Cold Weather BeeKeeping

[Hops Brewster]

Igloos are built with a small vent hole in the top.  One can burn a small fire of fat or peat and get the inside temps rather balmy, as compared to outdoors in the weather.
We provide our hives with ventilation. As the bees regulate the temperatures of the brood, the inside temps of the hive naturally increase as compared to the outside temps, as well.

[eltalia]

Soooo... the thread has determined (so far) the stores laden wintered colony
to survive requires insulation+air change+ventilation.
Missing is the hygine question of "where doth the poo go", or does
such biowaste accumulate in quantities sufficient to bee a problem?

The worst is over methinks, light cirrus in the sky and a breeze is
present on the verandah... where it is a pleasant 35celcius and 51% rH.
No bees fanning anywhere.

Bill

[Bush_84]

They hold it from December until March.

[Acebird]

They hold it from December until March.

Unless it warms up and they can fly.  You can see what a problem it would be if there are 500 hives indoors and this happens.

[Bush_84]

They hold it from December until March.

Unless it warms up and they can fly.  You can see what a problem it would be if there are 500 hives indoors and this happens.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XdPRS0AuuxU

First cleansing flight in 4-5 months at Ian?s operation. I certainly wouldn?t bother them for a couple of days.

[BeeMaster2]

Don't park your white car within a mile of that apriary or any color for that matter.
Jim

[eltalia]

Don't park your white car within a mile of that apriary or any color for that matter.
Jim

I was aware the bees backed up, I wasn't aware they did so for months at a time.
I have seen firsthand what even a 10K strong colony does to the roof of a sedan
after just two days, when released.
There has to be some metabolic process for the ability as the stores consumed
would provide a component of energy (sugars released) and another of biomass,
surely. So somehow that component is stored in tbe gut without creating bellyache.
Bee colic... ;-)

Bill

[Acebird]

Bees don't hibernate but their metabolic rate slows way down when it gets below 40 degrees which is why they don't normally consume much honey in winter.

[eltalia]

Many an insect has a period of dormancy, some for years. The limits of my knowledge say
such often includes a metamorphos (sp) stage, bees do not. Instead be it a week or months
they backup their biowaste - according to the thread. I have no doubt the "cleansing flight"
thing is popular explanation for masses of bee flights on the first days of thaw yet my
curiosity begs asking has anyone ever taken note of bottomboards in the days prior, a time
beefore the housekeepers have got busy "taking out the winter potty", and so cleaning
the bottomboard to the standards we get to see it on inspecting the broodchamber post
that first flight?

Bill

[Bush_84]

In my experience I generally clean out the bottom board and not my bees. They?d probably get it done as they gained strength but there?s just to many dead bees to get it done quickly.

[Acebird]

I see very little poop on the bottom board which I will call the tray under a SBB.  I have access to this tray 12 months out of the year because of the design of my SBB.

[eltalia]

I see very little poop on the bottom board which I will call the tray under a SBB.  I have access to this tray
12 months out of the year because of the design of my SBB.

What about the screen itself... bee waste would stick to that like gum to a thong!

Bill

[eltalia]

In my experience I generally clean out the bottom board and not my bees. They?d probably get it done as they gained strength but there?s just to many dead bees to get it done quickly.

Sooo.. the bees are "busting to go" and so walk over their dead buddies to go
dump Mr. Hanky?

Bill

[Acebird]

What about the screen itself... bee waste would stick to that like gum to a thong!

Bill

At the point of expulsion it is more liquid then solid so what little would stay on the #8 screen there would be much more on the tray.  And there isn't.

[Bush_84]

In my experience I generally clean out the bottom board and not my bees. They?d probably get it done as they gained strength but there?s just to many dead bees to get it done quickly.

Sooo.. the bees are "busting to go" and so walk over their dead buddies to go
dump Mr. Hanky?

Bill

They use their upper entrance until their population starts to rise.

[eltalia]

In my experience I generally clean out the bottom board and not my bees.
They?d probably get it done as they gained strength but there?s just to many dead
bees to get it done quickly.

Sooo.. the bees are "busting to go" and so walk over their dead buddies to go
dump Mr. Hanky?

Bill

They use their upper entrance until their population starts to rise.

Sooo. now we have top entrances being thrown into the mix?
I assume these are additional...like, not only?

I know Ian Steppler only uses a standard entrance.. there are others
doing likewise?

Bill

[Bush_84]

I can?t say all use upper entrance but I can say many in the north use an upper and lower entrance. Lower entrance is the main and largest entrance. Upper entrance allow moisture to escape in winter. In spring bees are in the upper box and seem to mostly use that entrance due to proximity. As the hive expands that switches.

In my experience I generally clean out the bottom board and not my bees.
They?d probably get it done as they gained strength but there?s just to many dead
bees to get it done quickly.

Sooo.. the bees are "busting to go" and so walk over their dead buddies to go
dump Mr. Hanky?

Bill

They use their upper entrance until their population starts to rise.

Sooo. now we have top entrances being thrown into the mix?
I assume these are additional...like, not only?

I know Ian Steppler only uses a standard entrance.. there are others
doing likewise?

Bill

[eltalia]

I can?t say all use upper entrance but I can say many in the north use an upper and
lower entrance. Lower entrance is the main and largest entrance. Upper entrance
allow moisture to escape in winter. In spring bees are in the upper box and seem to
mostly use that entrance due to proximity. As the hive expands that switches.

(edit)
Sooo. now we have top entrances being thrown into the mix?
I assume these are additional...like, not only?

I know Ian Steppler only uses a standard entrance.. there are others
doing likewise?

Bill

"Upper entrance allow moisture to escape in winter"

There is the condition I was looking to hear... sooo now we have (so far) the
stores laden wintered colony to survive requires insulation+air change+
ventilation+humidty control... ergo "enthalpy management" for a living organism.

Getting back to "cleansing flights" it intrigues me these are observations loaded
with assumption, the main of which is we assume bees replicate Man in that
having been confined for a time the very first movement is to take a dump.
That is Man thinking, and built on the presence of many bees flying and the
obvious presence of bee feaces in the immediate area.
However.
Knowing that bees reorintate after just two days locked up and knowing
the majority - if not indeed all in a efficently managed winter colony - are
flight enabled is it worth the thought bees are merely resetting the GPS, given
it takes seconds to vent tbe biowaste yet these first flights are maintained far
longer, in fact at least as long as newly progressed forager bees running their
first orientation flight during seasonal growth?
Emerging wintered bees are all "of age" so somehow they have to restructure
themselves into the castes required for the colony to "boot up"
after an extreme dearth. Bees will still be hairy so there are pollen collectors,
others will sort themselves into nursing, housekeeping,couriers, and
guards/foragers.
Is this "cleansing flight" actually "bee thinking" in determining whom of the
mob are still capable of the prime task at hand, gathering stores?

Bill

[Acebird]

Bees reorient when they plan on flying miles away from their hive.  If you knock a hive over in the middle of the night do they reorient?  I think not.

[eltalia]

Bees reorient when they plan on flying miles away from their hive.  If you knock a hive over in the middle of the night do they reorient?  I think not.

You do not subscribe to the concept bees may well suffer tempoary memory loss
in confinement nor the fact tbe sun moves it's azimuth every day, Brian?

Bill