On Tue, 7 Oct 2003, [iso-8859-1] Hervé Logé wrote:

> So I don't understand. Styrofoam hives do not provide
> a siginificant insulation improvment compared to wood
> hives... But, in opposite to wood hives, there is no
> need to wrape them ????
>
> Explanations ?
>

First, a disclaimer: I've never dealt with styrofoam hive bodies.

Anyway, from observing my own hives, the benefit of the wrapping is not so
much to increase insulation, as to prevent drafts. The bees don't heat the
entire hive interior, they just heat their cluster, and so as long as
there are no jets of cold air impinging on them they manage fine even when
the hive interior gets very cold. I think the insulating value of the hive
body only matters if the cluster runs up against the side, in which case
the cluster has to deal with wind chill on the side that they are up
against (and maybe heat conduction by the wall).

Provided that the styrofoam bodies fit together snugly, there should be
no drafts, and so wrapping will probably not be needed.

--
Tim Eisele
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