Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => EQUIPMENT USAGE, EXPERIMENTATION, HIVE PLANS, CONSTRUCTION TIPS AND TOOLS => Topic started by: Kathyp on July 17, 2006, 08:05:10 pm
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i see you guys have brought up the storm question here. how about ice storms? we get really bad ones about every 3 years. we are due this year. i know the ice wouldn't hurt the outside of the hive, but if it were to seal the hive for a period of time, say overnight, would the bees be ok. how long does it take for a hive to suffocate?
any ideas about how you would keep some kind of air hole open? we can get 2 or 3 inches of ice in a very short amount of time. then snow usually falls on top of that...then more ice.....
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It's not safe to COMPLETELY seal a hive for any length greater than a minute or two. They NEED air! Given I don't get ice storms here...and I'm not entirely sure what one is, I'll leave that part to the northerners.
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An ice storm can plug the entrance which can cut off the air supply if you are not using either a SBB or a ventilated top. The Ice storm will not plug up a SBB because the open area is below and protected from direct moisture by the hive. And no the open floor that a SBB represents will not cause the bees to freeze the heat will stay in the hive with the excess venting out the bottom, therby keeping the bottom open.
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thanks. forgot about the open bottom. why did the SBB come with that slide in board if i'm never going to use it? :)
i am off to the bee store. also going to by slatted rack if they have one. we are headed for 100+ degrees this week. i hope this will help with ventilation on the top and discourage robbing? i have had some trouble with robbing but nothing big. don't want to make it worse.
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> i know the ice wouldn't hurt the outside of the hive, but if it were to seal the hive for a period of time, say overnight, would the bees be ok. how long does it take for a hive to suffocate?
I've seen bottom entrances blocked by snow and ice. I've never had top entrances blocked. You need a top entnrace, even if it's a small one. I prefer it as the only entrance so I don't have to worry about the mice etc.
http://www.bushfarms.com/beeslazy.htm#topentrance
http://www.bushfarms.com/beestopentrance.htm