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Subject: Orange County, NC Beekeepers

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  • From: Just Bee <marty AT justbeenc.com>
  • To: ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Cc: Hamsiba Family <hamsibas AT gmail.com>
  • Subject: Re: [ocba] Moisture
  • Date: Thu, 6 Feb 2014 14:54:28 -0500

Brad,

You may just need to place shims in the back of your bottom board...on the hive support. If it gets out of level front to back then it can collect on the front porch. It should just drop out the screen thought. 

Yes it's a good idea to close your bottom up in winter. That is way to much of an opening. In short, look to the tree where they evolved from millions of years. There is not an upper vent nor a large open bottom in a tree.

Bees make heat...bee heat comes from honey so they have to go through more honey to keep the brood warm. It's simple thermal dynamics. A furnace has to use more "fuel" to keep the same temp when it's cold.

Check for level first and then get back to us. The upper vent is another issue we can talk about later.

Marty



Sent from my iPhone

On Feb 6, 2014, at 2:16 PM, Randall Austin <ra41717 AT gmail.com> wrote:

Brad,

Just FYI, I never close off my screened bottom boards in the winter and my bees don't seem to mind at all. Bees don't freeze, as long as they've got a critical mass for a cluster and they stay dry.

Randall

On 2/6/2014 1:52 PM, Hamsiba Family wrote:
CA+x3aG6UgnZoSSEBd7Das_VFqmhyubwX8iXNX2oHFmopfr6rLQ AT mail.gmail.com" type="cite">
The more vigorous of my two hives is showing moisture problems with some water pooling at the entrance. I had previously inserted popsicle sticks between the inner cover and top of the hive body to vent above, besides the inner/outer cover venting.  I just now slid the IPM board under the hive open a half inch or so. 

Does this sound like the right approach?  I don't want to freeze them with cold weather coming back.  I do have the entrance restricted with the larger of the two openings in use.  Should I just take that out instead?

When the water appeared yesterday, was accompanied by a pile of a dozen or so dead bees, much more than recently seen.

Thanks for any advice for this "first winter" beekeeper. 

Brad Kosiba


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