>>> [log in to unmask] 9/4/03 4:20:45 AM >>>
 Have any experiments been done
on placing small nucs in a fridge/freezer in order to produce
reliable,
re-producible over-wintering of small nucs ?

Robin Dartington
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I once had a fairly small cluster (maybe a pound) of bees I wanted to
dispose of (kill) and I made the mistake of putting them in my freezer

to just freeze them.  What happened is that they melted the ice in the

fixture above them in the freezer lid and all I got was dripping water.

This is a good, very cold chest type freezer.  I was afraid they were
going to start thawing out my food so I took them out.  Maybe I just
didn't wait long enough, but how long is "long enough"?

A more effective way is to put the box of bees inside a plastic bag
and set it in the sun, but that makes a mess of the box.  Sorry I
didn't
actually answer the question, but I thought this related experience
might be an interesting addition to the discussion.  I put some bees
in the freezer, but not for the purpose of testing overwintering.
They
were inside a wooden box with screen on the sides, not a nuc box.
I thought they would become moribund and die, but I forgot about
their thermoregulation capabilities.  A miscalculation based on my
experience with other insects and my forgetfulness (maybe my
partitioned thinking too).  I did not have the patience to wait
and find out how long it would take to actually kill them under these
conditions.  They were doing too good a job of heating my freezer.

Layne Westover
College Station, Texas

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