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If as masterBK has suggested "when you insulate them will they brood more and for longer during winter and if so will they then eat more stores? "
then the situation may not be quite as simple as you suggest.
I am definitely not saying that insulation is a bad idea. I am not in either camp. I am not suffering from "massive group think, based on lore and misunderstood research". In fact I think the arguments for improving insulation are pretty persuasive. Given the strong views there are on the subject its just surprising that the research EVIDENCE for it doesnt seem so easy to find. And I mean evidence rather than shouted anecdote.
the brood more is not factor while the bees are largely confined (conservation of energy)
you cant hide the enthalpy of kg s of sucrose in the enthalpy of realistic brood quantities (energy locked up in 40,000 bees = 1 kg sucrose rest of energy used in making bees is lost as heat but that causes a credit in heating account)
research difficult to find yes been looking for years
The VillumStad Paper is the best out there for yea or nay. The other biological researches I have found are much worse. like no measurements of conductivity, no extensive range of insulation, top vents...
The norm and range for insulation had not been researched until recently and that is still waiting on review to be published ( six months now)
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