Howdy folks, I heard conflicting advice from diffrent reputable sources. Some recommended placing hives in dappled sunlight to reduce stress brought on by heat, while others recommend placing hives in full sun. I was wondering about yals thoughts on this subject. and also how important is it that the hives are perfectly level side to side with a slight forward lean. I can understand the forward lean part. Anyway yals thought on this are appreciated. Thank's, Brad
It doesn't really matter all that much as long as they get a good amount of sun during the day. I keep all my hives in full sun most of the day. I hear they do better in the sun than the shade.
About the leveling the hive part. From what I have read here, It is very important to have the hive level from side to side so the bees will draw out the comb straight. It is not that important from front to back but you want to have it tipped over slightly in case any water gets into the hive when it rains. You want the water to be able to drain out not drain on the cluster of bees. By tipped it means about 1/2 - 1" tipped towards the front.
If you are in SHB territory, full sun.
If you aren't, then morning sun and evening shade.
SHB love shade, hate sun.
Ditto on Iddee. If you have SHB like we do, it's full sun all the way!
I like to place them where they get the first light from the morning sun they probably get in a extra hour of forage ;) RDY-B
They do best in full sun.
http://www.bushfarms.com/beesfaqs.htm#locating