My single hives were completely buried in the snow with only the top of the roof showing. I wonder that the insulating factor of snow is. I imagine that it helps a lot for keeping the bees insulated from the wind. The lid is very tight fitting so I am concerned about moisture buildup. I do not want the hive to be wet. I have 3 inches of wood shavings on top of the inner cover; which is covered with wire mesh and a light cotton patch so that the shavings dust does not fall into the hive.
When I lifted off the roof of the insulated box there was ice on some of the seams of insulation. This is an indication of the amount of moisture in the boxes. I checked the wood shavings and sure enough they were soaked, so I removed all of the shavings.
I took a quick peek into the hives and it was just buzzing. The bees do not even seem to be clustered and there were still plenty of honey stores in each of the single boxes. It is really satisfying to see to that all my work to build this insulation box is paying off. I quickly closed the inner covers and put a fresh layer of shavings on top. This should last for the remainder of the winter (according to some ground hogs we still have 4 weeks to go).
I cleared the front of the hive so that the sun could warm it up and so that the bees could clean out some of their dead. Most importantly, I want the moisture to come out of the front of the hives (even if hot air rises). The temperature differences should create a draw of moisture.
I am really happy with my colonies. They all seem to be strong and they seem to have enough supplies to last through the remainder of the winter. I will keep an eye on them as always and help with what I can.
No comments:
Post a Comment