hey tim, i just opened the hive up, we are having a williwa, and temps are above freezing. peeked in, they had plenty of sugar but i put another 3-4 lbs on the sugar board and closed things back up. the temps were around 88-90 degrees in the hive. (according to the thermometer setup i put in there) so, i would say so far so good, but....its early. i think the varroa mite treatment you put on them and the foam hive boxes and extra on the outside is going to make a difference. i am cautiously optimistic.
If they're well insulated, they're fine. I'm looking forward to Etienne's temperature data. He usually has extreme winters, but this one is even colder (at least in the short term).
That is very cold. Close to -29°C. For how long has it been that cold? Do you border the broodnest before they go into winter? ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-oOSkUjZ56pw.html Your buzzing intro is cool! All the best for your bees and you
The theme song was a family affair; my teenage daughter provided the disinterested "Bzz" at the very beginning, and my wife thought up the trailing "Bzz" at the end. It's supposed to be fun, and I'm glad you liked it. It's been colder than normal for a month or so, but we're only getting about 10 days of this extreme cold (unless the forecast changes again). I don't put any insulation inside the hive, but I use poly boxes with additional insulation above and on the exterior. I believe the latest research recommends R17 on the sides and R40 above for climates like ours.
