Telescoping cover blew off in wind storm-bees still alive!

[Nate Ellis]

I was out of town over xmas and the day before I got back there was a huge wind storm at my house. When I got home I saw that one of my telescoping insulated covers along with the inner cover was blown off a hive leaving the bees completely exposed to low twenties/teens temps overnight and into the next afternoon. I thought there was no way they could be alive...I replaced the covers and crossed my fingers. A couple days later my curiosity got the best of me and I peeked in breifly to my surprise I could hear the cluster and saw quite a few live bees and no dead ones for as much as I could see. I think I have this hive tilted too far forward and with the ice and snow the rock must have slid off the galvanized top allowing the cover to get blown off. Im sure if it had snowed or rained they would have definately been doomed-I got really lucky I guess.

[riverrat]

Some times we dont give bees enough credit for the survivor skills you would be suprised at how hardy bees actually are. Meaning well Sometimes we over do it trying to help them. They still had a good block from the wind and just tightened up the cluster. Had it rained or snowed it would have been a different story. Cold is one thing cold and wet is another. Glad to here it worked out for you.now quit reading this and go find you a bigger rock for the top of the hive

[sqkcrk]

I have seen hives that had been knocked over that survived quite well. And I'll always remember the hive that looked like swiss cheese because of woodpeckers. The colony in that hive did well also, survived the winter and made a good crop of honey too.

[Michael Palmer]

I think I have this hive tilted too far forward and with the ice and snow the rock must have slid off the galvanized top allowing the cover to get blown off.

Tie down the covers for winter...with baling twine. Then you can tip them as needed. Also, even if the hive tips over, they will usually make it the winter if the cover doesn't come off.

[Nate Ellis]

Thanks Michael great idea I will do that.
Nate

[jeff123fish]

same storm hear, I checked all of my hives except the one at my fathers a week after x-mas (two weeks later) we had a day in the fifties my dad called and said the bees were flying all over the place. i went and checked on them only to find the cover off and snow on the hive but the bees were fine, i put the cover on and they still looked good today.

[pcelar]

same storm hear, I checked all of my hives except the one at my fathers a week after x-mas (two weeks later) we had a day in the fifties my dad called and said the bees were flying all over the place. i went and checked on them only to find the cover off and snow on the hive but the bees were fine, i put the cover on and they still looked good today.

WOW!
What kind of bees do you have?

That day I was afraid of that, and went to the place where our bees are. Luckily no tops were blown off. I did put on each a heavy cinder block because wind's intensity was strengthening (50-70 mi/hr).

[jeff123fish]

that hive happened to be a local swarm. i checked every other hive and had know trouble so figured that this one would be fine to (more protected than the others)

[deknow]

yeah, telescoping covers tend to do that, despite their weight (or weight placed on them).

i've been using a more migratory type (solid plywood with top entrance milled) that doesn't extend beyond the box. these seem to not blow off, despite that some in my backyard don't even have rocks on them. if i were to start using standard inner cover configuration, i think i'd build outer covers that did not telescope.

just my 2 cents.

deknow

[oldfast]

I use the ratcheting style tie downs. I put my hives on two 8inch cinder blocks run the tie down thru these and cinch the telescoping cover down. Keeps the varmints out also no worries about the wind.