In one of last months US Bee Journals there was an interesting
article regarding
this subject. It described very well the considerations of moisture and
heat generation and
loss. The casual reader might well conclude as did the author "the bee
cluster generates
insignificant amounts of heat, so insulating the exterior of the hive is
without purpose".
In my opinion that statement is incomplete or only half correct. I think
there is a
misconception that hives are wrapped to help keep the cluster warmer or
use less energy
to keep itself from getting too cold. A little reflection will reveal
that the bee colony is not
in cluster a good part of the cold weather season. I don t know exactly
the rate of BTU
output that occurs during brood rearing but any one who has opened a hive
on a cold or
cool day (several factors involved) certainly can feel the warmth and it
is certainly greater than the approximate 2
BTU s needed to keep the cluster at it s desired temperature. I think
most of us agree this
figure is relative to the ambient temperature, it will certainly be
different for colonies in
upper Canada than those down here in New England or (published article
authors
territory)the Mid Atlantic States.
 
New beekeepers ask me when should they remove the wraps, I suggest they
leave
them on until they feel compelled to get down into the lower supers. I
personally have
found that early colony buildup is considerably enhanced with insulation
wrap. I
have no statistics but I believe evaporational cooling (wind drawing
moisture through the
wooden hive body) is an unmeasured stress on brood rearing, especially
early in the season.
 
Who would dare tell the Canadians that wrapping the hives is just an
exercise to sooth the
psyche?
 
        It is known that the brood area must be kept in the 90 deg. F
range and it takes a certain amount of bees consuming a certain amount of
carbohydrates to generate the necessary heat. Other factors such as size
of brood area and ambient temperature enter the picture as well. The
amount of stores consumed to do this is also an issue.  If the heat can
be conserved (insulation wrap) a number of benefits can be realized such
as a)fewer bees to maintain proper brood temperature. b) conceivably a
more brood and more rapid buildup. c)less honey stores for the brooding
period (heat conversion). There are likely other benefits that do not
come to mind or that I just don't know about.
 Maybe some of you readers out there have something to say on this
subject?
 
Alden Marshall
B-Line Apiaries
Hudson, NH 03051
[log in to unmask]
tel. 603-883-6764
 
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