> why the unventilated hives did more poorly under those conditions?  Did the
> bees suffocate due to snow sealing the bottom entrance, or was it something else?
>
Randy

Short answer is yes under certain conditions.

Our bottom entrances are often covered with snow, some years from 
early/mid October thru mid/late March or even well into April. Often the 
whole 4 pack is completely covered over by as much as 3-4 feet for part 
of the winter.  If we dig in though,  we usually find that heat from the 
hives will form a cavern about 4-6" around the pack. In conditions like 
that, the hives have regularly done better: perhaps being super 
insulated. As someone has mentioned, beekeeping is local.  Our climate 
on the Canadian Prairies is extremely dry, especially in winter and 
although we can get significant snow, it usually doesn't have much body. 
A 5 gallon pail full might yield less than an inch of water when melted. 
I know some beekeepers in the open country that blow or pile snow over 
their hives.

Don & I surmised the lost colonies suffocated when "heavy", high 
moisture snow or "ice" sealed the bottom entrance.  This might explain 
why only the really strong, 4s & 5s (out of 5) came through on those odd 
years. They may have generated sufficient heat to keep things open. On 
the other hand, we felt those colonies without an upper entrance were 
better able to control their internal RH (in most cases likely 
increasing it to the desired level) which promoted brood rearing.  On 
warmer days in late winter/early spring, you will often see workers 
collecting water at the entrance. Unfortunately many new beekeepers 
here, having viewed or read information from elsewhere, often go to 
great lengths to remove moisture from their hives at the expense of good 
insulation.

As I write this, i realize how much easier it would be to monitor 
internal RH now than 25 years ago when this was taking place.

Dave Tharle
T'N'T Apiaries
Ardmore, Alberta

             ***********************************************
The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software.  For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html