Sun or Shade

[tedlemay]

I hear most beeks say your hives should be in at least mostly in the sun. I have one hive that gets sun till maybe 10:30AM . Shaded the rest of the day.  It is my best hive by far! Oddly enough this hive has less SHB's than any of the others. So just want to hear the ins and outs from all you guys and gals!

[Jim134]

If you got SHB Sun.


        BEE HAPPY Jim 134 :)

[BjornBee]

There is nothing odd about having one hive that bucks all the averages and what has been found to be better averages. But in much higher numbers, like in the thousands looked at, hives do better in the sun. They break cluster on cool days faster, forage more, and can get on with daily activities (like dealing with SHB) sooner than hives in the shade. This is very important in spring and fall, and those warmer days in winter. While the impact may be lessened in Alabama as compared to more northern regions, it still has been found that full sun (perhaps with some mid-summer added ventilation) is still the best choice for bees.

[TwoHoneys]

Last year, I moved 4 of my hives from shade to sun. This year, those hives that performed on at a level I'd consider mediocre are performing at levels I consider outstanding. For me, sun.

(I do still have a top-bar hive in shade. It's going gangbusters. Shrug.)

-Liz

[D Coates]

Full sun all year round.  My nucs are in partial sun but get moved to full sun as they get larger.

[AndrewT]

My hives have always been in the shade.  My first bee book recommended shade, so that's where I set up and that's where they still are.  They get good morning sun, but afternoon shade.  Makes it a little less sweaty when I work them in July.

I don't have SHB in my area, so I don't have to deal with that (yet).

[Joe D]

I have mine in sun in the morning around 2 oclock or so they are in the shade.  It's still hot here even in the shade.  This past winter is saw a good many SHB's, put out some traps.  On last check I saw 2 to 3 per hive, and smashed them.  Good luck with which ever you decide.  There is a beek I know that does have a top box on his hives with several 1" holes with #8 wire covering them for better ventilation in the summer.  He says those produce more honey that his other ones.

Joe

[divemaster1963]

I deal mostly with cutout feral hives. I check conditions before I remove a hive and try to replicate the same conditions in my yards. I have found that the hives that I have done this with have grown and preformed better and are healther. By doning this I am guesting that they know what conditions best suit them. I try not to fix what is not broken.  :-D

john

[Michael Bush]

I lot of the books recommend sun in the morning and shade in the afternoon.  Maybe on a 110 F day that is helpful, but all in all the ones I have in full sun seem to do better.  That's not to say they are all in full sun.  Some are and some aren't just because of logistics.  Sometimes the space someone has available isn't in the sun.

[CapnChkn]

I found out about the SHB when I opened a hive that was stashed in the barn for somewhere around 3 years and the bees, which may have taken residence after the storage, absconded because of them.  I'd been reading about SHB, but not paying much attention because there were more pressing problems to confront.

That hive lost it's queen and died out.  I caught 2 swarms, was given a nuc in the spring and started my campaign against the invaders.  I set my hives up outside on concrete slab with 6 hours direct sun and shade after 3pm, and watched their behavior.  The bees would chase, worry, and do whatever they could to evict them, but the beetles outnumbered their efforts pretty well.  I didn't have problems with larvae, but would find 40 or 70 beetles running through all the combs any time I opened the boxes.

I don't know what the factors involved are, but the hive in the barn was on dried horse poop that had lots of dust on top, and the spot was really dark in comparison to the yard.  I would be standing under the barn roof to have the bees fly in from the bright and smash headlong into me from 30 feet (9m) away from the colony.

This year I notice a dramatic drop in the numbers of SHB, but it's still early in the season.  I worry more about the heat reflecting off the concrete, and varroa which I've found in some big numbers right now.

[splitrock]

Didn't see one beetle in my hives last year and they were all in full sun. Saw a few the year prior though, in a location that was only partly shaded............. Full sun for me whenever possible from now on.