EFFECTS OF VARIOUS TYPES OF WINTER PROTECTION FOR COLONIES OF HONEY BEES. VIRGIL RAYMOND BAYLES. 1953
This study is an attempt to show the relationship between various types of winter protection in relation to loss of colony weight, i.e., the amount of stores consumed, and the loss of bees, and the condition of the colony in the spring.
Farrar (1943) stated that packing does not satisfy the conservation of energy theory because the winter cluster does not attempt to heat the inside of the hive. Rea (1948) stated that there is little or no difference in the air temperature surrounding the cluster in a packed hive and an unpacked hive.
Brown (1943) stated that a beekeeper with a large number of colonies told him that when he started beekeeping many years ago, they packed their colonies in quadruple packing cases, then later in doubles, then singles, which was followed by tarpaper and no packing at all. In 1935 they had a continued period of unusually cold weather which lasted four to five weeks at temperatures ranging from zero to -20°F with practically no snow. The bees that were packed wintered poorly while those without protection wintered well. As a result of this experience, very few beekeepers in Indians pack their bees for winter.
Langley (1945) stated that when he started beekeeping in the northern part of the United States, about 1915. the practice was to cellar winter the bees or heavy pack them in expensive cumbersome cases. They thought then that the mote packing the better, i.e., with eight inches around the sides and eighteen inches of packing material on the top. Now scientific investigations have shown that the cluster does not heat the inside of the hive and that heavy packing has a refrigeration as well as an insulation effect, keeping the colony cold and not allowing the sunshine to warm up the hive to enable the bees to change position and move on to a new honey source within the hive. He now wraps the hives with one thickness of tarpaper and sometimes uses one thickness of corrugated paper under it. When the sun shines in the wintertime the tar aper absorbs enough heat to warm the hive and allows the bees to take a cleansing flight that they would not be able to take if they were in a heavily packed hive.
Nicholson (1952) stated that in England they formerly used double walled hives altogether, but are now using the single walled hives. He as also stated that the English beekeepers know that you don’t have to keep the inside of the hive warm for colonies to winter well. He realised that excessive moisture is the likeliest cause of winter kill and not the lack of packing.
The overwintering of honeybee colonies has been considered one of the most difficult problems of management. Winter losses based on the number of colonies that do survive may average 15 percent.
Comment:
This figure of 15% may seem low today but in the past the practice was not to attempt to overwinter subpar colonies. So, if you add the pre-winter culling to the actual winter loss, the number would be much higher.
The author did his own study:
Five pairs of colonies of honeybees were compared during the fall of 1953 and the spring of 1951; to determine the type of winter protection which would give the best results in wintering colonies of honeybees in the vicinity of Manhattan, Kansas. Colonies with the tar paper wrap type of protection underwent the least loss in weight, i.e., least stores consumed and least bees lost.
It is concluded that xor winter protection of honeybees in the area of Manhattan, Kansas, the use of the tar paper wrap for colonies is the best of the protective materials used, that overwintering without any protective covering is better than the single and double celotex coverings as used in these studies, on the basis of loss of weight during winter and that no protective covering is better than tar paper, and distinctly superior to celotex, on the basis of relative increase in weight of bees and sealed brood during early spring.
Final comment:
These types of studies have limited value, of course, because they only represent a few seasons in a particular locality. Therefore, I would place more weight on the longterm experience of professional beekeepers who keep bees in a variety of locations. As I said before, professional beekeepers either avoid the winter climates altogether by migrating or in the case of the northern provinces, indoor wintering is prevalent. The idea of indoor wintering at temperatures above 45F is pointless, as the bees would be too active. The ideal temperature for maximum survival has been worked out over time and should not be in dispute.
PLB
***********************************************
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
|