Aaron Morris' email received today on the subject of ventilation should be required reading by all new beekeepers.  But these are not easy concepts and they certainly point out a fallacy of new beekeepers learning from successful old-timers.  Someday I may write a book or article on beekeeping practices that succeed despite inherent flaws that are fatal to bees!  I am collecting quite a list, and some of these deal with ways of removing moisture in very cold, humid, climates.  Exactly what we have here in the Great Northeast.

Back in the days before widespread use of Carnolians, winter hives had lots of bees at all times and during most of those times also had a fair amount of brood.  Huge winter clusters and almost-year round brood rearing are general characteristics of Italians.  These characteristics required lots of heat production, and as the warm moist air rose within the hives it met the cold air/cover's) and the moisture condensed as the air cooled.  Potential disaster was everywhere, but successful beekeepers adjusted.

The Beekeeping Tribe knew that our terribly cold winters required that hives be tight as drums ("tribal knowledge") to help the bees keep warm, and they also knew that they had to somehow deal with all the moisture that would be produced through condensation.  Around these parts the Tribe mostly decided to use "Homosote" boards (A.K.A. fiber boards) during the winter, under their covers.  (Members of the Tribe must be commercial beekeepers, so they "automatically" do not use inner covers.)   To this day, most Tribe members faithfully put these on in the late fall and take them off in the spring.

These boards are made of pressed sawdust, and readily absorb moisture.  When they are taken off in the spring they are so wet from absorption of condensate that water can be squeezed from them like a sponge.  They must be stored in a dry place for the summer (most store them in a barn) as frequent rain and thunderstorms would make them so wet they would fall apart.  When put back on the hives in the late fall they are much lighter than in the spring and almost dry.

However, there are renegade Tribe members who have a different method of dealing with the condensate.  I know one of these and every year about this time he has dozens of bales of straw outside his honey house.  As hives are prepared for winter, each has an "extra" (empty) deep put on top and it is filled with loose straw.  I am told that in the spring the straw is saturated from all the condensate.

Now, Tribe members are extremely successful beekeepers.  Large percentages of their hives survive the winter and every year they have good harvests.  Most support their families solely from beekeeping.  While they sometimes make mistakes (as do we all),  their overall success speaks for itself.  In some instances, such as not providing adequate ventilation during the winter, they are just plain wrong but still succeed because of practices that serve to offset those mistakes.  Providing a means to absorb moisture, instead of letting it escape, is an example of such a practice.  "There is more than one way to skin a cat."

Of interest (to me) is that today Tribe members have almost wholly changed to Carnolians, yet they have not changed some of their basic practices that were established to deal with a disadvantage of Italians.  Another story...another day.


Lloyd
Lloyd Spear, Owner of Ross Rounds, Inc.
Manufacturer of round comb honey equipment and Sundance pollen traps