Wintering bees in the U.K.

[ericbeaumont]

6mm rim for top bee space)

6? Only 6? Do you sleep easily at night, knowing that 8mm is beespace!

bees build brace comb

Well, at 6 they would, wouldn't they.

in feral nests ... attach their combs to the top of whatever cavity ... don't leave top bee space

Irregularity of wild nest comb and the holes & byways through it may permit alternative airflows even though combs are attached above. Conversely, a frame hive with regular beespace throughout may give excessive airflow across top bars, and so they seal it.

 

[JamezF]

6? Only 6? Do you sleep easily at night, knowing that 8mm is beespace!

Oh, hellfire! Have you any idea how many different figures are quoted for the size of a "bee space"? Especially after converting from Imperial to Metric, since most of the original measurements appear to have been made in inches. I swear this is one of the reasons more people don't make some of their own kit. It's just easier to pay someone else to get it wrong rather than worry about it yourself.

It's even suggested that the space bees require to work "back to back" is less than twice the space required for a single bee, which suggests to me that they're not actually working back to back.

I wouldn't be in the least surprised if it turned out that the common Apis mellifera subspecies even had their own preferred size of bee space.

James

 

[Erichalfbee]

I wouldn't be in the least surprised if it turned out that the common Apis mellifera subspecies even had their own preferred size of bee space.

It’s rumoured they like small cells.

 

[ericbeaumont]

they're not actually working back to back.

No, they work like humans in a supermarket, reaching shelves by alternating position politely in the limited space.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

It’s rumoured they like small cells.

don't you bloody start!

 

[JamezF]

No, they work like humans in a supermarket, reaching shelves by alternating position politely in the limited space.

Clearly you've not been in a supermarket for a while

James

 

[pargyle]

6? Only 6? Do you sleep easily at night, knowing that 8mm is beespace!


Well, at 6 they would, wouldn't they.


Irregularity of wild nest comb and the holes & byways through it may permit alternative airflows even though combs are attached above. Conversely, a frame hive with regular beespace throughout may give excessive airflow across top bars, and so they seal it.

6mm polycarbonate crownboards ... strips cut off and glued back on make perfect rims ... I don't think it makes a bit of difference whether it is 6mm or 8mm ... It's usually quoted as between 4.5mm and 9.0mm.

http://www.dave-cushman.net/bee/bsp.html

 

[Antipodes]

I must admit that my bees build brace comb between the clear crownboard (which has a 6mm rim for top bee space) along the top and joining the bars to the crownboard. Talking to Derek - his explanation - they don't want space above the frames which permits convection so they try and block off the space to reduce the airflow. I can see the logic in this - if you think about it - in feral nests they attach their combs to the top of whatever cavity they decide is home and they don't leave top bee space.

I like my clear crown boards that provide top beespace for all sorts of reasons but ... am I doing my bees a disservice ? If Derek is right about in-hive convection (and I suspect his science is spot on) then I need to think about this - what is convenient for the beekeeper may not be as convenient for the bees.

Have you seen what Australian beekeepers do above the top of the frames? I’ve posted about it before.

 

[ericbeaumont]

Clearly you've not been in a supermarket for a whiile

Waitrose, old chap, not Lidl.

 

[Penninetrader]

I have completely lost track of what this is about, all sounds too complicated.

 

[Vanterrier]

As bees have been around for so long they must use imperial and not jonny foreigners more recent metric stuff surely?
K

 

[Murox]

As bees have been around for so long they must use imperial and not jonny foreigners more recent metric stuff surely?
K

nah....unlike some beekeepers bees learned how to evolve.

 

[Murox]

... I don't think it makes a bit of difference whether it is 6mm or 8mm ... It's usually quoted as between 4.5mm and 9.0mm.

Call me pedantic, however I don't think it should be quoted as "between" anything. I think when Langstroth had his eureka moment he defined Bee Space as greater than 1/4 inch (6.35mm), but smaller than 3/8 inch"(9.525mm). Ive never asked bees if it makes any difference to them, but we can all see the results when they don't like it.

 

[robmort]

I must admit that my bees build brace comb between the clear crownboard (which has a 6mm rim for top bee space) along the top and joining the bars to the crownboard. Talking to Derek - his explanation - they don't want space above the frames which permits convection so they try and block off the space to reduce the airflow. I can see the logic in this - if you think about it - in feral nests they attach their combs to the top of whatever cavity they decide is home and they don't leave top bee space.

I like my clear crown boards that provide top beespace for all sorts of reasons but ... am I doing my bees a disservice ? If Derek is right about in-hive convection (and I suspect his science is spot on) then I need to think about this - what is convenient for the beekeeper may not be as convenient for the bees.

I use only perspex crown boards and they have slightly diifferent bee spaces from 6 to 8mm. They build some brace comb in the gap mainly in the summer, not in the autumn/winter so I don't think convection currents are the reason. Also the brace comb is more common where the gap is narrower, especially if the perspex sags towards the middle. So 8mm gaps have less brace comb and I've seen this on different hives over the last few years.

 

[ericbeaumont]

I have completely lost track of what this is about, all sounds too complicated.

Early days; gets worse in winter.

build some brace comb in the gap mainly in the summer

Yes, and if the beekeeper is late with extra boxes they'll build it between boxes, walls, QX and anywhere else.

Brace is built for three reasons and it would be difficult to determine which impulse led to its construction: vibration modulation, lack of alternative space, or ventilation.

 

[ken in NH]

On occasion- if there is more than adequate ''beespace'' they will make deeper cells. (especially for storing honey, less true for brood).