Hello All
 
Recently I was reading about feeding bees, and hoping that I gave them
enough to see them through the winter. Having read what I did, now I am not
too sure.
 
I was working on the basis of ensuring that the bees have about 35lbs
(16kgs) of stores in a British National hive here in Ireland.
 
I read that bees work their way upwards when consuming stores. A situation
can then arise, which as the book put it, we can have a 'Captain Scott'
situation, whereby that brave man and his companions whilst in the
Antarctic, died within striking distance of adequate stores, because they
did not have the energy to reach them.
 
The bees, with their propensity to travel upwards for stores, may thus die,
because the stores to save them are only a few centimetres away but
horizontally positioned. In other words, there are enough stores, but in the
wrong place.
 
Would it not then be advisable, to always overwinter on two brood chambers,
even if this meant allowing them access to only half of each brood chamber
by using a follower board?.
 
What do the list members think?
 
Sincerely
 
Tom Barrett
49 South Park
Foxrock
Dublin 18
Ireland
 
Hobbyist beekeeper
 
e mail [log in to unmask]
Tel + 353 1 289 5269
Fax + 353 1 289 9940
 
Latitude  53 Degrees 16' North
Longitude  6 Degrees  9' West of Greenwich