So I’m trying to figure out:
How cold is cold for bees (10 to -13C ) is my average winter ( V0H-1R5) do I need to insulate the hive?
I have a Quonset barn that stores gear for winter… Would it be a good idea to put the hive into the Quonset ?
Or non vehicle garage ( car exhaust would be very bad) this garage stays about 13C at the coldest… Used for cold storeage with out freezing.
i’m in Wyoming where the wind blows and temps can get below zero. I winter all my bees at the sites they are currently at. I bought some BeeCozys from Natures Own Design. They will deliver by the case load only, otherwise you would need to find a distributor. I’ve not lost any bees or colonies wintering them here. They do have an internal temperature @90-100 degrees all the time and they way they cluster in winter and keep the heat circulating is an amazing feat of mother nature doing her best so bees can winter where ever they may be. However you can move them inside if you want, but personally I think it waste of time.
I don’t insulate or wrap. Most winters we get a week or two of -10 F lows (-23 C) and sometimes we get -27 F for a week (-33 C). When I was in Western Nebraska we hit -40 F (-40 C) every night for a month and a half. That was a bad winter and I lost some hives. When I was in Laramie WY we hit -40 F as well and the bees did survive there, but I had them more out of the wind perhaps and the -40 did not last a month and a half but only a few days. I do cluster them together (butted up against each other).
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Thanks for your input!