NEED SUGGESTIONS: Move hive into the pole barn? Or just insulate and leave outside?

[Claudia Looze]

I've read some posts that if you can heat the pole barn to a temp of 45 degrees, that would be good. My pole barn is NOT heated. Is it worth moving the bees into the pole barn if it isn't heated? Outside it is located in a protected spot where it is out of the wind. Should I just insulate it and leave it at that? It's a strong hive. I took very little honey, so they have plenty.
I REALLY want a hive to overwinter. In previous years, the hives were located in a somewhat windy spot, but they were insulated with pink foam and tar paper, plus the insulated board on top and there was plenty of ventilation. None of my hives survived a winter so I moved the hive location to a more protected spot.
Now this is now my sole focus this year: have Queen Desdemona and her girls survive!!
Any and all suggestions are needed!
Thanks. - Claudia (between Spring Green and Dodgeville)

[William Palmer]

Claudia; All the winter preparations will be in vane, if your mites are not under control. Its that simple.

           The mites put a hole in the bee.  Other diseases enter the bee and its a slow death.

                                  William Palmer     East Troy Honey.

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "madbees" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to madbees+u...@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

[Joseph Bessetti]

Yes, mite infestations levels can a good indicator of whether a hive will survive winter or not.  However, just because a hive is not treated for mites does not mean it will have high mite numbers or that it will die.  A first-year hive started from a package will often survive it's first winter (if something else doesn't kill it).  It's in the second season that the classic collapse from varroa usually happens.

Claudia, do you know what the root cause of your colony deaths were in previous years?   Without knowing what kills your hives, whether it be mite infestation, starvation, exposure, rodents, queen failure, or too much moisture, a beekeeper can't possibly know what to change in order to improve success.   Knowing how to diagnose the likely cause of each hive's death is a valuable skill to have.  

I wouldn't move your hive inside the pole barn, but I would consider putting it next to the south facing side of your pole barn or another building exposed to sun.  This will provide considerably more shelter than most other locations, and on sunny days you'll get more warming from the sun, allowing the bees more opportunities for cleansing flights and for the cluster to move to stores.  

Also, you should describe in more detail exactly how you prepare your hive for winter and be specific about the size and location of all entrances and ventilation as well as your use of insulation.  You could very well be over-insulating, providing too much ventilation, or providing too little opportunity for trapped moisture to escape and not realize it.   

I like to use foam insulation on the top of my hives to prevent moisture condensation on the inner cover, but if I were to use foam insulation around the hive bodies I would only do so on 3 sides, and put black tar paper on the front.  That way you'll reduce heat loss via the insulation but still be able to take advantage of the sun's warmth on sunny days.  

Hope this is helpful,

Joe

> Date: Sun, 29 Nov 2015 06:55:14 -0800
> From: claudi...@gmail.com
> To: mad...@googlegroups.com
> Subject: [madbees] NEED SUGGESTIONS: Move hive into the pole barn? Or just insulate and leave outside?

[Claudia Looze]

Each year in the past and this year I have treated for mites in August or September. This year and last I used Mite-Away. The hive has 3 mediums of brood and 4 supers (all 1/2 to 3/4 full) There are three ventilation holes, all 3/4" and with hardware cloth over to keep mice out. One in bottom brood box, one in the first honey super from the bottom and one in the top super. Currently the bottom screen board is open, but I usually add the plastic board above the screen board. I feed sugar cakes and this year I'm going to use the dry sugar method. The front entrance will be set to the smallest opening today, with hardware cloth over it.
The hive faces south and gets morning and early afternoon sun. It is set with it's back against a large hill, so it doesn't receive winds from north or west. We are in a calm little hollow where there is little wind.
Each year in the past, March has been the saddest month. It is when each hive has died. They make it through the worst of the winter. There is plenty of food left - both their honey and sugar cakes. When i clean out the hive it all looks right, except for all the dead bees.
I know I am still learning and I rely heavily on this forum and other websites and, of course, Rich and Stacy from Capital Bee Supply, but there are many opinions out there. Is there a month-by-month guide of best practices for beekeeping in Wisconsin? I've seen this sort of guide for other regions in the U.S., but to have advice for our particular region would be most helpful.

[Joseph Bessetti]

When you inspect the hive in March and find the bees all dead, have you seen any capped brood in the hive?  By March hives should be rearing brood.  If there isn't any brood in a hive in March, then there's a good chance it's queenless.  

Have all of your hives had the same queen heading into winter that was present when you treated for mites?  

Mite treatments can (but don't always) cause queen failure.  I think this has a lot to do with why we hear and read recommendations to re-queen hives yearly, with a fresh young queen laying in the months after treatment and before winter.  A young queen also tends to lay more brood later into the fall, another factor strongly correlated with winter survival.  No answers here, just more general stuff from the literature on winter survival.

Additional comments welcome of course,

Joe

> Date: Sun, 29 Nov 2015 09:28:05 -0800
> From: claudi...@gmail.com
> To: mad...@googlegroups.com
> Subject: RE: [madbees] NEED SUGGESTIONS: Move hive into the pole barn? Or just insulate and leave outside?

[lin...@tds.net]

Suggest testing for mites following treatment. Perhaps the reinfestation and hatch out of the mites after treatment allow the mites to keep levels higher than you think. Larry

[Claudia Looze]

Thanks, everyone!
I left the hive in the outside location and did not move it into the pole barn. I put pink insulation on three sides and tar paper over that. Venitilation holes are on the back side that faces the hill. The hill protects the hive from north and west winds. I put the bottom board over the screen bottom. I added a spacer that has hardware cloth along the bottom, with newspaper and dry sugar for feeding.
The bees were quite busy. This is the best hive I've had. Got it from Mary Celley in May. They have been strong all year and my fingers are crossed that they make it through the winter.
Thanks, again, for great advice.
-Claudia

[Joseph Bessetti]

Claudia,
 
You mention ventilation holes on the back side of the hive facing North/West, and you previously indicated that your reduced entrance faces south.   If true, that arrangement will allow for air to flow through your hive from front-to-back or from back-to-front, which is a recipe for disaster in my opinion. 
 
You should have all of your hive body ventilations holes on the same side of the hive as your bottom entrance in order to prevent that type of cross-ventilation.   
 
If my understanding is correct, I would recommend fixing this right away. 
 
Joe
 
 
 

 

> Date: Mon, 30 Nov 2015 16:13:59 -0800
> From: claudi...@gmail.com
> To: mad...@googlegroups.com
> Subject: Re: [madbees] NEED SUGGESTIONS: Move hive into the pole barn? Or just insulate and leave outside?