Winter feeding and hive design

[gavin]

Hi Kitta

The link works for me - but you have to be registered and your computer has to know your password to get straight there.

Try this way:

>-Intermediate and Advanced
>-A straw poll. Warm way or Cold way?

G.

[chris]

possible effects of bees being able to move across frames

I have heard from experienced beekeepers that the winter cluster won't move across a frame of pollen, and they say to put such frames at the edges. I've never seen it though.

[gavin]

I think that the point being made was that what folk call the cold way (right angles to the entrance) often means that with the bees clustering at the front (which is what mine usually seem to do, perhaps due to them pointing south and the front face being warmer) you have a mix of brood and stores on each frame. It does seem likely that colonies - especially weak ones - may find it easier to access stores on the same frame as on adjacent ones. It isn't an argument I've heard before for the 'cold way' (terrible name, no need to assume that this arrangement is colder), but it does add to the reason I do this, ease of access from either side.

G.

[Neils]

My bad, I forgot that the BBKA likes their forum in a walled garden so secure that even Apple are jealous of it.

I must admit that I don't really see why warm/cold way should make any difference when it comes to accessing or moving across stores, but maybe I'm just not thinking like a bee?

[Trog]

One year we experimented with some hives warm way and some cold. All other factors (location, size of colony) equal. The warm way colonies got off to a much quicker start and seemed to be about 2 weeks ahead of the others when we did our first spring inspection. Last year we were wintering 3 nucs in National brood boxes with full-length dummy boards and polystyrene filling the spaces where frames weren't needed. Naturally, we couldn't do these warm way as the bees would have been shut in, so they were cold way but with insulation. They all came through and were strong in the spring. Did the polystyrene prevent the sun's warmth getting through the sides? If so, the insulation seems to have made up for it.