Beekeeping Holiday In New York (Part 4).

Experimental Hive Insulated for Winter in New York.

Temperature Control.

Have you ever wondered how colonies of honey bees maintain the ideal humidity and temperature inside the hive? Also, should we insulate our hives over winter, or not? Should hives be ventilated more to decrease condensation? These are hot topics currently being discussed among beekeepers on both sides of the Atlantic, and the lively debate continues. The good news is that more research into this subject is currently under way and soon we may be able to make better informed decisions about how we should prepare our bees for winter.

Starting Point.

If you want to better understand the physiology of thermoregulation in honey bees, the best place to start is Chapter 9 (Temperature Control) in Professor Tom Seeley’s latest book, “The Lives Of Bees–The Untold Story of the Honey Bee in the Wild”.

https://amzn.to/2Q3kN7J

We learn in “The Lives of Bees” of the research on bees living in the wild, and how colonies living in tree nests are better able to regulate nest temperatures than are managed colonies living in wooden hives.The thicker and heavily propolis coated tree nest walls are part of the story.

Research Project.

I visit a relatively new beekeeper with a veterinary medicine background who is recording the internal hive nest temperatures of both insulated and non-insulated hives. It is one of the neatest apiaries surrounded by a sturdy electric bear fence. The data from the probes inserted in hive nests, including humidity and temperature, are sent to a company called Hobolink who service agricultural data monitoring. The data is continuously monitored and available in graph form on his computer for analysis. It’s very early days for this piece of research, but already it can be seen how the temperate fluctuates considerably in non-insulated hives in comparison with more stable readings from insulated hives. On cold mornings, the former can be 10 degrees Celsius lower than their insulated neighbour’s hives. Humidity is also higher in insulated hives.

https://www.hobolink.com/

“Beehive Cozy Cover”

These quilts are made in Colorodo. The covering is made from rain resistant canvas used in tent making, while the lining is Havelock wool from New Zealand. Just as with continental quilts, there are varying levels of insulation available and these covers are made to suit conditions in the different climatic regions of the USA. They are designed to fit Langstroth, top bar and Warre hives but would probably fit a British modified national hive. The quilt is tucked in and tied round the hive then the roof is replaced and everything is secured with a “tie-down” strap.

Why Wool?

Well, wool keeps sheep warm and alive doesn’t it? Is such a great insulator with “breathability” that allows sheep to survive and thrive in the coldest parts of the world like Outer Mongolia. There has been a recent resurgence in the use of wool for products like household bedding. My quilt is filled with wool and it keeps me cool in summer and warm in winter. Wool is also used as insulation in house building. See “home” link below.

UK Research.

Some work has already been carried out by engineer, Derek Mitchell, in the UK on hive insulation. See link below.

https://doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2018.0879

And, Finally: Bears!

Experimental Box Containing 2 Frames of Honey Stores to Assess Speed of Discovery by Robber Bees.
Experimental Box Not Quite High Enough Here: The Unmistakable Signature!
2 Frames from Experimental Nucleus Box Have Been Removed and Destroyed.
Plastic Frame Has Been Peevishly Clawed Clean.

This is why bear fences are needed in New York and many other parts of North America.

Final Part 5 Following Soon.

3 thoughts on “Beekeeping Holiday In New York (Part 4).”

  1. Hi Ann fascinating about whether to insulate or not. Got me thinking about humans and a term called Hormesis which is quite a new term. It means that temporary stressors increase resistance to other stressors and increases the vitality and health of an organism. It made me think of the bees. The added insulation is almost like our centrally heated houses which often create some condensation and usually remain at a steady temperature. Whereas yes the tree hives may take harder work to keep the temperature up but they are probably more ventilated and less prone to condensation. A little discomfort in humans like exercise cold water dunks good healthy food and saunas make us more able to resist disease with a stronger immune system. Perhaps there may be some similarities with bees. It will be interesting to see the overall results. Also wondering why the beehives we keep bees in are quite thin whereas a tree is quite thick and more sheltered but usually has a much bigger entrance often long and thin. Is it all to do with easy access for us or is there another reason they are designed the way they are?

    1. That certainly got you thinking, Susan. Thank you for responding and sharing your thoughts. Well, we used to keep bees in naturally insulated straw skeps, and some did so at the start of last century in UK when the trend for wooden hives with moveable frames crept in. However, the two world wars created a shortage of wood so hives have traditionally been made using minimal amounts of wood. Until Tom Seeley researched the wild bees in the Arnot forest NY, nobody knew how bees really lived in the wild. So all this research is only just picking up momentum. We still need to know a lot more.

      When bees get cold they have to work much harder to maintain nest homeostasis and they use up calories to isometrically contract flight muscles which generates heat. We think of the colony as a super-organism in relation to homeostasis because individual bees have an even harder time coping with low temperatures. Think of the bees you saw die in front of the hive when they came out after bright snow made them think it was a good time to be out? So I’m not sure about exposure to cold boosting their immune systems.
      Another thing about condensation is that some beekeepers used to add/add extra top ventilation by placing a match stick under the crown board. Recent research suggests that when the hive is warm with high humidity, adding ventilation at the top will cause condensation to drip down directly onto the combs of bees causing big problems for them. With a bottom entrance for ventilation condensation should drip down the sides of the hive. Bees need water in winter;great volumes of it to make brood food once the queen starts laying again after the solstice.So,they can recycle condensation and save a trip out into dangerous winter weather. Also, bees need water for diluting honey stores to a 50/50 strength for immediate consumption. Not sure if you have noticed that my hive entrances are always small? Having wide entrances during a honey flow helps a large colony of bees (remember wild colonies are smaller than our managed ones) evaporate the water to reduce nectar to honey.

      1. Thank you Ann for your explanation so they like condensation in the hive , I suppose it’s getting it at the right amount too much not great and too little means they don’t have enough so therefore may need to go out which could be potentially fatal. Oh it’s all so interesting I love your blog!

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.