I am confused on where to put my hives should they be in part sun or should they be in full sun thanks
Generally, Bees like to be in the Sun but out of the wind. Beeks put bees everywhere though...
Please add your location to your profile. It helps if we know in what climate you are keeping bees in.
You definately want a bright sunny morning location to get them up and going. Heat tends to linger in the afternoon so sun is not as important then. But as far north as you are, full sun would be good.
i keep all mine in full sun
In North Carolina we face our hives to the Southeast and place them so they get some afternoon shade. That gets the bees up and moving early in the day and protects them from overheating in the Summer.
But in Upstate New York, I would think you will want them in full sun with some kind of wind screen.
Many folks will tell you that you need full sun to ward off Small Hive Beetles. But I think that has a lot to do with soil type. Some of our hives are on red clay and I have not seen a single hive beetle on them. Other hives (70 miles away) are on a chert soil and they have some beetles. I think the more sand you have, the more important it is to have the hives in the sun. But I admit that this is just a guess.
Research:
bees according to the studies of prof seeley prefer shaded colony sites.
Engineering:
Wooden hives: Heat gain is considerable. In winter this may reduce damp, but in summer there may be dramatic over heating of the hive, as the wood will only give about 9F of protection from the outside wood temperature.
Polyhives: the reduced heat gain makes this less of a problem.
Research must vary. In Honey Bee Democracy, the author found that bees wanted a sunny entrance to a swarm trap. A southern exposure. I am not trying to sell the book I think it is overrated but the science is first rate.
Although the general rule of thumb is early morning sun and afternoon shade, as a fellow upstate NYer, I would recommend a location that gives them the most winter time sun.
In my case here at my home, this meant a site that doesn't get early morning sun in the summer, but gets about 4 more hours of sun in the winter than the summer early morning spot.
i look for as much sun as possible.
shade slows the warming!
early morning and early afternoon sun shade for mid to late afternoon if possible. They get started earlier and in the afternoon you want shade that way you dont have foragers trying to cool the hive collecting water and fanning the hive to keep the brood cool. Chris
Quote from: Robo on February 24, 2012, 01:15:51 PM
Although the general rule of thumb is early morning sun and afternoon shade, as a fellow upstate NYer, I would recommend a location that gives them the most winter time sun.
In my case here at my home, this meant a site that doesn't get early morning sun in the summer, but gets about 4 more hours of sun in the winter than the summer early morning spot.
Being form New England X:X X:X X:X
BEE HAPPY Jim 134 :)
In my neck of the woods, full sun all day long. If to much heat is the problem get a screened inner cover to use in the summer.
Quote from: colbees on February 23, 2012, 08:14:48 PM
I am confused on where to put my hives should they be in part sun or should they be in full sun thanks
Here in Florida, it's best for full sun. keeps the hive beetles under control. I see you are in new york so your conditions will vary compared to ours.
...DOUG
KD4MOJ
I try to put mine in areas with the recommended morning sun/afternoon shade but I don't have enough of those areas to go around. That being said, 2 of my best hives are in an area that gets morning shade/afternoon sun.
As far as SHB control goes I haven't seen any difference in beetle levels no matter where the hives are. The only hive I ever completely lost to those wretched beetles was in full all day long Arkansas sun. :-\
How about this . . . as what I look for in cold-ish southern WI (plant hardiness zone 5a), but can't say that I can find such settings all the time (especially since I also need to in a place I can get to easily with the truck) . . .
Full sun in the morning till early afternoon, then deciduous tree shade from afternoon on . . . that way in the winter I could possibly get some later afternoon sun when the leaves are down, but I get shade in the very hot summer days.
I love Tom Seeley's work, but I believe it relates more to what a swarm is looking for (nearly full shade with south entrance) rather than what we give them when we take them down from that swarm trap. The tree they are seeking likely has different thermal characteristics than the box we give them and they are 10 feet or more up rather than very near the ground . . . so I guess what I am saying is that I think the environment we give them for hives might need to be different than what the bees have in evolution considered the ideal spot to swarm to.