Dear Readers:
 
I have the following question that I hope someone can answer.
 
In the province of Manitoba, we have very cold winters. It is common
to have -40 c weather for long periods at at time. We wrap our bees
in plastic wraps filled with R12 insulation. We have had great results and
very few winter loses, using this method for the past
5 years.
   My question is:
                      Is there going to be enough ventilation in the colony
to use the oil and grease patties without harming the bees. We made up only
25 patties to try this winter.We noticed that when we made the patties
using the suggested formula that the smell was quite strong, using pathuala
oil. Are the bees going to put up with this for 5 months being wrapped in
plastic wraps.After the snow gets deep the only source of ventilation will
be there top hole in the escape board.
 
Can anyone advise.
 
Dave
 
 
http://www.common.net/~jurgensd