I am trying something new this winter (northern Illinois winter).  I made 
three nucs in late summer and brought them into the garage for the winter 
hoping for strong nucs in the spring that can be split later.  Temperature 
in the garage holds in the low 40's.  I have been watching them with 
interest.  At this point they each answer to a knock with a husky voice, 
yet, one is significantly different.  It is more active and in general has a 
louder hum.  It is warmer by about 20 degrees.  I measure the temperature 
with a non-contact thermometer through the entrance.  This group is also 
warmer on the sides of the nucs by a couple of degrees.

Because the warmer one came from a different yard, it was not fed sugar 
water with fumagilin in the fall as the other two nucs were.  This has led 
me to ponder if the fumagilin made the difference.  Do the bees raise the 
temperature to deal with nosema?  Does the fumagilin have a side effect?  I 
wonder if the activity level or warmth will relate to survival?  I will 
likely know more in April than I do now, but I still listen and measure and 
ponder.

Any thoughts?

Larry Krengel
"Happy Birthday, LLL!" 

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