Gavin Ramsay wrote:

> It is clear that bees do go out looking for water, and at this time
> of year it may be a risky activity.  So - what about these absorbent
> boards?  Do they greatly restrict flights out for water?

I've used homosote boards for 2 years and they clearly absorb water as 
evidenced by staining and slight warping, but mine never seem to be wet. 
   Maybe that is in part because the bees are using the retained water?

I was checking my hives today- the first time this spring- and when I 
lifted the homosote boards off, there were usually about a teaspoon full 
of bees clustered on it directly above the hole in the inner cover. Were 
they gathering water? I don't know. Contrary to Bill Truesdell's 
experience, my boards seem invariably dry whenever I check them; they 
never get sopping wet in my experience. I suspect more water is removed 
from the hives through ventilation, but in any case, whether they act as 
insulation or water absorbent material, I like them.

FYI, spring is finally springing here in central Maine though we've 
certainly got some cold nights ahead. Today it was sunny and the 
temperature was in the high 50's in protected areas. The snow is largely 
gone from south and east sloping fields but it's still quite deep in the 
woods. What ground that isn't frozen is mud. I saw Pussy Willow flowers 
emerging on my way to work this morning, though they're not producing 
pollen yet. It was such a nice day I decided to leave work early and go 
check my hives.

I'm happy to report that all my hives from last summer have made it 
through the winter and most appear to be in fine shape- 12 double deep 
colonies and 2 singles. One colony is very weak- it had tracheal mites 
rather badly last summer and I requeened it, hoping for the best. 
They've made it this far but the cluster is very small.. and probably 
won't make it. I also built 4 nucs late last summer and one of them is 
still alive and looking great. It was my first attempt to winter nucs 
and I'm very happy with the results, all things considered. All the 
hives still have sufficient stores- it seems these Carniolan mongrels of 
mine consume very little during the winter. I'm particularly interested 
in the 2 singles, they're doing every bit as well as the full sized 
colonies. I expect I'll try wintering more singles in the future.

I did lose 2 colonies that were given to me late last fall by some 
friends that took up beekeeping last spring and then decided it wasn't 
what they wanted to do after all. The hives arrived in late September 
full of mites and light on honey, and not very well built up. I tried to 
correct that situation as best I could but didn't expect them to make 
it. They lasted until the end of February.

The 2007 season is upon us! Tally Ho!

George-
----------------
George Fergusson
Whitefield Maine

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