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Author Topic: Does the cluster move in winter?  (Read 6268 times)

Offline FRAMEshift

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Re: Does the cluster move in winter?
« Reply #20 on: January 18, 2011, 08:26:20 pm »
Right.  But I was wondering if Finski's idea of a slice looked different from this.  I understood him to say that the bees break into slices when it's really cold.  I guess that would mean that there would be multiple clusters on different frames.  Hardwood, have you seen what he is talking about?  Probably not in Florida but maybe elsewhere?
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Offline hardwood

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Re: Does the cluster move in winter?
« Reply #21 on: January 18, 2011, 08:32:07 pm »
Are you kidding? My bees have been flying almost every day. They may be hunkered down overnight or in the early am here but by 10 or so they are usually flying even on our coldest days.

Scott

P.S. I noticed on Mon 2/17/11 that they have fresh white comb and have been bringing in some nectar along with lots of pollen!
"In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag...We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language...And we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."

Theodore Roosevelt 1907

Offline BjornBee

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Re: Does the cluster move in winter?
« Reply #22 on: January 18, 2011, 08:46:00 pm »
P.S. I noticed on Mon 2/17/11 that they have fresh white comb and have been bringing in some nectar along with lots of pollen!

What do you have....a crystal ball?   :shock:
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Offline slacker361

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Re: Does the cluster move in winter?
« Reply #23 on: January 18, 2011, 09:02:11 pm »
psssttt...... hardwood .... what are the lottery numbers for tomorrow?......

Offline hardwood

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Re: Does the cluster move in winter?
« Reply #24 on: January 18, 2011, 09:05:10 pm »
What do you mean Bjorn? During yesterday's inspection I noticed new comb (on one hive that I use for cut comb they had actually rebuilt 3 full frames) and capped honey in the corners and along the top. Every hive I went through (50 or so) had at least 1 frame of solid pollen...both sides on some. That was ...oops, my bad...that was 1/17/11 :-D

Scott
"In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag...We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language...And we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."

Theodore Roosevelt 1907

Offline hardwood

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Re: Does the cluster move in winter?
« Reply #25 on: January 18, 2011, 09:08:07 pm »
Slacker, try combinations of 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 and 0...I wouldn't steer ya wrong :)

Scott
"In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag...We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language...And we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."

Theodore Roosevelt 1907

Offline rdy-b

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Re: Does the cluster move in winter?
« Reply #26 on: January 18, 2011, 11:40:13 pm »
Slacker, try combinations of 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 and 0...I wouldn't steer ay wrong :)

Scott
congratulations Hardwood--you are now supperbee-1500posts-- :lol: RDY-B

Offline hardwood

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Re: Does the cluster move in winter?
« Reply #27 on: January 18, 2011, 11:42:12 pm »
Alright! Who's da MAN :-D...what was I before???lolo
"In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag...We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language...And we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."

Theodore Roosevelt 1907

Offline rdy-b

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Re: Does the cluster move in winter?
« Reply #28 on: January 18, 2011, 11:51:20 pm »
Alright! Who's da MAN :-D...what was I before???lolo
you where a queen bee-- :lol:-next jump is at 3000 posts makes galactic bee- ;)  RDY-B
http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php/topic,9558.msg61687.html#msg61687

Offline hardwood

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Re: Does the cluster move in winter?
« Reply #29 on: January 19, 2011, 01:51:03 am »
Alright then...workin' on going galactic.
"In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag...We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language...And we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."

Theodore Roosevelt 1907

Offline hardwood

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Re: Does the cluster move in winter?
« Reply #30 on: January 19, 2011, 01:51:30 am »
 :-D
"In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag...We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language...And we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."

Theodore Roosevelt 1907

Offline Finski

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Re: Does the cluster move in winter?
« Reply #31 on: January 19, 2011, 02:33:57 am »
Right.  But I was wondering if Finski's idea of a slice looked different from this.  I understood him to say that the bees break into slices when it's really cold.

This picture situation is in April and the cluster has moved from bottom to up. Cluster start wintering often own near entrance. Them it eate food and move toward back and up and consume the food.
In spring the last food are on side frames and at the top of frames.

If the cluster is big,slices have contact all the time to each other but if the cluster is tiny and nosema kills bees in the cluster, the slice will be separated in cold spell.  During warm spell the cluster reorganize again.

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Offline Course Bee

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Re: Does the cluster move in winter?
« Reply #32 on: January 19, 2011, 10:36:59 am »
Finski, I assume you are referring to the space between frames as being a slice, if there are not enough bees to connect the cluster above or below the frame they are isolated except for the heat transfer Through the frame.

Tim
Tim

Offline Finski

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Re: Does the cluster move in winter?
« Reply #33 on: January 19, 2011, 02:24:08 pm »
Finski, I assume you are referring to the space between frames as being a slice, if there are not enough bees to connect the cluster above or below the frame they are isolated except for the heat transfer Through the frame.

Tim

i mean bees between frames. If the food store is finish in there, bee slice will die. It cannot change the place because it is too cold. That happens quite much if winter  is hard.

Italian bee has no proplems because the cluster is really big and often need 2 box for winter.
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Offline Brian D. Bray

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Re: Does the cluster move in winter?
« Reply #34 on: January 22, 2011, 03:35:56 am »
Where I'm at are lowest temperatures of record in the high single digits which occurs about once in 10 years.  Most of the time or low temps don't go below 20F at night and it is not uncommon to have hi temps in the 50s or even 60s immediately following days with highs in the high twenties.
The bees in my area go into cluster after the 1st significant frost which sometimes doesn't happen until close to Thanksgiving. They will often break cluster in late February or early March when we have a stretch of balmy weather and then get hit with another bought of winter of 10-30 days in late March/early April.

This causes large losses in Italians bees at that late snow/ice comes after they have dedicated all their resources to developing brood for the spring.  I've found that Russian Bees seems to work best here because they don't jump into brood production with both feet but instead rely on a gradual build up that allows for better recovery from unexpected or unseasonable freezes and cold stretches.
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Offline Finski

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Re: Does the cluster move in winter?
« Reply #35 on: January 22, 2011, 04:40:40 am »
.
In cold climate it is important that the cluster begings wintering in lower hive box.
That can be arranged so that when I put the hive in wintering condition, i move all brood frames to down box. The cluster begins wintering from the point where last brood have been .

Then the cluster move up and eate its stores gradually.


Insulated warm box means that it helps the cluster change its place
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