I would like to add some thoughts to this discussion, on how we can help hives of bees when the weather gets really hot.
I am still quite new to bee keeping, but did lots of studies when I was preparing to get my first hive. I have been amazed at the complexity of a community of bees which live in a hive, and realize that there is a lot of truth in a comment I saw on a blog somewhere which said something like, “No matter what you do, the bees will do as they please”.
There are some aspects of bee keeping though, in which we need to recognise some simple facts of science, and an understanding of the principles of physics which are involved. The subject of evaporative cooling is one such subject. I am still wanting, and trying, to understand all of the things which can be done – or perhaps which should be done – to help our bees to thrive, and not just to survive.
There are a number of factors which need to be considered, in this discussion, including subjects such as:
Ventilation
Insulation
Cooling
Shading
and maybe more as well!
I would like to discuss some insights I have, which are based on actual scientific principles, rather than on “opinions” or “folk lore”. It is possible to find many opinions on beekeeping blogs. One significant factor which should be considered, when assessing these opinions, is: “What part of the world is that beekeeper living in?” What kind of climate do they have? Honey bees are kept in a very wide range of climates, all the way from the tropics (hot and humid), and hot dry climates (like much of Australia), through to cooler and cold climates which have snow every winter.
Ventilation, or perhaps “How Much Ventilation”, is a subject which fascinates me, because the ideal way, in my opinion, would provide a “year round” solution, for the particular location where the bees are being kept. What I find particularly interesting is the amount of ventilation which is available to colonies of feral bees. In hollow trees, bees frequently have only very tiny entrances of perhaps a few square centimetres. When bees settle inside the walls of a house, it is frequently the case that the entrance is again very small. And so I find myself thinking that very large areas such as screened bottom boards, or even entrances which are the width of a hive box, provide more ventilation than the bees seek in nature.
Insulation is perhaps the next factor which we should consider. When bees set up home in a hollow tree, they are surrounded by the (remaining) trunk of the tree, which may be quite thick. What is more, if it is a living tree, the sap which permeate the living tree will act as a moderator of the temperature, preventing great fluctuations of temperature. My understanding from this is that there are advantages in using thicker material for the construction of hive boxes, rather than thinner. Boxes made from material like styrofoam may have an advantage here, but this type material does not have high strength and can be damaged more easily then boxes. I do like the idea of insulated hive covers, and have built telescopic covers which have a layer of styrofoam (one inch, or 2.5 centimetres), but it is important to make sure that these covers have some sort of bee-proof liner, because the bees will chew the styrofoam away if they get access to it.
But it is so important to remember that insulation by itself does not provide ANY heating or cooling effect. What insulation does do is to slow down the transfer of heat into or out of the hive. It can slow down the penetration of heat into the hive on a hot summer day, and it can help retain the warmth of a cluster of bees when they are huddled up in the cold of winter.
That brings us to the subject of cooling, which the bees achieve by evaporating water which they bring back to the hive. Once they have evaporated the water, and formed water vapour, there is no more cooling effect possible that can be performed by that water vapour. The important thing is to get enough of that humid air out of the hive so that more dry air can be cooled and circulated through the hive. The bees will determine how much cooled air they need. We need to provide them with the opportunity to bring in the required amount of fresh air, and for them to get rid of the required amount of stale air. This is where the subject of ventilation comes back into the discussion. How much ventilation is REQUIRED? How much ventilation is too much? – or too little?
Lots of ventilation on a hot day may mean that it is easier for the bees to circulate the required amount of air. But lots of ventilation will also mean that hot summer winds will also easily penetrate the hive, making it extremely for the bees to regulate the hive temperature. Lots of ventilation will also provide difficult conditions for the bees in winter time, because cold drafts will cool them down too much, and they will need to consume more of their stored honey as they attempt to keep themselves warm enough. A beekeeper who has lots of hives will not want the extra workload of having to frequently adjust the configuration of his hives, and feral bees living in a hollow tree have no way of changing their living quarters other than perhaps to use propolis to seal up any holes which are larger than they want. I believe that the optimum answer is to provide minimum ventilation, which is enough for summer conditions, and not too much for winter. I have seen advice that hive-top ventilation is beneficial, and if it is just a small amount, it may provide for acceptable year-round conditions. I have used a small gap of a few millimetres between the top box and the hive cover, and the bees seem to be doing well. This ventilation is bee-proof, and is under a telescopic cover so that rain cannot enter the top of the hive.
Shading is the other issue which has been of interest, especially for beekeepers in very hot areas. Shading, by itself, can only prevent direct heating of a hive by the sunshine. But as already discussed, direct heating can be reduced by suitable insulation, particularly of the hive cover. Shading cannot provide any beneficial effect when a hot wind is blowing. As already discussed, hot winds will make life difficult for the bees if the ventilation openings are too large. It is not difficult to find lots of advice that bees thrive in sunny conditions. It is also not difficult to find information that the health of a hive can be compromised if it is placed in a location which has too much shade. So how do we determine the ideal compromise? A hobbyist beekeeper may easily be able to frequently or rapidly make adjustments by adding or removing shade, but that may not be easy (or even possible) for someone with many hives. My own observations, and opinion, are that shading may not be necessary if the other matters of ventilation and insulation are thoughtfully implemented.
Thanks so much for the time and thought you have put into this post Wilfred, and for sharing your insights. It’s always reassuring to know that beekeepers out there are thinking in depth about what they’re doing!
Hi Wilf, thanks for your comprehensive post. I’m on a similar page as you. Except I don’t think any added ventilation helps the bees during extremes of temps. As long as a hive has an adequate entrance, the bees will draw air in on one side & exhaust it out on the other side. You can see this beautifully illustrated in the video “City of Bees” with the use of tissue paper thumb tacked, one on each side of the entrance. One piece of paper is being sucked in on one side while on the other side, it is blowing out. My theory is: the better insulated & shaded a hive is, the easier it for the bees to maintain a hives temp.
Thank you Jeff for your kind comments, and thank you too for the information about the “City of Bees”. There are possibly many people who (like me) have not known about this video. I did a Google search for “City of Bees” and found it a fascinating and educational presentation which I think many people would enjoy.
Jeff, you said that you are on “a similar page”, and I wonder whether you might be interested in us finding a way to share our insights, and any research which might come from them. I would hope that the results of any such discussions would lead to the sharing of information for the benefit of all who seek for the good of the bees.
Hi Wilf, you’re most welcome. Thank YOU for the positive feedback on my favorite beekeeping video on Youtube. I must have promoted that video a hundred times on this forum. It seems that a lot of people “just don’t get it”. I’m pleased that you did. We’ll talk later, cheers
@JeffH put me onto that video a few years ago and I have often gone back to it for another ‘injection’ and worthy of watching again. I have an interest in aerodynamics so it got me experimenting with having two entrances on the landing board with a reduced entrance size to remove the vortex effect and had good results after a couple of years experimenting for an entrance size for my climate. The benefit is less guard bees needed, a hive easier to defend and a more stable cluster temperature as well as possibly a more honey productive hive due to more bees being released from other duties for foraging.
Cheers
@Bee-Happy, hi. I too am a newbee keeper, I only got my bee nuc last Tuesday afternoon (2days ago), yep a real greenhorn that’s me. We have rather warm summers, so I have setup my flow hive next to a tree, and also rigged up a shade over the hive too, and it is fully under shade by 10.30am. Also the hive is on the eastern side of a medium side shed, which also protects it from copping the afternoon sun. Yet today it was 30C+ in the shade as I have installed a digital temperature gauge with it’s sensor hanging just above the hive. I will include a photo.
@JeffH, on a hot day would spraying a fine mist into the air around the hive help the bees with keeping the tempt in the hive at a reasonable level? Cheers Trevor
Hi Trev. That certainly would help the bees, coupled with the shade you provided. We can relate a beehive to us. Anything that would help to keep us cool, will also help bees.
Some people think that added ventilation helps bees in hot weather, however I don’t agree with that on account that bees “air condition” their hive via the entrance. They create airflow inside the hive while evaporating water droplets that are placed in strategic positions so as to maintain the desired hive temp. Any added gaps will only work against what the bees are trying to achieve.
Added insulation around the hive would help, as well as making sure the bees have access to water close by.
Edit: 10 minutes later. I went outside to check the temp. It’s 30 degrees & bees are taking water from my Chinese Water Chestnut tubs.
HI JeffH - I took the time to watch the “City of Bees” video. It was very enlightening & my respect for bees has increased yet more. And indeed yes, a spiritual man I am also, so the credit going to the designer & creator of these wonderful creatures is a breathe of fresh air in this current age of atheism we live in.
Hi & you’re welcome Ryan. I love telling people about how one piece of paper flaps inwards, while the piece on the other side flaps outwards. Recently @Eva wrote how you can feel that with your hands. I haven’t tried that myself. One of my books shows how they use a candle on a still day to illustrate the same thing. It is a beautiful concept, when you think of it, the whole colony working as a team with one goal in mind.
@JeffH, just been outside to see how the bees are going. The electric digital temperature gauge hanging above the hive was reading 40C. I also had with me a clean spray bottle, I sprayed water around the entrance, the bees actually came out and drank the water that had formed droplets on the face board, and then went back inside, some had just a quick drink and flew off. They also have a good size container of water only 3ft from the hive, on the entrance side. As well I have a jar of sugar syrup sitting over the hole (that has a plug in it), I have taken the plug out and I placed the jar over the hole with 5 nail holes in it. In nearly 3 days they have almost emptied it, even though the jar is too big to allow the roof to sit down properly. Tonight I am going to try putting a small flat sealed plastic container there instead, though with a larger capacity than the jar was…
Though maybe a cold shower wouldn’t help them:woozy_face:
JeffH makes a good point. The best we can do is provide them with water nearby. Let them do the rest… A good solution I saw is from Jack from his learnings during a heatwave:
Hi Trev, I’m thinking it would be better if you can get the roof sitting down properly. That will keep hot air out of the roof, & will assist the bees in their effort to keep the hive cool. Hopefully the plastic container will allow that to happen.
I like @Semaphore’s idea of the wet towels. If you can keep that up.
My brain is working overtime. I wonder how a feeder would go filled with just water, mainly for hot nights when bees can’t gather water. It might reduce the bearding that happens on hot nights.
@JeffH, yep I’ve replaced the jar with a flatter container, was just waiting for the bees to empty the jar, which they did in just 3 days, 500mls. Now the roof is sitting down as it should.
I took a spay bottle out to the hive and sprayed the entrance, and I think that the bees liked it. I could see a number of bees come out, and I’m sure that they were consuming the water that collected on the hive on and above the landing pad.
Maybe Jeff, hang a garden hose over the hive dripping water onto the towel, so that the towel remains damp. Or attach the hose to a short length of soaker hose and lay the soaker hose on top of the towel, again with the tap only letting enough water out to keep the towel damp.
I have done that and the bees do use it. I have used those bottle feeders that you poke into the front entrance and just filed them with water. During very hot weather they can drink a whole bottle in a few days. Basically as soon as temps go over 40c any help you can give the bees is welcomed by them as far as I can tell. These days we put shadecloth draped over all hives that are exposed to full sun and make sure water is close and plentiful. Also I add an extra super box to any single brood box/nuc exposed to a lot of sun. Very crowded small hives are at a bigger risk of collapsing in a heatwave. Radiant heat on the lid can be a real killer.
@Semaphore, yep Jack, that’s why I set up an awning over my beehive through the week, and we have hit the high 30C already, though I have seen 40C in November in the past.
