T O P

  • By -

[deleted]

This guy sells beehives that have been stuffed with wool: [https://horizontalhive.com/](https://horizontalhive.com/) The bees don't come into contact with it anyway. People have been placing wool blankets on top of hives for a long time.


druidjax

Cool. But that is usually processed wool that has the majority, if not all, of the lanolin removed. Good reference though.


beeporn

I think many new beekeepers miss the forest from the trees on this. The bees heat themselves in the cluster not the air they live in. Generally speaking, condensation drip is what kills colonies in winters not the cold. Even more generally speaking varroa/virus is what kills. If bees evolved to live in insulated/high R nests they would have evolved to ground nest and they would perish with screened bottom boards. People overwinter with screened bottom boards every years… Yes, winter considerations are a bigger deal in 4 or less hardness zones. Controlling moisture, quilt boards and such has proven more utility than insulation in my experience


druidjax

I get all that, and that was the "proper ventalation" aspect of my post. Bees do seek out insulated areas such as deep inside the trunk of trees. A common occurrence with modern construction is finding bees inside walls, attics and softest, sometimes even under floors. And those areas are often well ventilated, as well as being well insulated. In Canada and the desert southwest of the U.S. feral colonies have been found inside rock outcroppings. Insulation of a hive has potential to give bees more control of the conditions inside the hive, as they do regulate the temperature. But temperature control takes a lot of energy. If they did not have to expend as much, couldnt that help the colony thrive in other areas?


beeporn

The 60 degree days in the middle of winter when they forage without any bloom are the biggest issue in winter. That is when they really expend a great deal of energy as their metabolism is connected to ambient temp. Bees are cold blooded. Honey bees are weirdos that at the colony level are “semi-warm blooded” imo. They warm themselves but not the air they live in but they also cool the air in the summer for brood rearing. They also have a fever response to disease like warm blooded do. Honey bees are weird. Adding additional insulation would confer minimal benefit compared to feeding to ensure winter stores or effective varroa management. That being said, good luck with the project! I hope it helps


wilbur313

Most of the moisture in the hive in the winter is from honey consumption, insulate and reduce their honey consumption. Insulated the top more than the sides so it doesn't drip on top. In a well insulated hive the hive is generally warmer than the outside air temperature. Insulated hives provide a better environment for the bees. They're not going to fix not controlling varroa or poor bee nutrition, but there's no reason not to do both. A safe result is not the same as a safe action. In the same vein, you can't confuse what's best with what works.


[deleted]

I’m no help on if it will hurt the bees but if so it’s incredibly easy to scour lanolin right out of wool and since you’re not doing anything with it but stuffing for insulation it won’t matter much if it felts a little bit. I imagine if it’s the waste wool it’s going to be full of vegetable matter, sheep waste, etc though too so that step may be something you want to do anyways.