>On Thu, 13 Feb 1997 19:37:00 PST Ivan McGill wrote:
>>The reason I winter inside is that the weather is so unpredictable, we
>get
>>rain here every January that I can remember except last year. Then it
>would
>>get to -25 - -35C again. There would be so much moisture buildup that I
>>finally said there has to be a better way. For me it has been indoor
>>wintering! All the rest winter outside with mixed results. On the
>average
>>with good queens going in winter losses are very few from year to year.
>>
>
>Ivan,
>
>   Do you do anything special with the colonies indoors?  Do you control
>moisture or amount of light?  Do they eat more/less than the outdoor
>ones? Do you have mites up there?
>
>Gerry and the other Visels at
>[log in to unmask]
>Winnebago, Illinois, USA
 
Gerry:
 
Moisture is not a problem with indoor wintering, in fact sometimes there is
too little. The room is totally dark. The temp. is kept at 40 - 45 F, I use
a electric heater with a thermomstat the goes below the standard 45 F. Air
should be changed everyday. My building is 16'x30'. It also stores my
extracting equipment, I use the same building for extracting. The formula
that is used is LxWxH then divide by 11 for single colonies 18 for double
that will give you the amount of colonies that you can winter safely.
 
I put the bees in approx. end of Oct. then are out by March 15 to 25 in our
area. The best is take them out when you can no longer control the temp. in
the building. That may sound a little unscientific but that is what I do.
We also have a large furnace fan set up with a airconditioning thermomstat
which will pull cool air in when it gets above 45 F.
 
The setup does not have to be elaborate. Just functional.
 
There is a few people out there that does indoor wintering, best to try and
see their operations if possible and start out small.
 
The feed costs are far less than outside because you keep the temp.
constant or approx. The more you have in the building the less heat you
will need.
 
There is no mites in this area that we know of.
 
There is one fellow that wintered indoors who thought he had mites
problems. He solved his problem by treating them inside. For more
information on that contact Canadian Bee Journal for that issue or ask for
his name and write to him direct.
 
I have used this system for many years with better results than outdoors.
 
If you need anymore specific info contact me direct.
 
Ivan