In a message dated 12/11/98 7:03:42 PM Eastern Standard Time, [log in to unmask]
writes:
 
> The owner wants to attempt to keep the hive warm this winter with
>  infra-red lamps.  I noted that the cost of this would be high and that
>  they may not survive.  He is willing to try anyway.  (As an aside one of
>  the members of our beekeepers group kept a hive going during one cold
>  winter with an extension cord and a heating pad.)  I suggested that he
>  continue to feed the bees syrup at a 2:1 ratio.
>
>  Given the awesome knowledge of the BEE-L audience, I was wondering if
>  anyone would like to hazard a quess on the chances of the hive surviving
>  until Spring or offer their time proven methods for successful over
>  wintering of an observation hive in a cold climate.
 
   I've gotten one through the winter here in South Carolina, though it wasn't
easy. It was a good three framer, and they were down to one frame in the
spring. I suggest that the proprieter of the store will not want to keep them
too warm. This will encourage them to fly when it is inevitably fatal. Ideal
temp would be around 50-60.
 
    The shop where we had ours was about 65 during the daytime and got down as
low as 45 at night. We had a 75 watt floodlight about 4 feet away, and they
tended to stay on the lit side. I think an infrared light would be too much.
We turned off the light and covered them with a wool blanket at night.
 
    We had syrup on them continuously (on the top, not the bottom). We had
some problems with condensation, so I also kept dry sugar on them, in the
hopes of them using up some of the water on the sides, and it did seem to
help.
 
    In the spring I added some bees and requeened them, as the queen seemed to
be spent, and brood was spotty. Maybe she got too cold on some of the coldest
nights.
 
[log in to unmask]     Dave Green  Hemingway, SC  USA
The Pollination Scene:  http://users.aol.com/pollinator/polpage1.html
The Pollination Home Page:    http://www.pollinator.com
 
Jan's Sweetness and Light Shop    (Varietal Honeys and Beeswax Candles)
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