Bee Liners;
I am just finishing up 2 weeks in Moldova on an ongoing beekeeping
improvement project and I have been visiting a lot of commercial beekeepers
and observing them at work. Two things stand out to me as being very
different from what most US beekeepers practice. The Moldovans add a deep
super under the hive body when crowding occurs and force the queen to
expand the brood nest downwards. They say this is about conservation of
heat - that adding an empty deep above is a big heat sink. Almost everyone
here also uses a rim with a sheet of plastic over the frames with a blanket
or pillow or some type of insulation under a telescoping cover.
I certainly see the value of a tightly fitting migratory lid but are we
missing something on the heat conservation practices?
Wonderful bees and beekeepers here by-the-way. Very conservative native
bees that winter well and very common to see capped honey remaining on the
brood frames even in late April.
I will post some photos of bee yards on my Facebook page under Beekeeping
Consulting for Development
Bill Lord
Louisburg, NC
Chisinau Moldova
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