Thank you for what you do! I've been wintering for about 10 years on two 3/4 beds, without additional insulation. Honey consumption is somewhat higher, but the explosion of the bee nest is very strong in spring.
You are correct. If you put a piece of foam packing sheet or mesh over the cluster frames in fall, the bees will use propolis to seal the sheet/mesh to the frames, allowing them optimal efficiency. Bees definitely need something over them to propolize. They need to use their cluster slight movements to stir air slowly.
Thank you for the details and your time for making these videos. I insulated my hive over the summer which let them self-regulate their environment when it was over 100℉ outside. Now in the winter I see they are maintaining 86℉ in side their double deeps while the temps outside dip below 20℉ (Massachusetts). They are using very little energy to maintain the internal temperature. R-10 on the sides, R-40 on the top, closed screen bottom board for drainage. Monitoring inside temp. humidity & weight. Thanks again for all you analysis!
No worries, I am happy you discovered the summer application. So many misconceptions. Who wants a home with low insulation with high summer cooling A/C loads!! I have the opposite summer challenge here with cool nights 5-10C are my typical nights with monthly frost from May to September... Without insulation my honey crops would be minimal as it would all be used to keep the nest warm.
The bees physically move up/down the comb, gently stirring air very subtly. Like a blender. A microscopic slow rotation. It’s maintenance mode. Like a slow hurricane on the comb. Unless they are disturbed, bees will develop a routine collectively. They use environmental pressure to regulate to.
Etienne I could not live there, Just a couple of questions the video was great and my questions are not about bees. It is about life there. with all that snow do people still go to work school, where I am if we had snow like thatnis would just shut everything down and pipes would bust in every home. How do u do it. Thanks I hope u have a Blessed week. Merry Christmas to u and your family.
We chuckle when we see folks down south shut things down. You get used to it. Like this morning we woke up to -38C and the high today was -30C. You are just more careful, keep winter tires on year round, I keep an arctic sleeping bag in the car with candles.
*** it’s not the other frame.. it’s the sides of THE FRAME they are on (front /back wall). They do it best when they can propolize something to the frame above them. The bees create a subtle breeze simply by moving. This is coordinated to move air around them. It’s best subtly seen when bees don’t have an extremely tight emergency“survival” cluster. If they have a well established internal control, you see it. When you pop the lid, you destroy it. They have to work hard to create the subtle pressure system. It’s like barometric pressure concept… on the frames they are occupying. It requires virtually minimal amount of energy. It’s like your hand. Just you moving it creates a breeze. A cluster is a slow mo circulation fan. Now the question is it tied to the hot /cold sides (the direction they decide to move air during cold dearths).
No need to move a 20 to 40 sometimes 60 degree C temperature difference will create in itself air movement, just adjusting the porosity of the bees covering the bee space will affect the air. The stack/buoyancy effect in a convective (differences in air density has significant flow). I can see and feel air coming out of the hive and on the human scale my cabin being heated by my wood stove. Air infiltration around door frames as air is leaked out of the micro seams.
Great video. I use a floor entrance with a 1 1/2 inch hole. It allows condensation to drain and easier for bees to clean out dead bees. I try to keep thermal mass under my hives. I have Lazutin hives made of 2 by with r 8 foam and nail boards for bear armor with a plastic wrap about 2 feet off the ground. The frozen ground radiates cold. I leave around 70-80 lbs in hive for winter. But 15 Lazutin frames that are size of double deep Langstroth frames. My first hive was a Langstroth and bees died with honey above them in winter. So I run double deep frames now.
Thanks for explaining all this! One question though: do I understand correctly that you have the combs perpendicular to the entrance, so as to block the airflow a bit? I'm from Sweden myself, 55 north.
more important he has the cluster above the entrance an a volume below level of entrance so cold air gets in sinks calms and prevents turbulence inside near cluster.
No... I typically run them with a partially open screen bottom board that is protected from the elements (skirting and snow covered). So no drafts and a place for excess condensation to drain.
How big would you make your entrance if you have great insulation on top and decent insulation on the sides? Like could i cut the entrance in half of your recommendation for a single entrance and single 10 frame box (5cmX1cm for a 5 frame nuc)
That’s where a temperature sensor about an inch inside your lower entrance comes in handy, especially on a single. My entrance is now 2.5 inches by 5/8”. Lower temp at -25 was -1C. Target between-5 to 5C
So question I have 3 inch on my tops on my wood hives and then I used reflectics Bubble wrap on my sides is this considered a good insulation some say yes some say no it’s not the cheap thin stuff it’s actual refletics
For your area, that should be fine. The key with reflectix is to make sure you form a sealed shell so it holds heat in. Some will keep oneside longer so that it can be folded on top. A version of this with more top insulation would be my choice for your climate. I would go reflectix shell, with this type of cover over and 2"+ of top insulation. The top vent would be optional. ruclips.net/video/Kx5iTYH102k/видео.htmlsi=s6snBqTTTkJWsL_f&t=664
@ yes that’s pretty well how I have it set up on my few wood hives I also put a peace on the top then 3 1/2 insulation board the reflectix thanks for your help my friend
great , your vent channels documentation should interest science guys, I think no one of those has anything alike yet. You have open bottom, right? You have good quality queens, with strong big colonies.
Remember Mr Palmer has mild weather compared to here, but he gets much more snow that provides much protection. Some places here the hive will be covered in snow for most of the winter, so in that case the top entrance makes sense with a small lower entrance. It provides the bees with a guaranteed clear entrance (impossible to check in winter in these conditions). I do occasionally have to do some entrance maintenance.
I wintered bees in plastic pro nuc with a jar lid hole cut out and not even a jar in it. I felt bad and threw handful of grass over it one day.We had -13 f last winter ..they lived until spring rains came. Healthy bees winter in anything...
That they are!! one things I want to people to understand is the principle of "how much cold" (HDD - Heating degree days) to get a better idea of how long the winter marathon actually is. It will also help people compare apples to apples.
MOAR CHARTS!! Love your channel Etienne, thanks for standing out in the frosty beeyard & for the deep dive in thermoregulation.
Thank you!!
Thank you for what you do! I've been wintering for about 10 years on two 3/4 beds, without additional insulation. Honey consumption is somewhat higher, but the explosion of the bee nest is very strong in spring.
You are correct. If you put a piece of foam packing sheet or mesh over the cluster frames in fall, the bees will use propolis to seal the sheet/mesh to the frames, allowing them optimal efficiency. Bees definitely need something over them to propolize. They need to use their cluster slight movements to stir air slowly.
Very well done, thanks for this, many people don't understand how natural ventilation works.
I hope this helps share the science and drivers that will help our bees through the winter.
Thank you for the details and your time for making these videos. I insulated my hive over the summer which let them self-regulate their environment when it was over 100℉ outside. Now in the winter I see they are maintaining 86℉ in side their double deeps while the temps outside dip below 20℉ (Massachusetts). They are using very little energy to maintain the internal temperature. R-10 on the sides, R-40 on the top, closed screen bottom board for drainage. Monitoring inside temp. humidity & weight. Thanks again for all you analysis!
No worries, I am happy you discovered the summer application. So many misconceptions. Who wants a home with low insulation with high summer cooling A/C loads!! I have the opposite summer challenge here with cool nights 5-10C are my typical nights with monthly frost from May to September... Without insulation my honey crops would be minimal as it would all be used to keep the nest warm.
The bees physically move up/down the comb, gently stirring air very subtly. Like a blender. A microscopic slow rotation. It’s maintenance mode. Like a slow hurricane on the comb. Unless they are disturbed, bees will develop a routine collectively. They use environmental pressure to regulate to.
I been waiting 😅thanks my man for explaining I hope you have a great Christmas 🎄🎄
I love your logo. Very cute
Thank you!! So easy to make now with all those AI tools.
Etienne I could not live there, Just a couple of questions the video was great and my questions are not about bees. It is about life there. with all that snow do people still go to work school, where I am if we had snow like thatnis would just shut everything down and pipes would bust in every home. How do u do it. Thanks I hope u have a Blessed week. Merry Christmas to u and your family.
We chuckle when we see folks down south shut things down. You get used to it. Like this morning we woke up to -38C and the high today was -30C. You are just more careful, keep winter tires on year round, I keep an arctic sleeping bag in the car with candles.
The houses are very well insulated. And the water pipes are buried deep in the ground.
*** it’s not the other frame.. it’s the sides of THE FRAME they are on (front /back wall). They do it best when they can propolize something to the frame above them. The bees create a subtle breeze simply by moving. This is coordinated to move air around them. It’s best subtly seen when bees don’t have an extremely tight emergency“survival” cluster.
If they have a well established internal control, you see it. When you pop the lid, you destroy it. They have to work hard to create the subtle pressure system. It’s like barometric pressure concept… on the frames they are occupying. It requires virtually minimal amount of energy. It’s like your hand. Just you moving it creates a breeze. A cluster is a slow mo circulation fan. Now the question is it tied to the hot /cold sides (the direction they decide to move air during cold dearths).
No need to move a 20 to 40 sometimes 60 degree C temperature difference will create in itself air movement, just adjusting the porosity of the bees covering the bee space will affect the air. The stack/buoyancy effect in a convective (differences in air density has significant flow). I can see and feel air coming out of the hive and on the human scale my cabin being heated by my wood stove. Air infiltration around door frames as air is leaked out of the micro seams.
Great video. I use a floor entrance with a 1 1/2 inch hole. It allows condensation to drain and easier for bees to clean out dead bees. I try to keep thermal mass under my hives. I have Lazutin hives made of 2 by with r 8 foam and nail boards for bear armor with a plastic wrap about 2 feet off the ground. The frozen ground radiates cold. I leave around 70-80 lbs in hive for winter. But 15 Lazutin frames that are size of double deep Langstroth frames. My first hive was a Langstroth and bees died with honey above them in winter. So I run double deep frames now.
I am glad you have found a good system that works for you!
Thanks for explaining all this! One question though: do I understand correctly that you have the combs perpendicular to the entrance, so as to block the airflow a bit?
I'm from Sweden myself, 55 north.
more important he has the cluster above the entrance an a volume below level of entrance so cold air gets in sinks calms and prevents turbulence inside near cluster.
I am from Berlin 53 North 😉
No they are standard langstroth (seams line up with entrance). I did some reading that showed very minor difference (cold vs hot).
Great video and explanations. Do you also have an insulated bottom?
No... I typically run them with a partially open screen bottom board that is protected from the elements (skirting and snow covered). So no drafts and a place for excess condensation to drain.
I hear you breathing threw your noise icing up 😂
How big would you make your entrance if you have great insulation on top and decent insulation on the sides? Like could i cut the entrance in half of your recommendation for a single entrance and single 10 frame box (5cmX1cm for a 5 frame nuc)
That’s where a temperature sensor about an inch inside your lower entrance comes in handy, especially on a single. My entrance is now 2.5 inches by 5/8”. Lower temp at -25 was -1C. Target between-5 to 5C
What size of entrances do you use?
typically in the 4" range equivalent.
So question I have 3 inch on my tops on my wood hives and then I used reflectics
Bubble wrap on my sides is this considered a good insulation some say yes some say no it’s not the cheap thin stuff it’s actual refletics
For your area, that should be fine. The key with reflectix is to make sure you form a sealed shell so it holds heat in. Some will keep oneside longer so that it can be folded on top. A version of this with more top insulation would be my choice for your climate. I would go reflectix shell, with this type of cover over and 2"+ of top insulation. The top vent would be optional. ruclips.net/video/Kx5iTYH102k/видео.htmlsi=s6snBqTTTkJWsL_f&t=664
@ yes that’s pretty well how I have it set up on my few wood hives I also put a peace on the top then 3 1/2 insulation board the reflectix thanks for your help my friend
great , your vent channels documentation should interest science guys, I think no one of those has anything alike yet.
You have open bottom, right?
You have good quality queens, with strong big colonies.
Seeley recommends R30 above and R10 sides - from natural tree cavities
top vent hole is an US fad, Palmer unfortunately makes this abomination prominent,
@@emindeboer5280he needs it so bees have entrance...if you have clusters like him it doesn't really matter...
Remember Mr Palmer has mild weather compared to here, but he gets much more snow that provides much protection. Some places here the hive will be covered in snow for most of the winter, so in that case the top entrance makes sense with a small lower entrance. It provides the bees with a guaranteed clear entrance (impossible to check in winter in these conditions). I do occasionally have to do some entrance maintenance.
I agree with that
I wintered bees in plastic pro nuc with a jar lid hole cut out and not even a jar in it. I felt bad and threw handful of grass over it one day.We had -13 f last winter ..they lived until spring rains came. Healthy bees winter in anything...
That they are!! one things I want to people to understand is the principle of "how much cold" (HDD - Heating degree days) to get a better idea of how long the winter marathon actually is. It will also help people compare apples to apples.