overwintered colonies

[T Beek]

Again, if its all about lack of food, how should we consider length of day?  I've always thought it had the most direct impact on brood rearing  :?. 

Honestly, I never considered a lack of food as the beginning of the end of brood rearing, especially since they usually go into winter with plenty of stores/food.

This is becoming confusing, don't you think?

Do bees in the tropics, or even Florida continue raising brood throughout the year then, even during the winter solstice? 

After all, food should be available, but then I know very little about keeping bees outside of Wisconsin :).

thomas

[Finski]

.
Beek, you have not read researches which deal how to  prepare to winterig. Of course
not one factor rules how bees adapt in different  environments. You have not even read about races why they are different and why they react different way.

One factor is short of pollen. It tells that Autumn is coming. In Africa or in Asia bees move to another district to avoid the lack of food. - How they know and how they know to return?

And now your biggest job is to critisitze  what I have had learned in 50 years. You do not want even learn. I see that. These things are well documented internet.

Day lenght - lenghtening and shortening - is the main factor which tell to whole nature what is happening. Even if the Autumn is warm, the whole nature prepare for  wintering.  Nature has dormancy mechanisms which ensure that creatures wake up from dormancy in right time and not too early. Bees kill drones, old queens sto laying earlier, they do not rear drones, swarming times...

You know that flowers have their typical blooming periods. Then they grow their seeds and store nutritions to next year. Trees have a habit how they grow and then they stop the crowing. Too late crowers will die, for example when you fertilize too much.

In Europe there are areas were nature blooms in Spring and in Autumn. Some races have adapted to that cycle. Carniolan race has adapted to mountain environment where Spring and Autumn are very different than in low lands.

[T Beek]

Finski; I fail to see how asking questions implies criticism :roll:.  Would it be better if people just ignore you?  Sometimes I think it might be the smartest solution to your irrational rants. 

(lots of folks around here already ignore me ;) its not so bad 8-) 

In the words of Harry Truman; "I don't give people hell, I just tell them the truth and they think they're in hell." 

Ready?

Why are you here Finski?  If not to pass on your vast knowledge and experience.  You seem to enjoy picking fights more.

Sorry, but I've recognised this odd quirk of yours awhile ago and have called you on it before.  I'm not sure what really sets you off but its been 'your' problem for a while. 

You example a complete inability to 'teach' anyone anything without providing us w/ ample self promoting (hooray for you) of your 50 years of expertise (Frankly, I don't believe it anymore) while simultaneously pointing out everyone Else's 'assumed' failures or lack of ability. 

Instead of providing coherent answers to questions you resort to belittling people with snide, sophomoric and obviously paranoid remarks. 

Then 'you' accuse  people of attacking you :roll:

Your school yard antics (bullying) are just that Finski, and as we all know, its all to easy to call someone out by typing tough talk across the globe. 

Hey, If you don't like answering questions then perhaps you might want to tone down all that back patting you like to give yourself, heh?

That all said, I guess I should 'thank you' for 'kinda' answering one of my questions.  Unfortunately it contradicted what you had typed just a few posts earlier, hence my confusion.

Have a good life, man :)  I'll go back to ignoring you for awhile :)

thomas

[Finski]

I wonder too...

[hardwood]

By the way T Beek, here in FL (at least central FL) the bees raise brood all winter...just not a whole lot. We never have a true "break".

Scott

[T Beek]

Thanks hardwood;  Your statement makes perfect sense to me due to the temps you have down there, as well as the fact that even on Florida's shortest day on the winter solstice, its not even close to ours in Northern Wisconsin (I think we have nearly four hours less sunshine than Florida on the solstice). 

That why I've always considered day length as critical to brood rearing and brood stopping especially in the North, as opposed to a lack of food, either gathered naturally in the open or in the hive after frost. 

I think these are legitimate questions at least deserving of some discussion about overwintered colonies, so thanks again.

thomas