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Cold Weather In Northern Wisconsin

3K views 4 replies 5 participants last post by  Ravenseye 
#1 ·
We had some heavy snow recently and on Jan 31, after 8" of snow and low temps (0 wind chill), I was cleaning the snow off of the hive entrance at Mid Day and six (6) bees flew out of the hive entrance and immediately fell into the snow on the ground. The bees were motionless so I gently picked them up and placed them near the entrance of the hive which was now clear of snow. This is my first year with a hive going through winter..the hive is in a sheltered area, but the heavy snow fall stil collected on the hive. I have it wrapped in tar paper and bored a hole in the upper deep near the top for added ventilation. Any ideas out there or is this normal behavior for bees?
 
#2 ·
When ya gotta go, you gotta go!

Probably the lack of air flow in the hive from the snow on the landing board raised the temperature a bit inside and the bees thought it was warmer than it was. I'd not worry about six bees!

Good news is that you have live bees in there -- be prepared for a number of dead bees to appear the first warm days you get, as they will immediately start dumping out the dead ones that collected over winter, and wont' fly very far, unlike when the weather is warm.

Another reason to leave a small upper entrance.

Peter
 
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