HaHaHaHahahahaha!!!
My brother is just like this guy! One time I told him the Black Hills of South Dakota was the religious center of North America, and he spent 3 days telling me about the "Sioux," and how they didn't have any history in the state. Finski, my friend,
I said that.I have 35 years of experience with bees, though around 30 of those have been looking at hives from over the fence, in the field from the road, or telling folks not to worry about the swarm because if they just leave the bees alone, they will probably go away on their own. I have 3 empty hives right now which I need to fill with bees for whatever reasons, but mostly because I wanted to use them for pollination.
You don't have to keep pounding that you live in a cold place. I know how cold it gets up in the northern parts of the world. As I mentioned South Dakota, I was born in the capital. It's pronounced Peer, and not Pee-Air. Finland doesn't have a monopoly on cold weather!
Relax! You don't need to carry a "Chip on your shoulder." We aren't saying your beekeeping wisdom is questionable.
As for bees and cold, these bees lived out in the barn, in the shade, for 3 years without management until I tried to get them in a KTBH in August. What I don't have experience with is Small Hive Beetles, Varroa, and Tracheal mites. They absconded, and died out in October. The playing field has changed, and I find everything I knew has as well.
Acebird, the options are:
- Heating the entire cavity
- Heating the cluster
- Not heating anything
Of these basic options, I would state the most
practical would be to heat the cluster. The other two options lead to death or extra work. I would
assume the heat given off by the bees and trapped in the cavity is incidental and would serve to give the bees a better chance because they would not need to burn the extra calories to keep the cluster warm as they would if the temperature was, estimating, 20 to 40 degrees colder.