# Moisture in Warre



## Houstonbees (Jul 7, 2014)

Hello Bonnie. I've got 3 Warre hives here in Houston, no windows. Solid bottom boards. At times I've seen water dripping out of the entrance during late winter/early spring when the hive picks up in activity. The water you are seeing is nothing unusual. I just checked the weather for central Illinois and I see you have highs in the mid 60's, low's in the lower 40's. The hive is bringing in a lot of pollen and nectar I'd imagine. New brood is being raised, therefore a lot of moisture being released from all of the activity inside the hive. That moisture will condense on the hive sidewalls and run down to the bottom. The bees will actually use that condensed water for purposes inside the hive.
As long as the roof stays on, the quilt remains dry, the bees will regulate the temprature and moisture level inside the hive just fine.
Houstonbees,
Gunther


----------



## bjverano (Jun 18, 2014)

Gunther,
That's good to know. This is my first spring with an overwintered Warre so all is new. There are a lot of dead bees also-at least 100-hard to say how many. I was afraid all that moisture was killing them. Hopefully they are just cleaning house! How often do you replace the cloth on the quilt? Thanks so much for your information. 
Bonnie


----------



## Houstonbees (Jul 7, 2014)

Well, I've got one of my hives that is 2 years old and never have replaced the insulation material in the quilt, nor the cloth used for the bottom of the quilt. I'm using burlap for the material, cedar shavings for the insulation ( the type you buy at pet stores for hamster cage bedding? ). Keeps the bugs out, they don't like the cedar. The bees seem to be ok with it. Sandwiched between the top of the top bars and under the burlap is window screening to prevent the girls from chewing through the burlap and to prevent them from propolizeing the bottom of the quilt to the top bars. Makes it MUCH EASIER to separate and remove the quilt from the top of the hive if you need to.
Regards,
Gunther


----------



## Houstonbees (Jul 7, 2014)

One more thing. The 100 or so dead bees you've seen are most likely the bees that made it through the winter and are dying off. If you've got pollen going in brood is being raised that will replace the old maids that got the hive this far.
Regards,
Gunther


----------



## bjverano (Jun 18, 2014)

Gunther ,
They looked fine this evening so that's probably what happened. I've got a screen on my quilt too and it is really easy to pop off. The swarm I caught last night is doing ok today. 
Thanks for the info. 
Bonnie


----------

