> I am using personally the new AIR BUBBLE MATERIAL
 
<snip>
 
> I think this is a GREAT MATERIAL.  It is extremely light and easy to handle.
> It is clean.  It does not absorb humidity.  It is easily installed in the
> fall and easily removed in the spring.  I suspect that it could be re-used
> for many many years.  It takes very little storage space.  At the actual
> price of Astro Foil the cost of one four pack wrap is only 16$ can. (plus
> the cost of the styrofoam).  Next year I plan to use a double thickness of
> Astro Foil as a top (no styrofoam).
 
I wonder if you are using upper entrances and, if so, of which type.
 
I have been switching from using an inner cover with a slit of about
3/4 square inch area to a one inch auger hole below the hand-hold on
the belief that it allows more heat to remain on the top bars.
 
Experimentally, we have seen no advantage in survival or spring
condition, but it also allows us to wrap with the telescoping summer
lid on the hive - which is a huge labour saving - and I am planning
to ultimately go to telescoping lids with R5 insulation built in for
year round use.
 
This is one of the reasons that I have been wondering how much
insulation is required on top.
 
I found that 1" styrofoam all around a double hive out here allowed
for survival, however I did not repeat the experiments often enough
and on a large enough scale to assure myself that I would commit my
whole outfit to it.  My father used that method for years on his
hives in the Muskoka region of Ontario, and on hives he kept at
Sudbury as well.  Sudbury has winters that fairly closely resemble
ours here, but Muskoka is considerably warmer and winter is shorter
there.  In those years, Muskoka had a lot of snow too.
 
What works in one region may not work a few hundred miles north, and
I am also acutely aware that winters vary in severity to the extent
that one year's wintering success is virtually meaningless.  A
number of years results are crucial to ensuring that a method will
not leave one virtually without bees some (rogue) year.
 
Some years, no wrapping is needed, but another year that seems
similar - in terms of human comfort - may well wipe out all hives that
are not well insulated.  Fall hive condition has a large effect on the
need for insulation too.
 
With a hive of live bees being worth $60 Cdn in the spring plus
equipment, a saving of material and labour for wrapping is a small
consideration - if the savings result in any additional loss of bees
or condition - IMHO.
 
One thing I am wondering also is: if there is any indication that more
or less insulation affects the mite load in the spring?
 
It willl be interesting to see how this new material proves itself
and how well it lasts.
 
BTW, Jean-Pierre,(or anyone else) have you heard any talk of beekeepers getting
together to ski the BC Rockies this winter?
Regards
 
Allen
 
W. Allen Dick, Beekeeper                                         VE6CFK
RR#1, Swalwell, Alberta  Canada T0M 1Y0  Internet:[log in to unmask]
Honey. Bees, Art, & Futures <http://www.cuug.ab.ca:8001/~dicka>