Beesource Beekeeping Forums banner

Photo of bearding with question

3K views 21 replies 13 participants last post by  Ron Young 
#1 ·
I assume this is pretty normal bearding for a 5:30 p.m. on a hot (93 degrees) and humid (rained on an off) day. If this continues should I just pull of of the top supers back a bit?

http://www.joshuacreekmusic.com/images/beard.jpg

Also I noted a drone or two about 7 feet away from the front of the hive being attacked by a couple of wasps. Anything to be too concerned about? This hive is very strong. I''m probably going to get two supers of honey it's first year, from a package started April 28th.

Quint
 
#5 ·
This is minimal bearding for that temperature compared to the wild colony I have in my barn wall, but I can do nothing for their ventilation situation. It's actually quite handy for me, as a total beginner. If my hive looks strange to me, I check out the wall to see if they are doing the same thing.

[ August 16, 2006, 12:06 PM: Message edited by: Hobie ]
 
#7 ·
I use a screened bottom board only but that's just me. I leave it open all year though I do protect the hive some from the wind in the Winter. I have never used a slatted rack but people do all the time. For me, I "need" a screened bottom board, a coupl of hive bodies with frames, an inner cover and an outer cover...that's it. Others "need" other stuff...
 
#8 ·
Ron, I use both SBBs and slatted racks. BaldyLocks, gotcha on the "need" thing. Initially, I thought slatted racks were a "want" and not a "need" so I put them on only 3 of my 7 hives. One season had me ordering 4 more slatted racks! Now for me they're in the "need" category.
 
#9 ·
Where in the world is Williston NC? And do you use both the SBB, and the Slatted Rack together? Does this in anyway effect the use of the SBB as a mite control? I would think that many of the mites that would otherwise fall out, would end up staying in the hive by the aid of the Slatted Rack.

Glad to here you are able to over-winter in Charleston WV with the open screen. Your winters are much more severe than ours, and that was one of my concerns.

[ August 16, 2006, 08:47 AM: Message edited by: NCBeginner ]
 
#10 ·
I was trying to figure out if I could leave my SBB open also. I'm not too far away from Charleston so the weather will be mostly the same. My concern is the wind. I have my two hives on a "deck" I built on the side of a hill. It has a lattice bottom and the front of the hives are about 3 feet off the ground with the back about 1 foot. I am worried the wind will run right up the bottom of the hives. I could probably protect the sides of the deck legs with a temp winter covering.
 
#11 ·
Williston NC (pop. 250) is on the Crystal Coast, in the original Down East, past the North River Bridge and on your way to the ferry to Ocracoke. God's country. Great place to live.
I got the slatted racks from Betterbee so the slats run with the frames and the mites can fall through the screen unencumbered, therefore, they have no deleterious effect on mite control.
 
#14 ·
"Williston NC (pop. 250) is on the Crystal Coast, in the original Down East, past the North River Bridge and on your way to the ferry to Ocracoke. God's country. Great place to live."


Cept when the Huricanes comes at the outerbanks. But lets not jinx that!

I just switched out a heavy bearding hive to a Screen Bottom board (which I had always wanted to but just got to do it) and added a Pitched roof top... and the bearding decreased a great deal. To almost none.

[ August 17, 2006, 09:26 PM: Message edited by: cphilip ]
 
#16 ·
cphilip, why would you want to bring up the "H" word? Coming on the scariest part of the year (Sept 15-Oct 15) so I'm holding my breath. Floyd and Isabel flooded us out pretty good so we're prepared, praying and trying not to think about it.

Clemson's a great place. I went to a bee convention at Clemson U a while back and was very impressed with the facilities. It's just a short distance from my brother who lives in Pickens, so it worked out well.
 
#17 ·
I have only overwintered one winter on SBB in WV but it was not a problem at all. I did have them located such that wind was minimal though as I was concerned about it also...everything is a mountain here so wind runs up and down the "hollers" pretty well. Anyhow, I plan to keep them open this year also so we'll see. I never considered using slatted racks because I started with solid bottom boards and had terrible bearding...of course that was in Nashville, TN where it was a lot hotter. Anyhow, I figured open was better. Ain't beekeeping great! You can do you own experiment and find out what works!
 
#18 ·
Hey, Baldy, I am on my third winter with SBB in WV just 50 miles west of you. No problems so far. Dr. Fell from VA spoke at the annual meeting a few years ago and said they had noticed that the bees cluster a little higher in the hive when you overwinter with SBB. He said they'd otherwise noticed no problems.
 
#19 ·
What is a slatted rack? I searched the Better Bee site but did not find anything. Also I live in NJ and this is my first year overwintering my bees with a SBB. I was thinking of sealing off the back of the SBB where I remove the tray to prevent drafts. The back is already somewhat shielded by the wind by flashing I installed to prevent the rain from getting in. Do I need to seal it off? It can get pretty cold here in the winter when we have a cold spell.
 
#21 ·
SBBs are fine to aid in mor fresh air coming in, but bees will still have to vent hot air down and out through the entrance. Taggering suppers helps, but an upper exhaust vent is even more effective. Imrie shims (thin sticks)placed between cover and top super is simple enough.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top