# Winter in Michigan



## shannonswyatt (May 7, 2012)

Not quite as bad in Virginia, but I'll be surprised as well. At least you have a layer of insulating snow on your hives!


----------



## PatBeek (Jan 13, 2012)

.

If anyone needs bees this spring, I may have some:


----------



## Mr.Beeman (May 19, 2012)

Let's hope they do. If so, they will be amazing the following year.
Welcome to the site BTW.


----------



## chr157y (Feb 14, 2013)

It's frigid here in PA too. My bees are still alive.... for now.


----------



## Colleen O. (Jun 5, 2012)

Mine that I left out has almost as much snow on it here in Missouri. Is that your only hive?


----------



## jmgi (Jan 15, 2009)

I had very good success wintering top bar hives here in Michigan with no insulation or wrapping, but never was it this cold I don't believe.


----------



## beeman2009 (Aug 23, 2012)

It is seldom the cold that kills bees, it's the condensation. They get wet, freeze & die. If you have good ventilation, large enough cluster & plenty of food your bees should make it fine. However I must add that there is no guarantee. There are other factors that come into play such as the health of the bees going into winter. Hope all goes well.


----------



## jsbyers (Dec 3, 2012)

First year beekeeper here in Michigan and worried a little. I went out yesterday during the bitter cold storm and put my ear to a couple of my hives and heard them buzz. Gave me hope but it is still early. Let's hope for an early spring.


----------



## jmgi (Jan 15, 2009)

jsbyers, that is reason for hope for sure, if they're still buzzin after a few days of this arctic cold, then that tells you that the cluster must be large enough to generate the heat they need to stay alive. All they need now is to stay in contact with food, and there'e a good chance they will make it.


----------



## Silverbackotter (Feb 23, 2013)

Here in Wyo we are dealing w/ the same. -22 yesterday and a 28 mph wind last night. I keep hoping we get a chinook that gets us some 60s so I can open them and pour some sugar in because I have a couple that I am sure are going to be short on supplies. I hope with the gentle breeze that the condensation isn't an issue.


----------



## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

Subzero does do in some of the weak hives. It usually doesn't kill the strong ones.


----------



## Life is Good! (Feb 22, 2013)

Subzero in Northern Illinois as well for far longer than is comfortable for ANY body. I had insisted on a wind-break for our beeyard of 2 hives - think 5/8" plywood really helped protect from the Polar Vortex - 50+mph winds reading 45 degrees below zero sustained for 48hrs or more? 

I can only hope!

Tried to hear for the cluster with a stethoscope - to no avail. It's still too cold and I wasn't about to remove wrapping just for my curiosity. There were 3 new dead bees outside the hive - fairly far from hive, like they flew out and died. (About 3' in front of hive and 4' in front of hive....both hives had at least one dead bee). 









And mother nature closed off the entrances for me! Should I open them further, or let the bees?









Stay warm everyone!


----------



## PatBeek (Jan 13, 2012)

Just brutal.


----------



## Top Bar (Jan 9, 2014)

Do any of you guys insulate your hives? Does that seem to help?


----------



## jmgi (Jan 15, 2009)

The way I look at it is, a hive of bees that has 2" rigid foamboard on the top and all four sides and maybe the bottom also must be better off than a hive with nothing done to it when it comes to helping with brutal cold. That being said, who has the time for all of that except those with only a few hives. Ventilation is very important, a small reduced bottom entrance and a small top entrance are required things, both remaining unobstructed.


----------



## shannonswyatt (May 7, 2012)

My cousin checked a nuc and it made it fine. It wasn't insulated. He tried to knock on his big hives, but he didn't hear anything. I'm sure they are fine though. If a little nuc can make it a big hive with more bees/stores should be fine. His only change was a swap to solid bottoms in the fall.


----------



## RudyT (Jan 25, 2012)

thanks for the video. I haven't been able to hold a frame for far too long.


----------



## shannonswyatt (May 7, 2012)

Rudy, my TBH's made it. A bit surprised. The little one had the top blown off and we didn't notice it. Good bees, maybe they will make it to spring!


----------



## stdavis (Nov 2, 2013)

jmgi: How do you put a top entrance in a top bar hive?


----------



## shannonswyatt (May 7, 2012)

Move a bar back, that makes a top entrance. That is how Michael Bush runs his top bar hives. You could always just drill a hole in a bar if you wanted a top entrance as well.


----------



## stdavis (Nov 2, 2013)

shannonswyatt said:


> Move a bar back, that makes a top entrance. That is how Michael Bush runs his top bar hives. You could always just drill a hole in a bar if you wanted a top entrance as well.


Thanks, for the tip but I'm still having trouble picturing how it works. Wouldn't the top cover (lid) cover up a gap in between the bars?


----------



## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>Wouldn't the top cover (lid) cover up a gap in between the bars? 

That depends on the design of your hive and cover. Mine the bars rest on the sides (no rabbet to let them down into the box) and the cover sets on top of the bars. So if you looked from the side you would see the ends of the bars visible between the cover (top) and the box (bottom). The front is the same layers so if the front bar is back 1/2" then that 1/2" gap is the entrance.

If you have a telescopic cover, and/or you have rabbeted rests for the bars, then this may not work this way.


----------



## stdavis (Nov 2, 2013)

It's an honor to get a direct response from you, Michael. I've read most of your website and was blown away with your knowledge and willingness to share. It's made all of the difference to me as a new beekeeper.

I am planning on making one with a telescopic cover. Would an entrance drilled into the side of the hive just under where the cover comes down work?


----------



## plcnut (Mar 8, 2013)

Mine are built like MB's, except I made a telescoping cover with 1" foam inside, and left one end open (where the entrance is). So far so good.


----------



## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>I am planning on making one with a telescopic cover. Would an entrance drilled into the side of the hive just under where the cover comes down work? 

I always cringe at the thought of drilling holes in boxes, but yes it would work. I wouldn't do the work of the telescopic cover... I love simplicity...


----------



## shannonswyatt (May 7, 2012)

I made a peaked roof on the first hive, but now I have moved to simpler tops. They are telescopic, but made from coraplast, foam and a wooden frame. I doubt that I would have enough TBH's to have to worry about the cost/time of a telescopic lid. I would like to get to were I have "one too many" TBH's and then after that the rest would be Langs, or something else.


----------



## Darb (Apr 22, 2012)

It warmed up to the 30's this weekend, so I tapped on the side, I heard them buzz, so they've made it this far... 
I'll still be amazed if they make it... they never really became as strong a colony after swarming last summer.
My two Warre hives appear to be dead. Feral bees, they never really built up...


----------



## hideawayranch (Mar 5, 2013)

stdavis said:


> jmgi: How do you put a top entrance in a top bar hive?


I just have a couple of holes drilled up high. One top bar sealed it up, finished the job just before winter hit. The other top bar ignored it and found a crack between the bottom and the swinging door which is their floor. Silly me, smart bees, never know from one hive to the next what they will do.


----------

