Susi Wilson said:

> Has there been research on "degree-days" to figure out when
> various races of honeybees start brood?

I've looked at this, and from what I've seen, I don't think
that the queen pays attention to cumulative degree days.

> The degree-day figures are used in gardening to figure things from
> "weed emergence" dates to probable "pest hatch out" dates.

These applications ARE valid, as plants and pests are subject
to soil temperature.  Bees, from what I've seen, are not.

> Hours of daylight correlate somewhat with degree days, too.

"Hours of daylight" are the correct track to follow.
I read somewhere (I forget where and when) that there
were experiments done to lengthen the "day" by putting
lights controlled by timers in beehives with the specific
goal of trying to get brood rearing going.

What they found was that it was not the absolute length of
the day that caused the brood rearing to start, but instead,
the delta in daylight hours (the lengthening of the sunlight
hours compared to the prior period).

I recall that I wondered when I read this how they were able
to light beehives without also heating them in the process,
as most lightbulbs produce just as much, if not more, heat
than light, much like many of the discussions here on Bee-L.  :)

If one wanted to test this oneself, the prices of the "super
bright" light-emitting diodes have come down to the point
where one COULD light beehives without heating them up.

But I would not want to mess with nature in this regard.
Raising brood "earlier" is often a waste of hive resources,
as the bees cannot keep a large brood area warm in the sort
of low temperatures one may have "early" in the season.

I also live in Virginia, and I understand the concern about
getting a good early spring build-up.  The best crop of
nectar we have is "early".  The only reliable answer I have
found is to run Carniolans.

The only "problem" with Carnis is that their smaller fall/winter
clusters scare the heck out of you, and then they build up so
quickly that they nearly explode right out of whatever brood
chamber configuration you thought was "enough" for whatever
other breed of bee you were running.

  jim (Ask your pharmacist about potential side effects)

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
-- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/BEE-L for rules, FAQ and  other info ---
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::