Too cold to buzz around the hive

[Timpeti]

...and yet some 50 bees did so and ended up dead in front of the hive. Their struggling bodies melted little holes in the snow...very sad. I know that bees take advantage of a warm spells to empty their guts but 15 deg Fahrenheit during the day doesn't not qualify. I have the hive alongside the south of the house with plenty of solar input on sunny days. Could that have mocked them? At this rate and with more sunny days to come, this could imo seriously weaken the population. Any suggestions or similar observations?

[BeeAware]

Are your hives wrapped with insulation? A beekeeper friend of mine lives in South Dakota and he said when he used to insulate his hives with wrap, sunny days would heat the inside enough to cause the bees to fly out only to perish in the cold. He stopped wrapping his hives.

[Timpeti]

Yes, the hive has some insulation in the roof part and on the sides. So it seems reasonable to assume that the insulation has something to do with it.

What I fail to understand is why the hive would heat up more in direct sunlight since the insulation also prevents direct heat gain through solar radiation. In other words, I would think uninsulated hives heat up more in the winter if they are exposed to direct sunlight than insulated ones.

[mike haney]

50 bees is not enough to worry about. divide the thousands of bees by 5o and times the number of cold/ sunny days and you will see all is well. more than that will die of old age in the course on a winter. good luck,mike

[mike haney]

Yes, the hive has some insulation in the roof part and on the sides. So it seems reasonable to assume that the insulation has something to do with it.

What I fail to understand is why the hive would heat up more in direct sunlight since the insulation also prevents direct heat gain through solar radiation. In other words, I would think uninsulated hives heat up more in the winter if they are exposed to direct sunlight than insulated ones.

what the insulation does is allow the hive to RETAIN the heat long enough to fool the bees. windbreaks are safer and cheaper.

[Panhandle Bee man]

That is a typical Northern US experience. Part of what the bees are doing is keeping the hive cleaned, also spring brood rearing is beginning to start, so those dead bees will soon be replaced. If you are seeing 50-100 bees venture out on a sunny day, don't worry, if you see thousands of bees on a cold, sunny day you have a problem.

[Oldbee]

It's nice to have your hives near your house so that you can observe their activity at any time. I too have seen bees fly away, and fall into the snow; 'their little bodies making little holes'. Years ago, I saw bees on the snow most of the winter, from unwrapped hives. Maybe some bees fly off and die when it's cold in November or December, and if there is no snow on the ground, we don't notice them that much.

I know the south side of a house can warm up so that the snow melts, the ground thaws and spring flowers can bloom 7-10+ days sooner than on other sides. Maybe it's not necessary to wrap, but I wouldn't worry about it as long the hive has ventilation.

My hives are 10 miles away and out in the open. We are 'colder' here so I wrap; somewhat loosely. All three hives last year survived the winter. It has been suggested that some bees that are old and need to defecate, just fly off and 'sacrifice' themselves for the good of the colony. I don't know about this. I don't know of studies of bees that fly out of the hive [cold days] and are trapped so they can be examined. In more southern states, it seems there are more warmer days for the bees to fly, cleanse themselves and return to the hive normally. This usually won't happen here for 2-3 more weeks. --"That is a typical Northern US experience".

[Hobie]

I watched a feral colony do this last year. I picked up probably 50+ bees and put them on the barn ledge in the sun to warm up, but they seemed bound and determined to take a permanent header into the snow. It was a sad sight.

[Timpeti]

Thanks for the comments.

Oldbee, assuming there is some truth in the "sacrifice-theory", do you think one could conclude that their resources are low, since there is a need for them to "sacrifice"? My colony originates from somebodies mailbox (swarm removal) and could be somewhat feral.

As far as ventilation goes, I have provided them with 2 entrances: one at the front and one at the top (that one is smaller) to prevent moisture buildup.

[Oldbee]

Timpeti. The statement about the 'sacrifice-theory' was taken from one by an expert beekeeper here on Beesource or another forum. I am pretty sure about that but maybe I can find it to verify; later. I wouldn't conclude that [sacrifice] about 'low resources'. Actually, I haven't read much about the bees flying out to 'cleanse' themselves and then dying outside the hive in cold weather. Of course, we always read about cleansing flights during some warm winter days and 'assume' that most of the bees just 'happily/relieved', find their way back. I see this here when it gets close to 40 degrees; many bees are out flying and the snow is spotted yellow. That hasn't happened since late November; NO 40 degree days! 'Sacrifice-theory': Please take it with a grain of salt.

A thought: Maybe the bees that are flying out in cold weather are infected with tracheal mites and are trying to get air. Most, or some of the bees that I see fly out don't seem to make the typical 'hovering'; close-by circular flight of 'orientation', but fly off beyond sight right away. This doesn't mean the hive will collapse from tracheal mites though; [grain of salt].
Forget the 'grain of salt',..lol. http://jeb.biologists.org/cgi/content/abstract/204/4/805 The whole article/paper:>> http://jeb.biologists.org/cgi/reprint/204/4/805.pdf

From the article [summary]: "...However, the reduction in tracheal-gas exchange capacity may constrain activities requiring the highest metabolic rates, such as flying in cool weather".