From: Lloyd Spear <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Overwintering nucs
>Anyone have any experience with them in a climate where outside temperatures
>are regularly in a range of 0F to-30F (-17C to -34C)?
We have experienced close to ten years of small scale beekeeping in
Northern British Columbia / Canada, where the falls / winters / springs are
usually wet / cold / damp, with temperatures ranging often from +5C to -30C
during the winter, and snow not often available in any quantities to
provide insulation. Of danger are the cold dampness, drafts, and
condensation during the winter. The following is what we have been coming
up with during the years and what seems to assist our bees to survive,
though last winter was an extreme wether related and we hear that even well
known and long standing beekeepers in the next town had terrific losses
which would not happen during other years. Varroa and tracheal mites are
not yet present in this small area of British Columbia, hives have been
tested for those.
In this a bit isolated valley, our few hives (usually 3 to 4) are moved
back for the winter into an open shed, where the hive boxes are protected
from the constant rains and some of the strong winds and drafts. My husband
built a box on which two hives are placed. The box is a high as a normal
brood box. One light bulb is inside that box which burns more or less
constantly once the temperature falls below 0C. This tiny amount of warmth
that rises up into the two hives above seems to assist the bees in that any
moisture build up is either prevented or reduced. Losses to dampness have
not occurred since, while before those winter losses were heavy.
Our hives are packed and insulated as well with sheets of styrofoam. Air
can circulate from the open bottom entrance, going through the hive, and
can escape at the very top through the wire mesh opening. Each hive is
topped with a covered empty brood box as an additional buffer zone to help
keep the hive's warmth, and we are able to supply additional syrup through
the warmer parts of the winter using that box. Often our bees remain hive
bound from early September on until the middle to end of April, with few
chances to fly out due to poor weather, they may come out at the entrance
and crawl around a bit there, but don't fly.
Our solution may not be the norm, yet it seems to assist our bees to
survive much better. This was our solution to combat dampness and moisture,
it does not seem to encourage the bees to be much more active than they
should. They move to take syrup during the warmer parts of the winter, they
cluster when it gets really cold. We have not tried to overwinter nukes and
do combine any small hives. We use wooden brood boxes, not any made of
styrofoam.
To improve our situation, we plan this fall to provide each hive with an
upper entrance, in addition to their regular bottom entrance. The hives
will be moved to a different winter location so that they are able to
determine earlier in the year that the sun has come out and that they can
fly out earlier, my husband will start the new bee shed at the new location
within the week, to have ready by early September. Also, each hive shall
have it's normal cover, but on which the opening will no longer be covered
by wire mesh, so that the bees can reach any desired syrup directly without
the hindrance of the wire mesh during the warmer parts of the winter.
We only keep a few hives and realize that what we do will not work for a
large operation. The challenge for us lies in that we try to help the bees
survive our local unfavourable winter conditions which can vary from one
extreme to another, from one day to the next.
Ma. / British Columbia, CANADA
Nass Valley Bees - Donkey - Horses
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