On 12 May 2003 at 11:45, Jim Stein wrote:

>     I had taken one of those styrofoam nuc boxes to get the nuc. It is
> totally enclosed except for two approximately 1.5 inch diameter holes in
> the front.

   This spring was the first we had seen the styrofoam boxes, and
were concerned about them. Apparently we were right to be
concerned.

   Normally bees transported in wooden boxes are trucked with open
entrances, and these entrances are quite large compared to the
styrofoam. Plus wood is NOT a very good insulator. (Of course the
entire load is netted.) If it is cool, the load is watered once at the
start of the trip. If it is hot, the load is watered several times during
the trip's course.

   There are three things to remember here. One is that bees need a
lot of air, and they get excited when they don't have it. Two is that
the heat we worry about is not the heat of the air, as bees routinely
survive temperatures over a hundred in the south. Three is that
excited bees create heat. The more heat they create, the more
excited they get, and the more excited they get, the more heat they
create.  It's like a nuclear chain reaction.

   The styrofoam boxes are too tight for airflow, and the insulation
properties work against the bees by holding heat IN. We only
trucked a few this year, but the losses mean that no more nucs will
be trucked in styrofoam in future years.

Dave Green   SC  USA
The Pollination Home Page:  http://pollinator.com

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