Winter temps in hive.

[Bush_84]

Bush_84 I see you are just south of me. What method do you use?

Sorry for the late response. First off let me start with saying that these are the best resources I?ve found. I winter indoors and will be building a new setup this year. It?s in an existing shed in a 12x22 foot space that is already enclosed on three sides with insulation in those walls, but minimal in the attic. What I?ve done is temp set to 40. Ventilation needs to be done. I set mine to a timer. Ian (at Steppler farms) has one fan running constantly and one fan to run when it gets to hot. His bees heat his shed. I don?t have enough for that so I vent to exchange air. You will need to trap light with your vents. Double 90 degree turns will do the trick. The space must be void of light or bees will fly towards it and never return. That covers the basics.

http://capabees.org/content/uploads/2013/02/winteringpdf.pdf

http://capabees.org/content/uploads/2013/02/indoorwinteringhighlights.pdf

http://capabees.org/content/uploads/2013/02/indoorwinteringrequirements.pdf

http://stepplerfarms.com/StepplerHoney.html

[little john]

[...]  these are the best resources I've found.

For anyone interested in this aspect of beekeeping, and looking for a wider perspective - I came across this recently, which devotes several articles to the overwintering of colonies in very cold climates: https://www.ninevehtrust.org.uk/images/pdfs/bkq%20103_lr.pdf  Several methods are discussed, ranging from huge environmentally-controlled sheds in Canada, to simple covered holes in the ground (poor man's cellar) in less affluent countries.

Dan - did you get my PM re: the Indoor Wintering of Small Honey Bee Colonies in Iowa (1999 JSTOR paper) ?
LJ

[Bush_84]

I do now that you pointed it out lol. Sorry for late reply.