?
> ...I've never had, nor known, any "mentor" that deliberately gave false 
> information...  I've known some beekeepers that thought they knew more 
> than anyone else and mistakenly, out of ignorance and obstinacy that will 
> not let them say, "I don't know," share a host of bad ideas.  And what's a 
> bad idea?  Something that I wouldn't do?

It just happens that we are at this moment conveniently provided --  
insistently -- with a perfect example of misleading oversimplification which 
will cost many an unwary young northern beekeeper big bucks if believed.

I speak from experience because simplistic and authoritative-sounding 
writings emanating from the same general region of the world led me astray 
when I started out.

> Of course, but not by doing things that have no effect! If wrapping hives 
> has little or no effect on overwintering, why do it? Many beekeepers have 
> told me the chief effect of wrapping is psychological: the beekeeper 
> *thinks* he's helped the hives. Might as well lay a prayer cloth over the 
> inner cover."

Interesting rhetoric.  So much for addressing the facts which have been 
carefully provided by several dissenting writers.

The writer I quote seems to honestly think that winter survival is the 
entire measure, and ignores the more subtle points made by many experienced 
commercial northern beekeepers who are far more experienced in wintering and 
located 10 degrees -- and more -- north of him in areas with less tree and 
snow cover and no fall forage -- guys who make their living from succeeding 
with their bees consistently, not writing.

He cites researchers as paragons to people who don't consider winter loss to 
be an interesting experiment and who consider spring build-up and increase 
as being central to their survival and profitability.  Hardly fair.

I think many of us are aware that researchers are often terrible beekeepers, 
not because they don't know bees, but because their priorities are 
different.  I'm not saying the examples cited are terrible beekeepers, in 
fact I think they are good beekeepers, but we are not told how much honey 
they produce, how many nucs they sell, how many crops they pollinate or how 
many queens the raise and sell.  Making a living from bees places a burden 
on them.

One point which is seldom recognised in discussions of beekeeping is 
financing.  We are often encouraged to follow the advice and example of 
people who either are in an institutional setting, or in one particularly 
egregious case, endowed with an inheritance.

Those of us who cannot afford to fail even once must remember that these can 
be Pied Pipers, since they can do things that a person with 
self-preservation instincts would avoid.  Bad examples.

Also discounted often are the very unpredictable effects of micro-climate 
and of chance which make one beekeeper look like a genius while an equally 
good or better beekeeper not too many miles away struggles.

I have often said that wrapping does not do much for the bees until brood 
rearing starts up, but then it can be crucial for some hives.  In my case, 
that time is in January.  One could wrap then for spring build-up, but 
around then, there is snow and cold weather, so most who wrap, wrap earlier.

Personally, I have played with many wrapping schemes and gone without 
wrapping.  In the case of single-queen hives, wrapped hives did much better. 
Always.  A good beekeeper only needs to lift a lid for a second to see the 
difference.

I have also unwrapped one yard in April and left another similar yard 
unwrapped.  By mid-May, little was left of the unwrapped one and the wrapped 
yard had minimal loss and was building well.

I have raised beautiful queen cells by May 10th and had mature drones to 
mate them.  The secret: wrapping. (and luck)

I have run bees in wood, wrapped and unwrapped and also EPS.  The insulated 
hives do better.  Interestingly, it does not take very much insulation on 
the sides to make a big difference.  (I am told that the dense EPS used in 
hive bodies has little more R-factor than wood.  The EPS hives are much 
thicker, though, and they seem to work well).

Here are some clues as to why some can winter without wrapping and others 
can't:

1. In the early seventies, influenced by all the literature Peter cites, I 
built from scratch (from logs) and then ran 100 Farrar hives.  They wintered 
well without side or top insulation, BUT, they were two-queen hives. 
(Adding top insulation was beneficial, but not essential . I just took a 
20x20 chunk of pink R12 and laid it on the lid and covered it.)

2. We also know from experience that if a beekeeper has a row of hives and 
takes every other one and stacks it onto the next one in fall, that the 
winter loss will be almost zero, even without any winter preparation or 
wraps, all things being equal.

So, maybe that is what accounts for the mystery of why some beekeepers can 
winter well without wraps and most other in the same situation suffer, or 
why the results vary from year to year.

It could be just this simple: Some beekeepers, either due to their bees, 
their local flora, soil type, or micro-climate have consistently more and 
better winter bees going in.

In both the cases above, the populations start off huge.  I also know of a 
beekeeper in northern Alberta who winters without wraps, but he runs triple 
standards for broods and I think he uses tarpaper and top insulation. 
Again, the triples would ensure more bees going into winter.

The problem is that wrapping is like insurance, especially for big hives. 
Like supplementary feeding, sometimes wrapping turns out to have been of 
little extra value, BUT other times, it means you have bees when the other 
guy does not.

As for adjusting the size of the hive to suit the population, all I can say 
is that those who know this trick have a huge leg up on those who are in 
ignorance or denial, since it is so basic to great beekeeping --  in the 
north, at least.

I have been an inspector on the Alberta wintering Program years ago and seen 
what works consistently and what does not.

I can assure anyone in truly cold regions with long winters that appropriate 
wrapping and especially top insulation pays off in spring results and better 
bee health over the long run.

For smaller hives in truly severe winters, prudent beekeepers either group 
and wrap them or take them indoors.

Doubt me at your own peril.  My friends and I have already taken your losses 
for you.  No need to do it yourself. 

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