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Author Topic: Winter Bee House  (Read 14052 times)

Offline Jim134

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Re: Winter Bee House
« Reply #40 on: March 27, 2017, 07:20:07 am »
If you would like to know a little bit more about AZ hives.. these hives been around for about a hundred and forty years.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1608057116103205/

  Is hive designed to stay inside all year round on a bee house . Remember one thing this is a different way to keep honey bees as compared to langstroth.

http://www.slovenianbeekeeping.com/

            BEE HAPPY Jim 134  :smile:
"Tell me and I'll forget,show me and I may  remember,involve me and I'll understand"
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Franklin County Beekeepers Association MA. http://www.franklinmabeekeepers.org/

Offline Eric Bosworth

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Re: Winter Bee House
« Reply #41 on: April 12, 2017, 01:37:59 pm »
This winter I tried something a little different. My neighbor had a small greenhouse that he gave me. Where he had it, it was two windy. I have it somewhat protected from the wind. I put 4 nucs in my greenhouse and had 2 hives outside. We had a day or two over the winter where the temps were well below 0F. We also had some pretty wild swings of temperature. I know that screws me up I can't imagine the bees like it either. I lost every hive that was outside. I had two nucs survive in the greenhouse. Every colony I lost had lots of honey stores. I did not have an issue with starving. This to me suggests that I need to protect them from the extreme weather. I am also trying to figure out how to address the left over honey. It is crystallized enough that harvesting it won't be easy unless I just crush it and warm it to crystallize it and strain it. I think a better approach might be to use it to make summer nucs to over winter next year. The problem with that is keeping the wax moths out until then. I don't have freezer space to put it.
All political power comes from the barrel of a gun. The communist party must command all the guns; that way, no guns can ever be used to command the party. ---Mao Tse Tung

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Offline Bush_84

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Re: Winter Bee House
« Reply #42 on: April 13, 2017, 06:37:54 pm »
One thing about greenhouses is light. From what I have read bee sheds should be dark. Now this might be one of those better than nothing situations, but glass has always been confusing to bees. Could lead to loss of bees on cleansing flights.
Keeping bees since 2011.

Also please excuse the typos.  My iPad autocorrect can be brutal.

Offline BeePastor

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Re: Winter Bee House
« Reply #43 on: April 21, 2017, 02:28:00 pm »
So here is a late question.  How much benefit, or detriment, would I see by housing my hives in my barn? I am in central Alabama.  Summers stay in the 90s and winters seldom get below 20 for long.  It seems like I could benefit by keeping the hives a bit cooler by keeping them in the barn.

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Offline Bush_84

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Re: Winter Bee House
« Reply #44 on: April 21, 2017, 03:12:09 pm »
Your climate is completely foreign to me. So I'm not sure I'm the right guy to answer your question, but I don't think I'd bother if I were you. Seems like a lot of work/risk and little payout.
Keeping bees since 2011.

Also please excuse the typos.  My iPad autocorrect can be brutal.

Offline BeePastor

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Re: Winter Bee House
« Reply #45 on: April 21, 2017, 04:19:18 pm »
The only advantage I could see in the long run would be equipment protection and a few degrees cooler at mid day.  I have a hay barn that I could forfeit an area of, but as you noted, probably little reward for the trouble.

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Offline Captain776

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Re: Winter Bee House
« Reply #46 on: April 22, 2017, 02:57:43 am »
A bit of a grave dig but wanted to update. I have dryer vents on opposing sides of shed. One has a fan attached to a timer. It pulls fresh air in for 15 min three times a day. So that will keep air fresh. I bought a plug in with a thermostat built in. It turns on at 35 and turns off at 45.  That's about perfect.  Have a space heater in there. It's sealed up tight. No light. I checked on my bees a few weeks ago. Just popped the top. At this point in the winter my bees would be really taking big chunks out of my mountain camp sugar,but they hadn't touched much. So far no losses. Havent been able to say that in years. So far this is paying off.

I know some of you in the south, such as jay, think it's a waste, but near 100% losses every winter is a waste. So far I can tell you that my bees are light years ahead of previous winters. If I can get each hive through the winter then this will not have been a waste.

Sort of a Winter Bee Resort.......I like it, the bees must love it.
Bought my first NUC April 7, 2016.
Like all you when you first started, I am fascinated with beginning Beekeeping and trying to learn all I can.
I retired May 2015 and have added this to my short list of hobbies.

Offline paus

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Re: Winter Bee House
« Reply #47 on: April 22, 2017, 10:01:11 am »
Small hive beetles love dark and do not like light, seems like I have read that about mankind.

Offline GSF

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Re: Winter Bee House
« Reply #48 on: May 09, 2017, 08:38:06 pm »
Beepaster - don't do it. I've had mine in the direct sunlight for a few years now. The number of small hive beetles increases the closer I get to the area that gets the shade first. In my opinion bees do better out in the sun, it's us that suffers :)
When the law no longer protects you from the corrupt, but protects the corrupt from you - then you know your nation is doomed.