On Tuesday, November 28th, 2023 at 9:57 PM, James Fischer <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

"Anyone who has kept bees south of the (USA) Mason-Dixon line knows that insulated hives are not a good idea during summer "down south", even if it might somehow be true for the entire United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and all of the King's other Realms and Territories.  Yes, one can ventilate around the problem, but it is still a problem to be overcome, and there are already days that can actually soften combs to the point of collapse in the southernmost tier of states."

James,

I live just west of Richmond, VA.  I haven't found that insulated hives are a problem during summer.  Last season, I had a colony in a poly hive produce 150lbs of honey which is a record for me.  The bees get direct sun from about 9AM-11AM.  The rest of the day is mostly shade.  I don't allow any top ventilation. The bees so far as I can tell are doing just fine.

Incidentally, I started using no-top-ventilation in winter through the writing of Dennis Murrell.  Derek Mitchell's research gave me the courage to try it through summer as well.

Chris Long

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