West Plains Beekeepers Association
December 7, 2012
Jack Miller
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Consensus:
 Enough honey and pollen located correctly in hive
 Ventilated hive
 Enough bees
 Productive queen
 Take Winter loses in the Fall
 Room in the center for bees i.e. empty cells
 Protection from invaders (mice, etc.)
 Hive tilted slightly forward so water runs out
 Locate hive away from Spring water level

#2
Recommendations Generally Agreed To:
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Stores on the sides of the cluster in the bottom box and above the cluster in the top box
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Sheltered from the wind
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South facing for maximum sunlight
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Top entrance hole
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Accessible throughout the Winter

Differences of Opinion:
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Need a colony covering 20 frames in a 2 story hive; 130 pound gross weight; 10 pounds of bees 18K - 35% 4.5K - 85%
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Minimum of 60 pounds of honey
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Equivalent of 4 frames of pollen
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Entrance NOT blocked with reducer for ventilation

Starvation
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Run out of honey/food
Honey/food not where it is needed
Lack of ventilation
Too few bees to maintain cluster
Over-management of hive
Bee's digestive tract compacted
Mites

http://www.beebehavior.com/infrared_camera_pictures.php

Winter Bees
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Larger hypopharyngeal glands
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More body fat
Size of Cluster is a Function of Temperature
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+50 F 14 inches
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+20 F 11 inches
-14 F 10 inches
-26 F 4 inches
Heat Loss is Proportional to Cluster Size
Shape is Oblong Sphere
Internal Temperature 90 degrees F

#2
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Structure
The outside shell of bees or mantel is from 1 to 3 inches thick with the bees filling the spaces between the frames and empty cells.
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Inside the shell or core the bees are less tightly packed and warmer. They are able to move about and care for brood, queen and to perform maintenance
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The outside bees rotate with the inner bees based on hunger not temperature. Average 8 days with maximum of 16 days with a full honey stomach.
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Temperature regulation is by endothermic heat production in the core and insulation control by the mantel.
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It’s only the cluster temperature that is controlled by the bees
– the hive temperature is close to outside temperature.

#3
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Bees start to cluster at 57 degrees F
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Bees use winter stores most efficiently at 45 degrees F
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The lowest temperature the hive can survive depends on how many bees, how many stores, and duration of cold spell
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In moderate temperature the bees move honey closer to the interior of the cluster
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In colder temperatures the bees compact but must always maintain contact with honey stores
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Mantel temperature 48 – 57 degrees
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Core temperature 64 – 90 degrees.

#4
 Bees will organize the nest in preparation for Winter.
 During warm spells bees will move supplies to the cluster.
 Cluster will migrate toward the warm side of the hive when temperature is above 48 degrees.
 Cluster will follow the heat in the hive up, as supplies are consumed.
 Cluster size shrinks and expands in response to temperature.
 The inside of the hive is the same temperature as outside the hive.

#5
Differences of Opinion
Too large a Fall cluster can be detrimental because the bees can go through their stores too rapidly
Wrap hive for the winter
Significant variations on bee behavior from one race of honey bee to another:
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When they stop rearing brood
How large the winter cluster
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How soon they begin rearing brood
How efficient they are with stores
Medication and disease control

 August/September – Prepare hive for winter (location, stores, ventilation)
 October – Any further preparation such as additional feed
 November/ December – Check for use of feed only if weather permits; clear obstructed ventilation access as needed
 January -- Brood rearing starts in January as days lengthen; clear obstructed ventilation access as needed
 February/ March -- Colony inspections on first warm days in late February or March; clear obstructed ventilation access as needed


ABC and XYZ of Bee Culture by A.I. Root
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Better Beekeeping by Kim Flottum
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Honey Bee Biology and Beekeeping by Dewey M. Caron
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The Journal of Experimental Biology “ Hot bees in empty broodnest cells: heating from within ” by Marco Kleinhenz
Brigitte Bujok, Stefan Fuchs, and Jürgen Tautz
,
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Natural Beekeeping by Ross Conrad
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The Thermology of Wintering Honey Bee Colonies by
CHARLES D. OWENS, Agricultural Engineering Research
Division, Agricultural Research Service