# Hive Placement - Full Sun or Partial Shade



## Ted n Ms (Apr 25, 2008)

I have all of mine in full sun. Sometime we reach 100 degrees. Yes it's hot and puts stress on the bees. But not as much stress as shb. :lookout:


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## Mike Gillmore (Feb 25, 2006)

If you have a choice, a sunny location should be your first pick. Hives in shady locations never seem to be as prolific as those in full sun. They can be more prone to pests and ailments such as chalkbrood. It's more uncomfortable for the beekeeper, but so much better for the bees. And then you won't have to bite your nails worrying about falling limbs every time a storm comes through.


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## Panhandle Scott (Jul 11, 2009)

Thanks all....I was leaning toward the more open full sun location even though I think the hives would probably do just as good in the partial since it does not stay moist or is in constant shade but just the thought of a branch destroying a hive makes it a no brainer for me.

Even though having the hives under partial shade would look more appealing as far as visual beauty it makes more sense to have them in the open.

A question for Ted n Ms or others here....having hives in full sun, does that lessen the chance of SHB's


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## dixie_beek (Aug 4, 2009)

After listening to all the pros and cons, I chose to go with full sun due to our intense SHB problem in the deep south. Guess what, full sun does not slow the SHB even with ground drenched with GardStar. If you aren't using the big oil pan traps on the bottom board down here, you're going to have beetle problems when establishing new colonies. 

My mentors with hundreds of multi-story hives in the shade do not have as much problem with SHB primarily because their colonies are so strong in numbers.


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## fish_stix (May 17, 2009)

All the bee experts recommend full sun to lessen SHB. Besides, your bees will do better overall in full sun and not be as mean as those in shade. Just keep them well ventilated as with Screened Bottom Boards.


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## JFinLandOLakes (Aug 14, 2009)

I have read some information about using both a screened bottom as well as using a screened but weather protected vent on the top. 

Not only to help with the moisture but also to help the bees keep the hive at the right temp in the full sun.

I'm in central florida so we have both the heat and humidity.

This is an area I'm researching now as I'm going to start building my hives myself. I have a cypress saw mill a 1/4 mile down the road from me 

Jonathan
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## Ross (Apr 30, 2003)

Full sun, SBB, and a stick under one corner of the top. You don't need fancy screens on the top, just a small stick to raise one corner.


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## USCBeeMan (Feb 7, 2009)

My personal experience.....SHBs don't care about shade or full sun. The hives with the worse SHB problems are in full sun.


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## Panhandle Scott (Jul 11, 2009)

So can I throw a mongoose or bacon wrapped skunk under the top cover to eat the SHB's

I guess it seems either sun or partial shade makes no difference with these buggers.

Another question about SHB's...do they occur naturally in your landscape or yard but do not become apparent after you have hives or do they for some reason migrate and actively seek out hives. I have seen pics of SHB's but have never once seen them in my yard or is it just a generic term for any small bodied beetle that invades. We have plenty of them around that mostly feed on wood debris or leaf litter but they look nothing like the pics.


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## Joseph Clemens (Feb 12, 2005)

A few times I've left a hive in full-sun -- what a horrible mess. I promised myself and the bees that I would not do that to them ever again. I still lament the loss of those three colonies. All my nucs are in "total shade", the only way I am comfortable with.


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## JFinLandOLakes (Aug 14, 2009)

I was thinking the same thing. I just moved two new hives into my yard.
So where would they (SHB) come from?

I've had them here for three weeks and all looks good so far.


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## KeyBeeper (Jun 7, 2009)

Under hardwood tree shade is ideal in my opinion. Shade in the summer that gradually goes to near full sun as the leaves drop in the fall and winter.



Joseph Clemens said:


> A few times I've left a hive in full-sun -- what a horrible mess. I promised myself and the bees that I would not do that to them ever again. I still lament the loss of those three colonies. All my nucs are in "total shade", the only way I am comfortable with.


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## StevenG (Mar 27, 2009)

What becomes obvious, reading these various postings, is that your local geographical location determines the amount of shade your hives require. The weather thru the summer months in northern climes doesn't require the shade southern California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and Texas require. In my particular location, SE Missouri, light shade works better than full sun or full shade... So, pay attention to your locale!
Regards,
Steven


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## honeyman46408 (Feb 14, 2003)

JFinLandOLakes said:


> I just moved two new hives into my yard.So where would they (SHB) come from?


Adult SHBs can fly 20 to 30 miles in a day.


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## devdog108 (May 7, 2009)

When i Hived my package and up to about 3 weeks ago, I hadnt seen an SHB anywhere. I was going through every frame, slowly removing and stacking in a homemade stand for them so I could check the box as well. Last week i saw one run into the lower deep, so I took off the upper medium, I didnt just find one, but 5. After that, I closed my top cover. I havent been able to look lately because of the rain, but when the sun comes out, I am goin into the bottom again to make sure nothing else is going on!


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## Parke County Queen (May 22, 2006)

fish_stix said:


> All the bee experts recommend full sun to lessen SHB. Besides, your bees will do better overall in full sun and not be as mean as those in shade. Just keep them well ventilated as with Screened Bottom Boards.



Why would bees in the shade be meaner? I haven't had that experience. I have noticed that they don't produce as much honey, but no difference in temperment.


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## DRUR (May 24, 2009)

Ok, I am in east Texas, and have seen 115F with high humidity. Seen over 45 strait days of 100F+ temperatures, and have had bees in full shade, partial shade and no shade. I have never seen any difference in aggressiveness, honey production etc. due to location, but I have seen combs get so soft they fell out of the frames when located in full sun and the temperatures run 100+F with high humidity. These hight temperatures can't be good for the bees. 

It does seem to me that during the hotest part of the summer, my colonies completely shut down brood rearing. I reckon it gets to hot to raise the brood. This happened for most of the month of August this year.

I believe that bearding occurs by young bees (who don't fly yet) or older bees when there is not flow, and they hang on the outside to keep heat from accumulating inside the colony. Certainly bees evaporate water, to cool the colony, but seems like the flapping of wings would also generate heat. So there is just so many bees that help evaporate the water and then the law of diminishing returns sets in. Also, mine seem to beard more with combination of high temperatures and high humidity.

I can't see why the shade would affect the SHB population myself?

I have seen it posted before that (by reliable beeks who I trust their judgment) bees produce more in the sun and are more aggressive in the shade. I try to locate my shady colonies facing east where they get the early morning sun, lighter so they work earlier (my logical deduction anyway), and the shade on the west side so they are shielded from the hot afternoon sun.


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## DRUR (May 24, 2009)

fish_stix said:


> All the bee experts recommend full sun to lessen SHB. Besides, your bees will do better overall in full sun and not be as mean as those in shade.


Hmmm, wonder what makes one a bee 'expert'. Any studies, scientific or otherwise to support these conclusions? And what is good for a goose is not always good for the gander, regardless of what some may say, and neither is what is good in the south, good for the north either. Different areas will have different results. We have high humidities in east Texas. When temperatures push well over 100F it is hard for the bees to keep the colonies cool, but that may be different in Arizona/Indiana/Montana/Maine/Florida or whereever.


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## Gene Weitzel (Dec 6, 2005)

I am in South East Texas with lots of high temps and humidity. All my 100+ hives and my mating nucs are kept in the full sun. Every time I put one in a shady spot, the SHB become unmanageable. The key to keeping them in full sun is ventilation. SHB require a humid environment for the eggs to hatch and need softer soil around the hive to pupate in. With your hives in full sun and plenty of ventilation (like open SBB's) the humidity is reduced. Also the ground around the hives tends to be much harder. This is not an environment favorable to the SHB. It does not mean that they cannot still survive in it. It means they find it less favorable. My experience has been that when you combine this with strong hives (strong does not necessarily mean large) they become a non-issue. There is no way around keeping a close eye on weaker colonies in SHB territory. I personally don't fool much with weak colonies, I either shake them out or combine them together. Another advantage to placement in full sun is that the bees will start work earlier and quit later.

One other thing, the presence of a few beetles in a hive does not necessarily mean you have a problem. I have a few in every one of my hives. They will always be there. They feed on honey and pollen. In a strong well ventilated hive the bees keep them sequestered and keep what few larvae hatch cleaned out of the hive. If you are in prime SHB territory and you keep your hives in too much shade and without adequate ventilation I can almost guarantee that the SHB will get ahead of them and they will either abscond or die out. Even in the full sun, the SHB will destroy a weak hive in short order.


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## DRUR (May 24, 2009)

Gene Weitzel said:


> I am in South East Texas with lots of high temps and humidity. All my 100+ hives and my mating nucs are kept in the full sun. Every time I put one in a shady spot, the SHB become unmanageable.


Sheesh, see what I mean about comments by those experts I hold in hight esteem.:lpf:

Gene, I know its probably more humid in Cleveland, but you don't have the temperatures that we get here. I dwelt in Bellaire for several years back in the indiscretions of my youth (I got better sense now). Rarely gets much over 100F or actually over about 95F. Cleveland is little further North, but not much. 100 miles further south do make a difference., Thanks for the comment, gotta coin to flip?


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## Gene Weitzel (Dec 6, 2005)

Danny,

Where I am located is a good 50 - 60 miles north east of Bellaire and some of my hive yards are an hour or more north of me. My bees are exposed to lots of days at or near 100F, but it is rare to get to 110F, however with the humidity the heat index routinely exceeds 105. If I were to put a hive in the full sun here without adequate ventilation, the combs would definately collapse. I would love it if our temp rarely exceeded 95F as you claim. One other thing, I guess I should define "full sun". For me it does not mean no shade, it means 8+ hours in the sun.

PS: By the way, when you compare the temperature station charts for Palestine, TX and Cleveland, TX at the Southern Regional Climate center, there is no significant difference in the maximum temps between the two locations. In fact it has been cooler in Palestine than it was in Cleveland since about the middle of July.


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## DRUR (May 24, 2009)

Gene Weitzel said:


> I guess I should define "full sun". For me it does not mean no shade, it means 8+ hours in the sun.


I would call that shade in the late afternoon, from about 3-3:30 PM, for those which are lucky enough to have the most shade (which would be 8+ hours of sun). Some on the edges of the treeline get a little less. So I guess we are in agreement afterall. It is not uncommon for us to have 100-107F (several days or weeks), and occasionally 110 +. We also have 60%+ humidities often with 100+ temperatures. I think it is this combination of both 100F+ temperatures with 50-60+% humidity, which is the most stressfull for the bees.


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## Gene Weitzel (Dec 6, 2005)

I would say that most of my hives are in the sun a little longer, they don't start seeing shade until around 4:00 to 5:00 pm. With all the trees on neighboring tracts most of them get patchy sun in the mornings until about 8:00 AM. However, they still get enough morning sun that they get going pretty good before that.


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## FordGuy (Jul 10, 2005)

to the person that said SHB doesn't care about full sun: part of their life cycle is to pupate, full sun on clay land makes the clay undesirable.


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## chrissv (Oct 12, 2008)

I have my 2 hives (in central MA) along the edge of my woods in my back yard, and during spring and sumer they got about 75% sun and 25% shade (as the sun moved around). Now it is about 25% sun and 75% shade (different sun position).

I noticed the activity in my hives is never as busy as those of other people who have their hives in full sun. Unfortunately moving the hives is not an option for me (residential area; limited choices for location). I am going to cut down some smaller trees and remove some branches to increase the sun exposure. I'd love to have them in full sun.

I've never seen my hives beard, so I do not think heat is a problem.


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## edensway (Sep 27, 2010)

How many hours per day is considered full sun?


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## Stephen (Mar 2, 2011)

Mine are in the sun for about 70%-80% of the day. Early morning and late evening they get shade from the oaks on either side of them.


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## edensway (Sep 27, 2010)

Mine currently get direct sunlight from 6 AM till about 3 PM. They sit against a treeline facing the east. Is that sufficient?


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## hoodswoods (May 15, 2009)

If you can manage it, full sun thru mid-afternoon - then a break for them around tea time til dark


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

In my experience the only "con" to full sun all day is that I have to work in the sun to work them... otherwise they are more productive and healthier in my experience.


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## edensway (Sep 27, 2010)

Michael Bush - your website is down.


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## EODDVTDR (Feb 20, 2011)

Scott,
I'm also in Washington county and keep half my bees in full and half in partial sun. From my experience, the bees in full sun are more active and productive. I have noticed no difference in demeanor due to full sun or shade. Also, I have been fortunate and not experienced any comb collapse so far. As far as SHB, I believe my full sun hives have less issues due to the fact they are more active. Todd


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## tjay (Jun 17, 2015)

I started 4 hives in Bakewell Tennessee in about 2004. One received morning and evening sun but none at noon. Two were completely shaded except late afternoon. One was in light shade (shadow) all day. I lost 3 of the 4 in 2013. All were located within 100 yards of one another. The only one that survived was the hive which was shaded all day. It is still going strong today. None of the hives had every been treated and only enough honey was taken for my own use. A couple of shallow frames from each hive max. Except for the harvesting of this tiny amount of honey, once I got them one deep, 3 mediums and one shallow tall the hives lived as feral for 9 years without any problems. They were killed by varroa and hive beetles. I am not sure full sun is not as big a strain as the hive beetle.


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