Hi All,

> By rapping on a side of a
> hive and then listening with a stethoscope on at least two opposite sides
I
> can get a "three dimensional" feedback by listening to the resulting BUZZ
> from each knock.

I judge the strength of my hives in the winter by the amount of bees that
are on fresh snow around the front of the hives. When it is cold, during
this time of the year, disturbing them by knocking on the hive and even
walking to close to the hives can cause stress that can be detrimental to
the colonies. If there are only a few dead bees present on the snow they are
a small cluster. If there are no dead bees present it is either a dead out
or a very small cluster. With the really large clusters there will be a
melted dimple in the snow on the top cover. So far this winter, At last
check superbowl Sunday, all of my 13 hives in the home yard are alive and
well. I have another yard with 5 hives that I have not visited so far this
winter, I will make a check up call on them after mid February.

Spring is just around the corner. Our weather up here has been mild compared
to the north east USA, coldest it has been so far is -12 below F. for only a
short while.
   . ..
c(((([
Keith Malone
Chugiak, Alaska USA
[log in to unmask]
http://takeoff.to/alaskahoney
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Norlandbeekeepers/

Check out current weather in my area and 5 day forecast;
http://www.wx.com/myweather.cfm?ZIP=99654