>For my area the problems arise when you do insulate too well.  And the mold problems don’t show till its spring and the hive is dead???

I've concluded a different cause and effect for mold based on having all my colonies insulated, with no added ventilation, and only observing occasional mold in those that die and that I happen to leave undisturbed until spring. When I find one in spring, it can be with ten other identically insulated colonies that are alive and healthy with no mold. My assumption is that the mold occured after the bees die because the natural convective flow that would have normally ventilated excess moisture ceases with their death creating conditions that allow for mold growth especially toward spring.  I agree that a colony with added ventilation that died would not have as much mold growth and probably none, but, based on my observation, mold doesn't help in determining the cause of death. 

About five years ago we got a lot of heavy wet snow and some mild weather that followed each snowfall. Nice days to melt snow but some mold in many area colonies. That year folks complained about mold in insulated colonies, non-insulated colonies, and even in those that were provided with additional ventilation.  My conclusion was that the mold that occurred that year was weather related. It may be that some parts of the US and the world have weather  conditions favorable for mold growth in their bee colonies every year.    


Bill Hesbach
Northeast USA 

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