Winter Cluster Position

[Hemlock]

Alright, alright.  I don't know what it is about this post but it isn't working out so well.  Thanks to all who replied.  I got some good info that will help. 

T Beek, sorry if I discouraged you.  This forum is a great place for your info.  Please don't be a stranger here.
rgy, I don't know!  If you want to keep going just PM me.

[edward]

If you have a plastic or a plexiglas board/ under the top cover you can take a quick peek to see where the winter cluster is .

mvh edward  :-P

[Finski]

.
I look only how winter food has been handled.
After winter I weigh with hand if the hive is heavy or light. If it is light, I remove tha cover and look, is there capped food in upper parts of frames. If there are, I wait for better weather to give more food.

[T Beek]

This thread should be joined with "what outside temp is OK....."thread

thomas

[bee-nuts]

HMM, seems to me I read that the bees will typically end up toward the south east corner by end of winter as they slowly move toward the suns heat.

[SawBee]

Last winter was my first winter with bees. By using an observation window on cold winter days I could see the bees clustering directly under the bottom of the top bars.   When the days got colder I put a 2 watt bulb inside a Styrofoam box (with no top)  and fastened the Styrofoam box under the solid bottom board of my topbar hives.  When the light bulb was on, the bees would be clustered near the bottom of the wax comb.  If the light was off, they would be clustered at the top. 

I know this isn't news to experienced beeks, but it sure convinced me that the bees will seek a warm part of the hive regardless of wither food is available or not.  Since there wasn't any honey for food at the bottom of the combs, I only used the light bulb heat source on the coldest nights. 

In retrospect, I was probably lucky they didn't get stranded away from a food source.  This year, I've decided to let the bees do what they do best and survive on there own (or not ) as the case may be.

[BjornBee]

I think we must keep in perspective the timing of the bee use of the sun's warmth.

When I start most bees in a new TBH, where they can draw comb wherever they choose, it is usually springtime. Bees naturally go to the warmer side of the box. And I have also seen them stay away from the other side later in the summer as the sun beats on the western side and no doubt gets very hot.

Once established, I think the cluster position is dictated more on reserves that anything else. Bees are smart however when it comes to taking advantage of the hives warmth, whether from outside sources or from within. The bees natural movement upwards benefits early brood production as they used trapped heat in the upper chamber of the hive.

[Michael Bush]

>how do you know where the cluster is without opening the hive up and I thought that would be a realy bad idea  when it is COLD?

In the winter you should leave them alone.  It doesn't matter where the cluster is... but I am the curious type and have opened them to see what's going  with no serious detrimental effects.

[Finski]

In the winter you should leave them alone.  It doesn't matter where the cluster is... but I am the curious type and have opened them to see what's going  with no serious detrimental effects.

that is the best adwise. If the cluster is here or there. What then? Listening bees only disturbs them. If they are silent, they are dead already.

When you disturb the hive they may be alarmed and they rise the temperature up to  40C.

[T Beek]

During winter I'll "listen" to my bees nearly everyday with a stethoscope.  I don't think they mind.

thomas

[edward]

Why not put a web cam in the hive instead ?

Then you wont disturb them  :-D

mvh edward  :-P