Open mesh floors in the winter

Karsal said:

no more hundreds of dead bees, just an odd one every day or so.

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Maybe as the bulk of the older bees have now died there's not many left to drop in great numbers?

jenkinsbrynmair said:

Maybe as the bulk of the older bees have now died there's not many left to drop in great numbers?

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with your underfloor entrances do you ever need to clear out the dead bees?

derekm said:

with your underfloor entrances do you ever need to clear out the dead bees?

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no - occasionally after a long period of cold or wet weather dead bees will build up on the 'landing board' as it is sheltered and the bodies don't get blown away by the wind.but with a two inch gap between the entrance and the landing board of the 'lobby' it's never an issue I think what happens is the undertaker bees just drop the bodies out of the hole in the floor and they only get tidied away in a relatively warm period. I think probably there is less of a chance of the entrance getting clogged up than a standard floor - isn't gravity great!

not exactly been very cold nor prolonged this winter has it.
no need to close up.

jenkinsbrynmair said:

no - occasionally after a long period of cold or wet weather dead bees will build up on the 'landing board' as it is sheltered and the bodies don't get blown away by the wind.but with a two inch gap between the entrance and the landing board of the 'lobby' it's never an issue I think what happens is the undertaker bees just drop the bodies out of the hole in the floor and they only get tidied away in a relatively warm period. I think probably there is less of a chance of the entrance getting clogged up than a standard floor - isn't gravity great!

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We dont see bees on the hive floor either, we went with a vertical landing "board" of green netting below the underfloor/dartington style entrance. Gravity appears to work in England as well

Rarely see dead bees anywhere. Active sparrows, robins and a gang of foxes ensure no food in our garden is left for long enough to spoil..

Or maybe gravity does not work here?

Omf

My mentor is 84 years of age and was in his early years was a bee inspector. He has seen and diagnosed AFB many years ago and is an absolute wealth of knowledge.
He never feeds his bees but leaves them with plenty of their own stores and has never used open meshed floors or matches.
He often says "The Bees Know Best"
Just keep and eye on them and only assist them if absolutely necessary. Don't become a worrier as the bees have managed for millions of years.
I accept his advice.

Finman said:

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One basic component in wintering is that cluster may be too small compared to room. Then the temp of interior is low and respiration sir condensates near cluster.

Cold kills hives. I know that very well. Bees consume their stores too quickly and die out.

But in Uk winter has been very warm this year.

Nosema hits easily in winter and that is why there are dead bees inside the hive. Abdomen is often swollen in dead bees. Normal thing.
.

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Agree to disagree with the cold kills bees after chatting to some Easter European and alaskan beeks who did there hives out the snow , that’s with open mesh floors.
damp kills them that’s a fact

Redhatuk said:

damp kills them that’s a fact

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Where does that come from?

Just realised this a resurrection of a 2015 thread!

Erichalfbee said:

Where does that come from?

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the BBKABBBKB (BBKA Bumper Book of Beekeeping Bullsh!t)

It's bad beekeeping that kills bees

Feral bees have survived in one of our neighbours chimney for as long as I can remember ,with no human interference.
Its uninsulated and by its nature well ventilated.
As the old cliche suggests-the bees will tell you.

enrico said:

Just realised this a resurrection of a 2015 thread!

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Yes I know but I thought I’d answer as somebody has found it

Redhatuk said:

Agree to disagree with the cold kills bees after chatting to some Easter European and alaskan beeks who did there hives out the snow , that’s with open mesh floors.
damp kills them that’s a fact

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I ask because I’d like to know why you think that. Because some cold climate beekeepers say it or because you’ve arrived at that conclusion some other way.

Erichalfbee said:

Yes I know but I thought I’d answer as somebody has found it

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Yep but I was busy 'liking' answers from 2015 so I had to qualify it so people didn't think I was too much of a moron!

Redhatuk said:

Agree to disagree with the cold kills bees after chatting to some Easter European and alaskan beeks who did there hives out the snow , that’s with open mesh floors.
damp kills them that’s a fact

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Not to pile on or anything but those of us who dig ( I think that is the word you meant to put instead of did) their hives out of the snow know that snow is an excellent insulator. The snow makes a better barrier to cold than a piece of 1/2 in plywood and prevents any high volumes of air coming thru the bottom, so the OMF is not really 'open' once you pile up the snow.


This hive is 3 deeps, two are totally buried, only the top quilt box is visible.

Water dripping on the bees from above in the winter kills bees. My hives are plenty damp, but the condensation is on the walls not on the roof.

B_north said:

Water dripping on the bees from above in the winter kills bees. My hives are plenty damp, but the condensation is on the walls not on the roof.

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Exactly. Insulate the top so that the top is warmer than the sides and any condensation runs down the walls NOT on the bees

Erichalfbee said:

Exactly. Insulate the top so that the top is warmer than the sides and any condensation runs down the walls NOT on the bees

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I’m struggling to find the references, but wasn’t there some research that a humid atmosphere in the hive is good for bees but bad for varroa?

Moobee said:

I’m struggling to find the references, but wasn’t there some research that a humid atmosphere in the hive is good for bees but bad for varroa?

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I've definitely read something suggesting that varroa struggle when the humidity is higher.

James