At 04:25 PM 10/28/96 -0500, you wrote:
>
> Tom & Carol Elliott  wrote.
>
>>We are at @latitude 61 degrees north, but with a marine influence.  We can
>not count
>>of flying days between October 1st and April 1st.  <snip>
>>  Temperatures normally range from about 20 degrees
>>Farenheit (about -6 Celsius) to -10 F (about -20 C).  One big factor is the
>length of
>>darkness we 'enjoy' during the winter months.
 
        Dave Eyre wrote:
 
>I would suggest the first move might be to find a strain of Northern bees.
><snip>
>        We don't 'suffer' the dark, but our temp are about the same. Last
>winter we had snow cover from the first week in Nov till the middle of Feb.
 
 
        Hello Tom,Carol,Dave and all Bee-Liners:
 
        My hope is that this thread will expand and flourish, as it is an
        area of beekeeping in which I am particularly interested.
 
        I only have 5 years experience over-wintering bees and its only been
        in the last 2 or 3 that I felt knowledgable enough to even have an
        opinion on this subject based on my observations but here goes FWIW.
 
        I am located in the NE corner of Vermont, USA. My latitude is approx
        43 deg North. Our winters seem closely aligned with Tom and Dave in
        terms of length with OCt 1 being the date in which temps and
        'good flying' weather diminish. This October we have had 10-12 'good'
        days. From now on these days will dwindle quickly. November is notorious
        for being bleak. Someone told me just the other day that the highest
number
        of suicides in Vermont each year occur in November. But I digress.
        Our temps throughout winter can range from the low to mid 20's F to
-30+F,
        with the coldest period being the month of January (for the most part).
        The duration of Sub-zero weather can be 1 - 2 days to 7 -10 at a
stretch.
        (On December 2nd 1989 it went to -21F and didn't get above zero until
        January 3rd, 1990!...my first winter in Vermont!!! Brrrrr....)The spring
        temps don't reach above 30F until the middle of April. It seems that
        our biggest problem is the mid-winter thaws that are typical for this
        area. Temps can get up into the high 40's for a few days in late January
        or February. Then in the space of one night they plunge back to single
        digits. This really stresses the hives. Many break cluster and can't
        re-cluster before the cold weather returns.
 
        The main difference between us and Alaska of course is the length of
        daylight. Now that we're back to standard time, Sunset is at 4:30PM and
        will be pretty close to 4:00PM by the time December 21st gets here.
Sunrise
        is about 6:00AM. I know that this 'day' is way longer than what you
folks
        get in Alaska at mid-winter, and I wonder if this could be a major
factor
        in over-wintering your bees. Your winter temps are balmy by our
standards,
        probably because of the oceanic influence.
 
        When I first started beekeeping, Vermont had a ban on importing
        bees from outside the state. This was a futile attempt at keeping varroa
        out. The ban was lifted in 1992 (don't quote me on the year). Before
then
        I purchased splits from my mentor. After the ban was lifted I bought
        bees from down south, not for any other reason than I thought that's
        where all good little bees came from. I shopped around some and settled
        on Double Hybrids from the York Bee Co. in Jesup Georgia, USA. They have
        been my primary supplier ever since.
 
        I am happy to report (knocking on an inner cover for luck) that the
only
        winter kills that I have experienced have been because of my own
ineptness
        or lack of understanding. I'll spare you the depressing details.
 
        I have tried the various forms of wrapping, insulating, ventilating
etc...
        and have finally settled on locating the hives with a southern exposure,
        not wrapping or insulating, providing upper entrances for ventilation
        and cleansing flights and placing stockade fencing as a wind break from
        the prevailing northwest winds. I leave accumulated snow around the
hives,
        but I do clear away snow from the south-facing fronts. I am highly
        satisfied with this approach. (But Allen's recent ominous musings
re:feeding
        honey, will haunt me for the rest of my days!)
 
        Now Vermonters are an independent bunch, and I suspect most beekeepers
        everywhere are equally independent. It seems to me that for as many
        beekeepers that I have met, so to are there at least that many different
        ways of dealing with the same problem. If I am at one extreme (not
        insulating) there is another fellow up the road who has his hives
        encased in 2" thick polystyrene foam insulation, with a super or
deep over
        the inner cover filled with fiberglass insulation, with just as much
        success at over-wintering as I have had. Go figure.
 
        My point in this short story made long is that the origin of the bees
        doesn't seem to relate to survivability in my experience. My suspicion
        is that it is most closely related to the breed, but I don't have
        enough knowledge on this topic to have any more than a gut feeling.
 
        I look forward to reading more about this fascinating topic.
 
        Sorry for the length. I'm home alone this week and have no one
        else to talk to! ;-(
 
 
Tim Peters, Kirby VT
[log in to unmask]
KirBee Apiary, Bear Bait Honey
I rather be flying!