Geez, its worth a try. Anything is worth a try, there will be a lot of dead farm animals at this temp.
Talking about another thread, I was chatting to Marty earlier on Polystyrene hives. They were designed for the extreme cold conditions in Finland and have been very successful for extreme heat. its worth a try too if this is a regularly issue.
Here is another high tech molded polypropylene bee hive that is supposed have advanced thermal properties. The company had a display at the Texas Beekeeperâs Association meeting this past weekend.
Best of luck with the next colony!
Yes for sure Rodd, I agree.
Also the more I think about it, the more I like just the one entrance with no ventilation. No screen floor or vented roof. I think of how the bees suck air in & extract it out, almost like a vacuum cleaner. A vacuum cleaner doesnât work efficiently with holes everywhere.
Yes I had some sous vide t-bones for fathers day dinner that I cooked at 133F.
[quote=âRodderick, post:21, topic:7579â]
there will be a lot of dead farm animals at this temp.
[/quote] I suppose the silver lining here is none of the chickens died, and many of our chicken friends lost half or more of their flocks on the same day in question.
At least you have kept a sense of humor out of all this⌠
If they are ânormalâ summer temperatures there .I would put a shadecloth roof over the hives that also covers the western side to shelter them from the afternoon sun. A modified Warre quilt to provide insulation, white paint on everything and vent holes in the quilt to allow hot air to slowly move out. Worth a try. Keep a solid bottom board so the cooler air they have worked so hard creating dosenât just fall out the bottom of the hive.
Cheers
Rob.
So sorry to hear that.
Iâve been putting a wet towel over my hive on very hot days, which stopped bearding entirely. Dont think weâve had it that hot overnight though.
Maybe a very fine soft spray of water from a hose somehow? Like a mist.
With those kind of temps some shade would make a big difference. An awning? A lean to?
These temps are far from normal. Usually the hottest it gets is around 115F. And even then only a couple of times a summer. The bees were excelling in those temps. They just couldnât stay ahead of that unusual heat on Sunday.
Sorry to hear that Adam 
I guess like life there is always ups and downs. Hopefully you can stick with it and find a solution and it hopefully wonât happen again.
Reminds me of a hot summers day in Brisbane (Australia). No wind, water, etc. I do wonder itâs chemicals though tooâŚ
Keep us posted on how beeks in your area are going now too - have they reported anything?
Very sorry to hear about your hive.
Iâm trying to track down a swarm to collect or Nuc for sale locally. So far nothing, but I will keep trying.
I didnât think I needed to go that far, I figured just some shade would be enough but obviously I was wrong. I will work on something like this if I can get a Nuc or swarm before the summer is out.
Yea my bees were happy campers, they were coming and going like it was nothing, usually if it started getting warm, theyâd be out the entrance. Too bad you donât live closer, Iâve been catching a lot of swarms lately. Got one yesterday while riding my bicycle at the beach, had to improvise since I had no gear with me. Caught around 4lbs of bees in a boxâŚ
sorry for your loss! I canât believe those temps! 55c? I thought it was hot in an Australian summerâŚ
What was the humidity like? If the humidity was low - could making a three sided âtentâ from hessian sacks that fall into buckets of water have helped maybe? Some kind of makeshift evaporative cooler?
So it is not a done deal yet, but there is a lady whom just recently lost her husband and is looking for good homes for his hives. So it looks like I will be picking up a mature hive to replace my bees in the near future.
In contacting several people who normally sell bees in the local club, and a friend whoâs father is a beekeeper; it appears that quite a few hives have perished in this heat so I am not alone in this. One gentleman says he will not sell or move any hives in this heat because he has no idea how many of his hives will even make it through and has lost several.
Glad at least youâll have local support with solutions, Adam. Hope you & family are doing okay in that hellish heat 
