box as such but a series of boxes each approximately the size of a national super.
Two of these boxes together is roughly equivalent to a jumbo langstroth in area.
Here he is with the hives in the background. A couple of them have a bigger box on the bottom but all the others are the super size. I reckon he would winter with four boxes, perhaps the top two with honey in them.
https://www.themercury.com.au/news/...e/news-story/2fd5a208f45debe77df653aed20255c7

 

[user 6228]

wind effects on heat loss are made greater if
a) The wood exterior absorbs water (increases both conductive and evaporative heat losses)
b) open mesh floor

 

[Moobee]

Thanks Moobee.
I wonder if there are any stats on lost colonies over there as to the lineage of the queens?
I've used Italian queens here and they tend to brood a lot and eat a lot. At a guess I'd say they would potentially be less likely to have issues with room (as mentioned in earlier posts-see Hemo), because they eat so much and brood so much. In any case I can't get them any more because of the ban.
My mongrel bees have never starved (touch wood) or died out in winter and seem really frugal. They look about the colour of yours. I would be pretty reluctant to feed them here.
There was an old and really experienced beekeeper here who only fed his bees one year in about 70 years of beekeeping.

We’ve had such a mild winter with bees flying every month that colonies would have starved without intervention.

 

[Moobee]

She looks light to me, Moobee.

Edit: Added photo for comparison.

She is actually the stripiest queen I had - took me ages to find her. Several of the hives that I lost had very dark queens - one of them in this pic.