A categoric no BB.
From B. Mobus. Damp Condensation and Ventilation.
ln winter too, the beeway-sized passages between honey stores avoid speedy loss of warmth through upward motions of air. At all times bees actually seek out the most ‘comfortable’ , the warmest place of a hive, for wintering. When polystyrene insulation is experimentally placed above the crownboard the cluster will slowly migrate to the under-side of that board and will settle right between the solid slabs of honey where the warmth cannot escape because of top insulation. When two nucleus boxes are together under one roof, the two colonies will move to adjacent walls so as to benefit from the warmth of the neighbouring cluster while, on its own, each colony would consciously avoid contact with the chilly outside walls. ln hives made from insulating material (expanded polystyrene), the cluster snuggles up against outer walls. lt must therefore be obvious to even a
blind man that where bees normally form their winter cluster, right underneath the beeway-spaced honey stores, they will be in the ‘warmest’ part of the hive, even though it could be next to the entrance and next to the deepest frost. Protected by the beeway above, less warmth escapes than is commonly realised.
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PH
