">>> And the point of wanting saturated straw over the cluster is....?"

> >Better the straw gets saturated than the moisture drips down on the
> cluster


Neither answer made sense to me.  The word "saturated" means that water is
dripping from it.

If bees need water, then a nonabsorbent insulation would direct the water
to the side of the cluster, as pointed out by Allen.  Still accessible to
the bees, but no longer dripping or freezing above them.

What I was specifically wondering was whether anyone could see  any
advantage to an absorbent insulation rather than nonabsorbent.  Or is straw
simply a relic from when nonabsorbent insulation was not available.
--
Randy Oliver
Grass Valley, CA
www.ScientificBeekeeping.com

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