Hi Nancy:

Several years ago, I had a beeyard on a farm which raised horses. The cowboy
who owned it generally burned off the stubble in the spring, I believe to
encourage new growth and to make the place look neater. On two successive
years the fire got away on him and burned through my yard, destroying the
Styrofoam on them that I used for winter insulation, and leaving a lot of
smoke stains on the hives, which fortunately did not burn. There did not
seem to be any bad effects on the bees which displayed the usual 10% winter
loss. I moved them anyway. One burn could  be accidental; two seemed like
carelessness.

I don't think you need worry too much. This is the time of year that the
hives that are fated to die actually do it.  The most important thing is to
make sure there are frames of honey in contact with both sides of the
cluster. In cold weather like this, they will stay with the brood to keep it
warm and will not move away to get into contact with honey.



Best regards,

Donald Aitken

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