Monday, November 30, 2009

11/30/09: Insulating

Conditions: Cloudy, Dark (night) 40F
Present: Just me
Equipment: Adding insulation.
Activities: Removed pail feeders, added insulation at about 7:30pm.
Observations: Observed nothing. I was in and out as fast as I could be so as not to chill the bees. The insulation is roof-top only, between the inner cover and outer cover. It's 1" of green foam board, about R = 5.0. The pail feeders came off empty. With those gone the hives should be able to stay warmer. If I can find some relatively cheap local hay bales I'll build them a windbreak...

Saturday, November 7, 2009

11/7/09: Another feeding (last of season?)

Conditions: Sunny, 61F
Present: Just me
Equipment: No changes.
Activities: Refilled sugar syrup with Pro Health and Fumagillin B additives.
Observations: The Italian hive had taken all of the syrup from their feeder, the Russian hive had left about 12 oz. The sugar syrup did not have as much mold or fuzzies growing. It is probably primarily due to the Fumagillin B, though the cooler temperatures probably help, too. This may be the last feeding as it will soon be regularly freezing. It's a beautifully warm and sunny weekend and the girls were flying most of the day. They like their sunny spot.