But I've found the Warre quilt cut to fit a Langroth hive to be even more successful than foam insulation, as it absorbs moisture and practically eliminates condensation. 5) Make sure top box is full of honey (or syrup). Top insulation to reduce condensation is a good idea. 4) Queen excluder OFF - Leaving a queen excluder in place under a super that youre using for winter stores will trap the queen underneath it when the bee cluster needs to migrate upwards past the excluder to access the winter honey. Without that energy, they can't shiver to heat the cluster. The honey is what really keeps them warm. According to Fell, wrapping the hives in black roofing paper is a better solution because that absorbs heat from the sun, increasing the ambient temp near the bees, allowing them to break cluster more often and reach food stores farther away. It may also block the sun from heating the air around the cluster. The colony heats only the cluster, not the hive, so insulating the hive doesn't keep them warmer. So what can we do to help our bees make it through winter Winterizing your hive is a critical task to ensure your colonys survival over the cold months. Richard Fell, and he says that insulating the hive itself is not particularly useful and may make it harder for the cluster to benefit from sunny winter days. We have a well-respected bee researcher in my area, Dr. Keep in mind the pieces do not have to be perfect. Once you make several cuts down through the material, you can snap it off, kinda like cutting drywall. Best to cut this on a work table or somewhere you don't mind getting knife marks. You can also use a hand saw with a straight edge. Use a piece of metal or wood as a straight edge, and make series of cuts down through the polystyrene. I cut it with a retractable box knife with the blade pushed all the way out. 1) Assess Honey Stores - Feel the weight of your hive. One 24" x 96" piece will wrap a hive with some leftover. Its not the cheapest stuff, but it will last a long time, just don't beat it up. Its usually used for insulating walls and basements. I use the 2" thick polystyrene you can buy at the lumber store. Before any winterizing, treat the bees for varroa mites. The second and third parts of winterizing the beehive is to use an insulated inner cover and add a backup source of food, we use the dry sugar method. Insulating the beehive is the first part of winter prep. It makes winterizing beehives easier, and the honeybees make it through winter. However, as the bees have to work harder to maintain the temperature of the cluster they will consume more stores. Its easy to put on, and I can re-use it every year. The chimney effect setup is proven to work and results in a good exchange of air. After trying several kinds, this beehive winter wrap works best for me.
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