This has been an interesting discussion about insulating hives in areas with
cold winters, a subject about which I have no experience since I live in the
Sonoran Desert where I have kept bees for five or six years following twenty
years with bees in the SF Bay Area and in Oregon. I typically keep a dozen
or two colonies.

In this area the winters are mild with only occasional nights below
freezing. The challenge is not cold winters, but rather hot, dry summers.
Continuing the discussion on insulation, I am curious about the broader
issue of general bee husbandry in climates like this. Here are some
questions.

1.       I have not heard of anyone down here using insulation. Might there
be a benefit to that to help the bees deal with the summer heat and sun? I
think of how people native to the deserts of the Middle East wear garments
that help isolate themselves from the heat. 

2.       On a related note, how useful is shade? I have kept colonies in the
shade of a mesquite bosque. I have kept colonies in the open sun. I have set
a piece of plywood with a brick spacer above colonies for shade. I could not
see much difference between any of those. Also, the commercial beekeepers
just put them out in the sun. 

3.       Would there be a benefit of putting an empty deep or western on top
of a colony as a place for the heat to gather-with perhaps a screened hole
for ventilation?

4.       What about potential effects of heat from the ground radiating up
into a hive? Would there be benefit to placing the hives higher off of the
ground?

5.       Does presence or absence of shade in a hot, dry climate like the
Sonoran Desert affect things like swarming (or absconding in the case of
AHB) or queen acceptance?

6.       Are there potential problems of using a standard 5-frame nuc box in
the summer because of its relative small size, e.g., to house a medium sized
swarm? I have tried to err on the side of providing plenty of space.

Tom Chester

Tucson, Arizona

 

 


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