Thanks Paul - that's a really helpful analysis. And to Dawn - there's
the same range of interests amongst natural beekeepers that there is
amongst people generally. I happen to like numbers and, as Paul says,
adding insulation to my hive, but the bees in my hive are still free to
get on with their lives with only minor occasional disturbance from me -
that's the natural beekeeping bit.
Best wishes
Gilliane
On 08/01/2019 14:58, Oxnatbees wrote:
Don't panic Dawn, there's a whole spectrum of approaches. I think only one or two of us have temperature sensors in our hives. Gilliane has been experimenting with sensors and super-insulation.
Gilliane, a few years ago people would have said "don't worry, they are just gathering pollen opportunistically, getting ready for Spring". It was thought bees did not lay in winter, at all. After varroa arrived in the UK (in 1992) various chemical treatments were advocated, eventually including a winter treatment with oxalic acid. (Which incidentally burns the hairs off bees' eyes - yes they have tiny hairs on their eyes, which are have been shown to be used to gauge wind speed and direction when flying.) To their surprise, when beekeepers pulled frames out in winter - which previously hadn't been necessary - they /sometimes/ found brood being raised.
But not always. I get the impression it is rare. Maybe more common with Italian bees?
So with this in mind, let's look at your data. If brood are being raised, the brood area is at around 35-37C, and kept constant. Your blue sensor is above the entrance, abve the top bars if I recall correctly. The thickness of the bars would buffer / reduce the heat it sees, so you might see it showing say 25 or 30C instead of 35C. But if they were raising brood it would be a fairly /constant/ temperature. Whereas your sensor data tracks ambient outside the hive, and varies by about 25C. So I don't /think/ they are raising brood.
Paul
On Tue, 8 Jan 2019 at 13:12, Dawn Gosling <magikmum49@xxxxxxxxx <mailto:magikmum49@xxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
Oh goodness do you have to have knowledge equivalent to a
scientist? I thought natural bee keeping was just that!! Just set
them up and let them care for themselves is not how it works then 🙁
On Tue, 8 Jan 2019, 12:39 Gilliane Sills
<dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Is there any way of telling whether the queen is laying at the
moment? The bees are taking in pollen and have been doing so
for some time. Does this suggest she's laying, or could the
bees just be collecting for when she starts again?
I've been measuring temperature in the hive, with two sensors
on the top of the top bars, underneath the insulation in the
hive roof, one in the area at the entrance end of the hive
(readings in blue) and one at the far end (readings in red).
A third sensor measures the outside temperature (readings in
green). Any advice about interperting these measurements
would be welcome!
Best wishes
Gilliane
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