Comments on: The Backyard Buzz – Winter Results

By: jbee

jbee — Fri, 27 Oct 2017 10:42:55 +0000

I have built tops for the winter by using a shallow super. Take two pieces of luan and drill 5/8 holes every inch or so all over the luan. They are put in the shallow super by cutting two saw cuts 3/8 apart. Get some wool from the thrift store, old coats or sweaters and line the shallow super with the wool. I fill the box with cedar shavings and with the holes any moisture gets wicked up into the wool and the shavings. Can be used year after year. I have had these in use for about 5 years.
I always used tar paper but this year may use bee cozy’s.

By: Christine Kay

Christine Kay — Mon, 12 Dec 2016 19:46:28 +0000

Hi, Your article on the Bee Cozy is very helpful. The instructions say to make sure there is a top and bottom entrance. I only have a bottom entrance. Mine came with an inner cover pad for use in a deep inner cover, which i don’t have. It said you could use a shallow super, which I have. Any advice on the inner cover insulation? I am thinking about wrapping the outside but not using the insulation on the inside. I am concerned with moisture. Thank You!

By: susan

susan — Fri, 22 Jul 2016 02:34:08 +0000

Love the Slovenian hives! But I need dimensions & plans to build into my greenhouse & storage shed. Any net sites or authors you can pass on? Thanks, I love your website!

By: Richard Lembke

Richard Lembke — Fri, 05 Feb 2016 04:40:56 +0000

I’ve warped several of my hives in black tarpaper. My hope was that the black tarpaper would adsorb some heat from the sun on sunny days.The bees could temporarily brake cluster and move up in the hive if they needed too.
As it turned out — The black color of the tar paper was adding to much heat and overheating two of the hives with All day sun exposure .It was very alarming to see the bees flying around outside the hive in 35 degree weather . Some of the bees perished from the exposure of the cold air before they made it back to the hive .
The hives that had morning sun but we’re shaded in Afternoons didn’t overheat and did help them move up in the hive if they needed too . All of the hives with black tarpaper consumed twice as much honey compared to the ones without black tarpaper . This due to the bees being more active ,starting brood rearing much earlier than they normally would. The moisture was a very big problem because of the heat during the day then cooling off rapidly after the sun set.
Do the benifits of the black tarpaper out weigh the problems it creates ?
I’m not to sure . With a strong healthy hive going into winter,good honey reserves and properly cared for equipment .why mess with a balance the bees must have to survive threw winter?

By: Donna B

Donna B — Sat, 11 Apr 2015 19:22:20 +0000

My husband did something similar to this but with shipping blankets we bought from Harbor Freight. We folded them in half and ran a a string of baler twine at the fold and tied it around the top just under the cover. Then we ran two more strings one in the middle and one toward the bottom. The blanket fit perfect over three large supers.

By: Todd Z.

Todd Z. — Fri, 10 Apr 2015 16:24:13 +0000

How many total hives were in each group?

By: Sylvia Feldman

Sylvia Feldman — Thu, 09 Apr 2015 17:13:19 +0000

Nice article. I live in central PA and do not wrap my hives. I have had good survival rates in my (very) small backyard apiary, but perhaps not the virility that you describe with respect to your large population and brood levels of surviving colonies coming out of winter. I’m curious…what was your sample size (# of hives) going into the winter for which you conducted this experiment? Thanks so much for sharing your results.