Hello Michael & All,

Before mites and our other problems arrived ways to winter hives was in
every issue of bee magazines.
many different opinions.

Michael addresses in my opinion the key element.

Once those are addressed with strong healthy bees and enough stores your
winter losses really drop

Problems in commercial migratory operations in the north when temps drop
(like now!) usually happens with hives waiting to be shipped south or to
California .

If you are figuring (for discussion purposes) a load has 450 doubles. With
heavy hives you can only scale around 380-400 hives. A load of singles out
of Florida might scale 700 singles.

A load of 450 strong doubles if all graded might gross $63,000 U.S. before
trucking and subtracting hives which do not grade.

Most flatbeds have a scale built in. You load until the weight will scale.
With our bees we have never loaded the entire flatbed.
.

Bee Culture did an article after my "Loading bees in a Missouri Snowstorm "
article from April 2004 ( vol. 144 no.4)and showed a beekeeper pulling Adee
Honey farm hives from a North Dakota snow drift.

You see no wraps or special winter measures if you check the articles
pictures.

Point is all the winter prep talk is not done in most migratory operations.
Transporting south makes the most sense but if shipping directly to either
the hives need to be free of extra equipment.


> A properly prepared hive of bees has some type of insulation above the
> cluster, and here in Vermont...a wrap of black to collect solar heat on
> the cold winter days.

 Insulation on the inner cover prevents water vapor
> from condensing within the hive...allowing it to escape as vapor through
> the upper entrance. No dripping on the bees.

My friends and I do not for the most part use the above method.
More important for most is what Michael shares below.

1 top vent

2  A wide open bottom
> entrance, protected against mice, insures adequate ventilation.

I have found the above  point true. I like a wide open 3/8 entrance.

Reduced
> bottom entrance increases in hive moisture..

Not sure about the size but we never use entrance reducers _except_ to
prevent robbing .

many times well intended authors of beekeeping books give wintering plans I
see problems with.
Almost all say to reduce the bottom entrance to a small hole.

small hole at bottom and small vent at top only makes for moisture problems
in my opinion.

Again many ways to winter bees and all beekeeping is local.

bob

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