Alberta beekeepers - they find more mites in poly hives

[Finski]

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I have seen many times bees fanning in upper entrance in -5C but normally when we have -25c, it is February and hives are under snow. In -25C the upper entrance is closed with mouldy frost.

One reason to loud hive is that they have a mouse inside or strong odor of mouse piss.

But I say that I have used polyhives 23 years. If I open the hive near freezing point, bees are not walking here and there. They are tighly in cluster.

Further more I install 15 W electrict heating after cleansing flight into hives.On those nights we have 10-15 degrees frost.  In this case too hives have a tight cluster which tell that they protect their brood.  If the hive is queenless, it is dispersed evenly in the box.

Here you see a colony which had on 15W electrict heating in that empty part.
When a cluster enlargened in 10 minutes, it filled the whole 5 frames.

Polyhive does not heat the colony. It gives only a shelter and reduce  heat leak from the cluster. The cluster contol itself the proper heat.

Insulation saves energy and winterfood

[BlueBee]

Its -8C here today.  I went out to see if the bees were fanning their entrances.  No they were not!  Pointing my IR thermometer into my top entrance poly hives, there were reading 10C to 12C (55F).  At those temps, my bees are in a cluster.   As Finski says, that 12C inside the hive is from heat leaking from the cluster.

[derekm]

Its -8C here today.  I went out to see if the bees were fanning their entrances.  No they were not!  Pointing my IR thermometer into my top entrance poly hives, there were reading 10C to 12C (55F).  At those temps, my bees are in a cluster.   As Finski says, that 12C inside the hive is from heat leaking from the cluster.

-8c and in a cluster?  - wusses
-10C outside and inside 25C at the top and  15C at the bottom... :)

[BlueBee]

I have seen more dead bees in the snow around my warmer hives than my colder hives.  That may not be a good thing.  It looks like more bees go exploring out in the great white north when it feels like Tampa Florida inside.

Keep in mind I don’t have probes (thermistors) inside my hives to measure the exact temps at the top and bottom, I’m just pointing a IR thermometer into the entrance hole and taking a reading.  The odds are it is a bit warmer inside than what I’m reading.

One good thing about my bottom entrance hives is the entrance is covered in snow so they can’t go exploring outside when it is -8C.  Pointing the IR probe at the bottom entrances of my nucs read 0C today.  I hope they’re not going to experience an ice box effect  :(

[buzzbee]

The uninsulated hives just may be too cold to do housekeeping. My observation hive in the living room rarely went out other than evacuation or housekeeping in weather that permitted it. If it was extreme cold there was very little activity inside.