On 15-Dec-09, at 5:11 AM, Chris Slade wrote:

> I was surprised how much warmer it was than the shaded sides with  
> which I compared.  This suggests to me that it is a good idea for  
> hives that catch the sun to be dark coloured.
>
>

Hi Chris and all

My hives are painted medium dark green.  Last week it was bright and  
sunny -6C and all hives in the sun were flying.  Many bees were  
getting back into the hive but many were not. The snow was littered  
with dead bees.  Among the bees on the snow were many drones.  One  
hive had not clustered yesterday when I treated with oxalic and has  
been the source of flying drones recently.  I worry that this hive  
will run out of stores in spite of taking lots of syrup.

Bob Darrell
Caledon Ontario
Canada
44N80W

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