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Date: | Sat, 2 Oct 2021 20:42:48 -0400 |
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Hi all
I have said this before: there are very few people who have understood bee colony winter dynamics correctly. One is Meghan Milbrath; she wrote
Whether a colony survives the winter in good condition is determined more by its make-up than by the kind or amount of protection.” — Farrar, 1944
Beekeepers love to discuss winter hive protection — wrapping vs. in- sulation, upper entrances, quilt boxes or moisture boards, bee cozies, straw bales, and which way to turn the hole on the entrance reducer. Our hives may be the best protected hives in history! Our colonies, however, have the lowest rates of survival through winter. In the winter of 2018-2019 beekeepers in the U.S. reported losses of 38%
the UDSA/University of Wisconsin College of Agriculture ... performed an experiment where they overwintered four regular hives and four hives with walls made of screen. The temperatures in the clusters were similar in both styles of hive, even when they were brood rearing, and even during the coldest temperatures in January.
ABJ, January 2020
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