From Alexander Jackson in NJ inquiring about this setup:
http://www.nnjbees.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/beesinsulate.jpg
Thanks for letting us know the location! It makes a huge difference.
My first reaction is this. These hives, bees, and beekeeper are brand
spanking new and haven't even gone through their first winter.
Everything's too new and perfect, and the slanted fronts are a dead
giveaway. It's like when Martha Stewart decided to keep bees. Snow white
suit, full regalia, perfectly coiffed, and I don't even remember whether
there were bees in her photos. I'd be suspicious of any advice coming
from that apiary, but if this was simply a, "here's my idea, wish me luck,"
setup, then fine. Hopefully, as much effort was put into the health of
those colonies back in August.
My second is that the insulation needs to be rearranged. I would
have taken the insulation off the S side and put it on top. I get a lot of
solar gain in the winter, even with the sun low and the days short.
I have lovely powder snow here in CO so my bees are almost never closed
in by it. I do tip my hives forward with a piece of lathe under the back
so moisture can run out, more or less. That heavy, snowman snow is a
different story. I think they need that top entrance as an option. If the
bees don't like those entrances on the top, they'll propolize them.
They do that here where it's windy, but they usually leave a perfect little
one-bee hole.
That little piece of lathe under the back is all the worrying I do about
moisture, certainly here in CO, but even in W WA. IMHO dead bees are wet
bees, not the other way around.
I can't quite tell whether there are OMFs on those hives, but I have to
agree with Pete LB on those. Less than useless.
There ya go all you young whippersnappers!
Cheers,
Kristina
Longmont, CO
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