MORGAN, ANTHONY" <[log in to unmask]> wrote
 
>It all started with the suggestion that some winter loss could be
>explained by suffocation -- I would suggest that nobody has actually
>claimed to have had such a loss, if they had it would be worth
>discussing why and how to avoid it.
 
How can you tell if a hive suffocated. I don't think anybody could possibly
look at dead bees and tell if they suffocated. What do you look for, blue in
the face and their tongue sticking out ;-)
 
>We use fairly well sealed hives  here to overwinter (mid-Norway)
>with a ventilation opening at the bottom.The only
>loss mechanism we have big problems with is starvation. If the winter
>starts early and finishes late it can be diffucult to get the bees to
>feed properly at the end of the autumn and the late winter/early
 
When you say"starvation" do you mean the bees don't have stores left, or
can't move to them because of the cold, two totally diferent problems.
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