wintering Buckfast bees in Finland
The feeders are removed in mid October and the tarpapers and mousegards are mounted. These bees are Lundén varroaresistant Primorski-Buckfast bees. No treatments against diseases or varroa….
17 Responses to wintering Buckfast bees in Finland
Leave a Reply
Did you notice that I removed the wooden rim from the back of the bottom
board. That makes the air circulate a lot under the hive. The other
“secret” is the 5 cm insulation cover. Water does condensate on it, but
instead on the uninsulated walls. The third secret is that the box can take
13 frames, but I only keep 12, so there is a lot of space on the sides for
the air to circulate. I think your construction makes the bees consume a
lot more sugar. My bees consume in 6 months only 10 kg.
juhanilunden
May 4, 2015 at 3:51 am
Congratulation for your work ! I would like to know if you keep the bee
space to 6mm to increase the temperature of the nest or to increase the
grooming behaviour . I am a beekeeper on the Alps and this winter I tried
to wrap my hives with tarpaper for the first time; thank you for the
beautiful videos !
TheCaptainbee
May 4, 2015 at 4:23 am
Nice video and nice arguments! The upper entrance (witch I used) eliminate
indeed more humidity but in stead the bees consume a bit more. It has some
other advantages too such as the easier cleansing flight or no problems
with snow blocking the entrance. It depends what makes more importance for
you. I’ll try your system these winter with some hives just to have a
comparative. Have a good year!
dan man
May 4, 2015 at 4:52 am
Here in the states winter ventilation is very important. We keep our top
covers slightly open for warm moist air to escape so it doesn’t condense
and drip back on the colony. Every video I see with European beekeeping,
the beekeepers keep a plastic cover directly over the cluster of bees and
then close it down tight. What do the Europeans do that we do differently?
Any suggestions?
Bee Bob
May 4, 2015 at 5:43 am
i am curious the board that you put on at the bottom entrance witch way is
it facing north or south ?
danameable
May 4, 2015 at 6:05 am
I am quite convinced that varroa resistence is not only passed down
through genetics, but through learned behaviour, from one bee to another.
I know beekeepers in Italy and Switzerland that bought queens with hygiene
behaviour but had not good result controlling varroa ; probably buying the
entire colony they would have better results. In the future I’ll work that
way !
TheCaptainbee
May 4, 2015 at 6:32 am
Thanks for commenting. Good ventilation is the key factor. We have had two
hard winters in row. The lowest temperatures have not been anything special
(-35- -40C) but the duration of the freezing temperatures (=under zero
Celsius) have been exceptionally long. The old wisdom still holds: If the
bees are healthy, they have enough food of good quality and a good queen,
it doesn´t matter whats the winter like, the bees will be fine.
juhanilunden
May 4, 2015 at 7:02 am
@jrm6623 exactly those they are I have been using them for 15 years, they
used to be much cheaper sides last longer when you paint them
juhanilunden
May 4, 2015 at 7:25 am
What are you using for outer covers? Those look like cut up sheets of 2″
foam insulation.
John Magnusson
May 4, 2015 at 8:15 am
@juhanilunden How many frames full of bees is minim, in hive, for a good
wintering?
adrianbarosan
May 4, 2015 at 8:49 am
I am looking for a way to keep my bees happier in the winter, it got 18
below this year. This might just work. thanks
wolfcrossing
May 4, 2015 at 9:30 am
I have been breeding for varroatolerance for 10 years now, in the beginning
I started by decreasing the treatment (one time oxalic acid dropping) each
year. I stopped all teratments 2008. Sadly I have still over 60% losses
this year. Hopefully the future is not as hard.
juhanilunden
May 4, 2015 at 10:02 am
What kind of food give to the bees in autum for a good wintering?
adrianbarosan
May 4, 2015 at 10:18 am
@juhanilunden Thanks! that’s a great idea I’ll have to look into as a
possible option.
John Magnusson
May 4, 2015 at 11:12 am
Is there the possibility for me to visit your farm someday? Am really
interested about having a small bee hive as a hobby.
asantekro
May 4, 2015 at 12:07 pm
@adrianbarosan About 25 liters 65% sugar solution. Besides this I do not
feed bees (in case of starvation of course, but no stimulation feeding)
juhanilunden
May 4, 2015 at 12:26 pm
You are writing your bees do not need any treatment against varroa. That´s
surprising. Where do you live in Finland? May it be that there are not so
many beekeepers around whose bees are infecting yours with the mites? A
beekeeper from the Lofoten told me they haven´t any varroas there at all,
and, of corse, they do anything to keep it that way. Search for – “Besuch
am Bienenstand” – on youtube, and you can see the “Iberica”-bees I am
working with. And, sadly, varroa is a big problem…
Aaron Goldberg
May 4, 2015 at 1:12 pm