Volume 1 -------------------- December 29, 2010 --------------------Number 5
Previous subscriber count: 111 Current number of subscribers: 165
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Keeping Hives Inside Buildings In The Winter. Possible?
by David Burns, EAS certified Master Beekeeper
All new beekeepers want to bring their hives inside, place their new pets in a warmer climate or maybe slip a light bulb in the hive to keep them
warm. New beekeepers have asked me if they can place a heating pad beneath the hive or wrap it with heat-tape. Some have even tried placing
their hives in a greenhouse only to find that foragers flew up to the top of the room, searching to climb higher in the sky but could not return to the
hive, being too captivated by the light. Can beehives be stored inside buildings?
Many beekeepers were experimenting with placing hives in cellars and in trenches in the ground back in the 1800s. Some ideas paid off and others
were disastrous. In some countries, bee houses are very common. A bee house is usually a small building with several hives inside and their opening
travel through the wall to the outside. There's room for the beekeeper to walk in and tend to the hives. This was very common even 100 years ago here
in America. In fact, several bee houses still stand, but are not housing bees.
I'm having a go at it this winter. I'm overwinter around 10 hives in a "cold room" which is around 40 degrees (F). The hives and nucs have been given
Plexiglas lids so I can check on them with a flashlight to see if they need food. The room is totally dark and quiet. So far so good. On the next sunny,
warm day, I plan to transport the hives outside to give the bees a chance to stretch their wings. A cold room, such as mine, is nothing more than a four-sided
wind block, that keeps the temperature about 10 degrees warmer than outside. I love the idea and I'm surprised that more beekeepers aren't placing their
hives in some sort of building during the winter.
DISADVANTAGE
Obviously, if they are in a building and are able to leave the hive, they might become stranded near a window. The building needs to have a large exit to the
sky, maybe a large barn door and the hives need to be placed just behind the door. Larger hives are very difficult to move. On warmer days, it becomes
difficult to regulate the room temperature.
THE BENEFIT
A cold room makes a great wind break and reduces temperature and humidity extremes. Hives can be monitored and fed if needed. Especially beneficial
for moving small nucs and hives in single deeps.
I have found that if I place a screen bottom board on the hives then I can close off all entrances so bees cannot leave their hive while in the building yet still
get plenty of air. For a small scale beekeeper, I believe this might prove to be another tool in overwintering hives in the north.
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IN THE NEWS...
Bayer, the EPA & Beekeepers Don't Agree
Bayer's clothianidin (brand name Poncho) which is excreted in pollen is particularly suspect, and beekeepers and environmentalists recently called
on the EPA to pull the pesticide from the market. Read more...
Want To Break A Guinness World Record Of 109 Honey Bees Closed In Your
Mouth For 10 Seconds?
You'll be beating the record held by Norman Gary, emeritus professor of apiculture at the University of California. Before you try and beat his
record, maybe you should read his newly released book on beekeeping. Read more...
In California, Fred Michaelis Removed A Bee Hive Living In The Open In A Tree
We've all seen a swarm of bees hanging from a tree. But have you ever seen a year old established colony hanging from a tree? Beekeeper
Fred Michaelis removes this 50 pound hive from living in the open on a branch. They're honey bees. Take a look...
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