It is great that you are running through the plusses and minuses, just like everything else in beekeeping so much depends on location. There is no easy yes or no, thanks for sharing your time. 👍Great video, thanks for sharing your time. There is also can be a big difference from an upper entrance and upper venting. In my case I don't run upper entrances but I do run upper venting that I can close down smaller in the Winter to control condensation, I use my lids similar to how your houses attic works.
Thanks for the response! That's true. There's a difference between a vent and an entrance. How do you create a vent for your hives? And what do you use to make it smaller in the winter?
@@BeekeepingMadeSimple The lids I run are a "Russian" style lids they have 3/4 inc vent holes covered with screening. For winter I just duct tape over them only leaving a small gap they can draw fresh air through. I also shelter my hives from the worst of our rain here in SW Washington state. Biggest thing I noticed about the vented lids, I had very little bearding during the hottest parts of the summer.
In the UK we use bottom entrances through the winter. We insulate the roof. We typically feed fondant through the winter. Any condensation can be used by the bees to help process the fondant. I have high-density polystyrene hives, which don't tend to produce much condensation.
Hi Kailua Kona There is a another option. I have a colony in a tree-simulation running the second winter now. It has only an upper entrance and can be manipulated from the back and the bottom. Adapted to simulate a big Woodpeckers nest with a top entrance as they always have. Only mine goes some meters down. The top compartment with the entrance is left to their own design. Placed 3 meters above ground and chosen by scout bees as fit for living in. Further down I have movable comb which they adapted to and I can observe through Acrylic glass. This second winter I was convinced that I have lost them, because I could not hear if they are alive and as I tried to measure the exhaust temperature there was next to none to detect (at most half a centigrade) This knothole was constructed that the warmth should escape on the upper part and fresh air on the lower part of the tube. How much was left to the bees construction and action. Water and wind cant get in, it is pointed a bit downward, how a woodpecker would have made it only this long tube is not as woodpeckers would do it. I don´t know jet how they managed to keep that little warmth escaping. Some weeks before I found an icicle at the tube. So they did get rid of some of the moisture. On opening the bottom I only found this time only a few shriveled dead bees. But the last warm days showed me that they are gathering pollen and the young ones aggregated in the air in front of the hive. The inside is a octagon and quite narrow compared even with a Warre hive. www.beesource.com/threads/tree-hive-simulation-with-only-upper-entrance.375502/ I am doing now smaller ones with more ways to observe and manipulate. will be from 30 to 60 liters. Keep posting this when they are ready and again when swarms accept them.
Related ventilation question, but now let's consider summer heat. Does it get into the 90s °f where you are? It does for me here in Maryland. (I remove the entrance reducer when it gets into the 80s.) Sometimes I tilt the outer cover up in the back when it is consistently in the 90s. What is your opinion on that? (Oops. Just watched your video on summer heat. Thanks!)
I personally believe an upper entrance during winter is counterproductive. While this definitely does help mitigate moisture by increasing ventilation, you are doing so at the expense of heat loss. Yes, bees can survive very cold conditions, but surviving and THRIVING are two different things. With a little understanding of dew point and convection, you will understand why the condensing colony makes so much more sense in a way to handle winterizing your colony. Opinions are like noses… everyone has one, especially concerning winterizing a colony but I would ask that you look at the subject of beehive winterization with an open mind and research the “Condensing Colony” methodology which is summarised below and supporting studies and presentations provided for reference. These are not opinions, these are scientific facts. This methodology is now being used in climates where it was previously almost impossible to consider overwintering bees. Summary: A condensing colony is a type of beehive that has three distinctions over a ventilating colony. Firstly, the condensing hive has lots of top insulation. Secondly, the bees control ventilation, circulating fresh air to avoid CO2 buildup while conserving heat and humidity (versus the beekeeper doing so). Thirdly, the beekeeper only provides a single colony entrance near or at the bottom of the comb (no top venting or moisture trapping device) References: American Bee Journal | The Condensing Colony (Behind pay wall) www.wingdancehoney.com/post/american-bee-journal-the-condensing-colony American Bee Journal | The Condensing Colony PDF Download www.beesource.com/attachments/the-condensing-colony-february-2020-abj-pdf.65992/ American Bee Journal | The Condensing Colony (Reprint) bluetoad.com/publication/?i=646365&article_id=3579902&view=articleBrowser Ventilating vs. Condensing Winter Colony wvbahive.org/ventilating-vs-condensing-winter-colony/ Moisture vs. Insulation vs. Ventilation in Winter: Understanding the Condensing Hive Concept www.betterbee.com/instructions-and-resources/condensing-hive-concept.asp Ventilated Hive vs. Condensing Hive - Peggy DeSanto ua-cam.com/video/tVSzRmnNcJ8/v-deo.htmlsi=vPN94UPYqXd09Njl Wintering in Very Cold Climates (Honey Bees) (Zoom Presentation) - Etienne Tardif ua-cam.com/video/vNo_avQVuJw/v-deo.htmlsi=fRWzhKZsrVwVX-Hf How to Survive Extreme Winters with Etienne Tardif - Kamon Reynolds ua-cam.com/users/livewAjgbQKtcBY?si=o3s1lIolgMCIe_GF Insulate or Ventilate, Making Sense of Northern Honeybee Wintering Practice” with Adrian Quiney ua-cam.com/video/3hDgU0vmn2U/v-deo.htmlsi=IYZAZPYXSCi4O5RN Charles Back Bee Broken Beekeeping Making beekeeping easier for those with limitations and the every day beekeeper!
You don’t need top entrances if you have insulation on top and they won’t each as much food and won’t burn energy bees can deal with moisture and they will deal with co2 just fine don’t put top entrance
It is great that you are running through the plusses and minuses, just like everything else in beekeeping so much depends on location. There is no easy yes or no, thanks for sharing your time. 👍Great video, thanks for sharing your time.
There is also can be a big difference from an upper entrance and upper venting. In my case I don't run upper entrances but I do run upper venting that I can close down smaller in the Winter to control condensation, I use my lids similar to how your houses attic works.
Thanks for the response! That's true. There's a difference between a vent and an entrance. How do you create a vent for your hives? And what do you use to make it smaller in the winter?
@@BeekeepingMadeSimple The lids I run are a "Russian" style lids they have 3/4 inc vent holes covered with screening.
For winter I just duct tape over them only leaving a small gap they can draw fresh air through. I also shelter my hives from the worst of our rain here in SW Washington state.
Biggest thing I noticed about the vented lids, I had very little bearding during the hottest parts of the summer.
In the UK we use bottom entrances through the winter. We insulate the roof.
We typically feed fondant through the winter. Any condensation can be used by the bees to help process the fondant.
I have high-density polystyrene hives, which don't tend to produce much condensation.
Thank you for the response Paul!
Very interesting video.
Hi Kailua Kona
There is a another option.
I have a colony in a tree-simulation running the second winter now. It has only an upper entrance and can be manipulated from the back and the bottom. Adapted to simulate a big Woodpeckers nest with a top entrance as they always have. Only mine goes some meters down.
The top compartment with the entrance is left to their own design. Placed 3 meters above ground and chosen by scout bees as fit for living in.
Further down I have movable comb which they adapted to and I can observe through Acrylic glass.
This second winter I was convinced that I have lost them, because I could not hear if they are alive and as I tried to measure the exhaust temperature there was next to none to detect (at most half a centigrade)
This knothole was constructed that the warmth should escape on the upper part and fresh air on the lower part of the tube. How much was left to the bees construction and action. Water and wind cant get in, it is pointed a bit downward, how a woodpecker would have made it only this long tube is not as woodpeckers would do it.
I don´t know jet how they managed to keep that little warmth escaping. Some weeks before I found an icicle at the tube. So they did get rid of some of the moisture. On opening the bottom I only found this time only a few shriveled dead bees.
But the last warm days showed me that they are gathering pollen and the young ones aggregated in the air in front of the hive.
The inside is a octagon and quite narrow compared even with a Warre hive.
www.beesource.com/threads/tree-hive-simulation-with-only-upper-entrance.375502/
I am doing now smaller ones with more ways to observe and manipulate. will be from 30 to 60 liters.
Keep posting this when they are ready and again when swarms accept them.
Thank you for sharing! That is incredibly interesting. You are right, that is another option.
Related ventilation question, but now let's consider summer heat. Does it get into the 90s °f where you are? It does for me here in Maryland. (I remove the entrance reducer when it gets into the 80s.) Sometimes I tilt the outer cover up in the back when it is consistently in the 90s. What is your opinion on that? (Oops. Just watched your video on summer heat. Thanks!)
I personally believe an upper entrance during winter is counterproductive. While this definitely does help mitigate moisture by increasing ventilation, you are doing so at the expense of heat loss. Yes, bees can survive very cold conditions, but surviving and THRIVING are two different things. With a little understanding of dew point and convection, you will understand why the condensing colony makes so much more sense in a way to handle winterizing your colony.
Opinions are like noses… everyone has one, especially concerning winterizing a colony but I would ask that you look at the subject of beehive winterization with an open mind and research the “Condensing Colony” methodology which is summarised below and supporting studies and presentations provided for reference. These are not opinions, these are scientific facts. This methodology is now being used in climates where it was previously almost impossible to consider overwintering bees.
Summary:
A condensing colony is a type of beehive that has three distinctions over a ventilating colony. Firstly, the condensing hive has lots of top insulation. Secondly, the bees control ventilation, circulating fresh air to avoid CO2 buildup while conserving heat and humidity (versus the beekeeper doing so). Thirdly, the beekeeper only provides a single colony entrance near or at the bottom of the comb (no top venting or moisture trapping device)
References:
American Bee Journal | The Condensing Colony (Behind pay wall)
www.wingdancehoney.com/post/american-bee-journal-the-condensing-colony
American Bee Journal | The Condensing Colony PDF Download
www.beesource.com/attachments/the-condensing-colony-february-2020-abj-pdf.65992/
American Bee Journal | The Condensing Colony (Reprint)
bluetoad.com/publication/?i=646365&article_id=3579902&view=articleBrowser
Ventilating vs. Condensing Winter Colony
wvbahive.org/ventilating-vs-condensing-winter-colony/
Moisture vs. Insulation vs. Ventilation in Winter: Understanding the Condensing Hive Concept
www.betterbee.com/instructions-and-resources/condensing-hive-concept.asp
Ventilated Hive vs. Condensing Hive - Peggy DeSanto
ua-cam.com/video/tVSzRmnNcJ8/v-deo.htmlsi=vPN94UPYqXd09Njl
Wintering in Very Cold Climates (Honey Bees) (Zoom Presentation) - Etienne Tardif
ua-cam.com/video/vNo_avQVuJw/v-deo.htmlsi=fRWzhKZsrVwVX-Hf
How to Survive Extreme Winters with Etienne Tardif - Kamon Reynolds
ua-cam.com/users/livewAjgbQKtcBY?si=o3s1lIolgMCIe_GF
Insulate or Ventilate, Making Sense of Northern Honeybee Wintering Practice” with Adrian Quiney
ua-cam.com/video/3hDgU0vmn2U/v-deo.htmlsi=IYZAZPYXSCi4O5RN
Charles
Back Bee Broken Beekeeping
Making beekeeping easier for those with limitations and the every day beekeeper!
Thank you for your response.
You don’t need top entrances if you have insulation on top and they won’t each as much food and won’t burn energy bees can deal with moisture and they will deal with co2 just fine don’t put top entrance
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