>I see a dramatic difference in morning flight times depending on which hives have a little direct sun on them and which are in the shade.  Those in sun may well be flying one to two hours before those in shade.  It is not a matter of colony strength.  The nucs get much more sun than the production hives and the nucs are the ones that fly early.

I see the same, but also note that overwintering 6 frame polynucs invariably fly before full sized hives, even though both are in sun.  Incidentally, the polynucs also eat far more winter stores pro-rata than a full hive - I speculate that they remain more active in the hive due to the better insulation.

Best wishes

Peter 
52°14'44.44"N, 1°50'35"W

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