Yesterday I began reading The Quest for the Perfect Hive: A History of Innovation in Bee Culture by entomologist Gene Kritsky (2010). The book is a history of hive design from ancient times to the present, including drawings, photos and descriptions of what worked, what didn’t, and why some hives were more popular than others regardless of how they worked.
I’m only about half way through the book—57% if you believe my Kindle—but one recurring theme kept me awake last night . . . ventilation.
In hive after hive, Kritsky details the various ventilation provisions designed for both temperature control and moisture removal. Pottery hives dating back to 500 BCE had lids with vent holes. Skep hives in the 1800s had lids with adjustable zinc ventilators. Some hives in the late 1800s had multiple ventilators with internal thermometers that could be read by pulling open a sliding door. A similar hive featured a perforated floor where air flow could be adjusted with a metal slide. Hive after hive had features that could help the bees stay comfortable.
The original Langstroth hive was a warren of creature amenities that included double-paned glass sides for insulation and moisture control, a sloping bottom that allowed drainage of rainwater, and a screened ventilation port at the bottom with an adjustable panel. As Langstroth’s hive evolved, feature after feature was discarded. Except for bee space and movable frames, what we now call a Langstroth hive bears very little resemblance to the original.
Although many beekeepers view ventilation as a non-essential luxury, many others believe ventilation is key to long-term honey bee health and high productivity. Too much heat causes bees to congregate on the outside of the hive; too much cold can kill a colony. Too much moisture in the summer makes drying honey energy-expensive and time-consuming; too much moisture in winter can chill the bees and promote disease.
As I said, I’ve not finished reading the book. But I assume our indifference to proper ventilation stems from a desire for easy-to-use and inexpensive hives—hives that will quickly give us a return on investment. Have we chosen high honey production and efficient pollination service over long-term honey bee health?
A vast number of new beekeepers fail after the first or second winter. A lot of those beekeepers plunked down good money for a “complete hive kit” or some variation—most of which have no provision for hive ventilation. (Although, since the advent of Varroa mites, you sometimes get a screened bottom board with a beginner kit.) So the nascent beekeeper—already at a disadvantage because of lack of experience—is further handicapped by a deficient hive. This hardly seems fair.
I think it’s time we review a few thousand years of beekeeping history and embrace what those before us knew: ventilation is vital. We cannot raise healthy, productive bees in a stuffy, damp, over-heated, and pathogen-laden environment. Beyond the economic cost, it borders on cruelty.
Rusty
I wonder if I’d read more bee books if I had a Kindle? I have friends who say they read twice as much now that they have Kindles, though most of them don’t have as demanding a work schedule as I do.
Anyway, beekeepers in my part of the world don’t seem to use screened bottom boards or many ventilation aids. I have the materials to make some ventilation rims and even a slatted rack — as soon as I can find the time. I don’t want to experiment with my bees anymore, but I think a slatted rack should be a safe bet. Right?
By the way, do you know if the spaces between the slats need to line up with the spaces between the frames? Or does it really matter? My initial thought was that the bees probably don’t care. But maybe they do.
Phillip,
In Newfoundland, the direction of the slats won’t matter. Normally, the idea is that the slats should line up with the frames so that mites falling off the frames go straight down between the slats and then through the screen and fall out the bottom of the hive. If the slats went crosswise the mites would land on them and be able to re-enter the brood nest. But in your situation, no mites=no problem.
Yeah, I read more since I got the Kindle. I didn’t think I would because I like the feel, look, smell, etc. of bound volumes. But, the Kindle is so small I just take it with me. If I have a few minutes–even waiting in lines–I can start reading. When I used to carry a book around, it often wasn’t the thing I actually felt like reading at the moment I opened it. With the Kindle, the world is your oyster. You can read anything you feel like, anytime. I’m hooked.
Phillip,
Two more things I like about Kindles:
1. They remember where you left off so you don’t have to mark the page.
2. You can send .pdf files to Amazon and they send them back in Kindle format for free. So when I have a bunch of scientific journal articles that are going to take be a while to wade through, I have them converted. Then I carry those around too.
I absolutely agree about the ventilation issue. That is why I do not paint my hives. Latex paint is the same as a plastic coating. The natural wood breaths. My top-bar hives have a large roof so the elements never touch the hive body, making it easy to have untreated wood. I also have screened bottoms, which I put a board over when it is really cold, but leave off most of the time.
When all my bee buddies lost half of their hives last winter it became very clear from the condition of the inside of the hives that it was ultimately moisture that caused the losses.
I couldn’t agree more with Rusty here. Ventilation is a must in most all areas of the world. I can take my sunglasses and put them over the inner cover slot and see the massive build-up of moisture and hot air flowing out of the colony at any time of year, especially during the flows and summer months, even in periods of dearth!!!
I am a residential carpenter. I make gabled ventilated tops for all my colonies. I also have vented inner covers, or run none during summer, depending on the colony size. I have seen a reduction in internal hive temps during periods of high daytime temps. When I first moved to my home in Maryland, I had massive issues with the standard flat tops not allowing air to flow, even when propping them on one side. Winter was the worst!!! I had mold and mildew build up on the bottom of my inner cover, which in my opinion, IS REALLY REALLY BAD!!!
The very next spring, I quickly decided to make ventilated gable tops. After making and installing these tops, I have not seen ANY moisture. In fact, my colonies seem to be more productive and have a place to corral SHB [small hive beetles] effectively out of the hive in the attic that has been created. In winter, I add a piece of foil insulation that is set on top of the inner cover loosely. This creates a dead space of air for moisture to accumulate outside the colony. This keeps the colony warmer and far drier than any other combination.
Rusty,
I’m one of the folks who believe in ventilation being a good thing. I have a screened bottom board and during the summer months place a ventilated inner cover to assure good air flow (be careful that they don’t fill the screen totally with propolous). I also use the “hole in the brood box” to provide an upper entrance as well as more ventilation.
In the Chicago area we have very high heat and humidity and I believe the circulation helps reduce the moisture content and keep the girls happier. I am looking to experiment with your moisture quilt for the winter to see if it helps reduce moisture in the hive and help the bees survive. The challenge there will be making sure there is a way to supplement feeding if necessary.
Been thinking of a Kindle or some kind of e-book, but am concerned about the cost of converting the library from bound to electronic.
Have a great day.
Gary,
I placed a 3-inch eke directly above the brood box and then I put the moisture quilt on top of that. When I needed to feed sugar cakes or pollen patties, I just lifted one end of the quilt and put the feed in the eke. This worked great for me last year and I intend to do it again this year.
What exactly is a moisture quilt? fiberglass batting, cotton, etc
Jeff,
It’s an eke that has a fabric bottom, ventilation holes on the side, and is filled with absorbent material. For details and photos, follow this link: http://wp.me/pLmcw-In.
We prepared to harvest honey in Virginia in the latter part of July, during a heat spell, drought, and with high humid temperatures. When opening the hive, we were surprised to find that most of the cells had honey, but they were not capped by the honey bees? We only had three frames that were capped out of five hives so we left the other frames in the hive. All five hives are full of honey bees and they appear to be working hard. We are so baffled by this situation and we would appreciate any suggestions anyone might have as to the problem. Thank you
Mac,
The answer to your question is in your first sentence: high humidity. Honey bees “dry” the honey, which means they drive out most of the water by fanning their wings and creating air currents through the hive. Only when the water in the honey is reduced to about 18 percent, do they cap it. If they cap it too soon it can ferment and be ruined, so they must wait until it reaches the 18 percent moisture. But when your relative humidity is so high, no amount of fanning will dry the honey. This is because the air is so full of moisture it can’t easily hold more.
About the only thing you can do is wait for the relative humidity to drop and then the bees will finish the job. You can make things easier for them by making sure they have good ventilation. Replace inner covers with screened covers or use a small piece of wood to prop open the cover so the humid air can easily escape out the top. You can read the following post for more information about summer ventilation and honey production: http://wp.me/pLmcw-1c8.
In Chicago we have run across the same situation with full comb but not capped and attributed it to the high humidity levels as well. Hopefully in the near future we will get some drier weather and the girls will be able to cap off the stores they have right now.
Rusty,
Thanks for the response about the eke that you are putting between the moisture quilt and the top of the hive. I assume an eke is a 3 inch spacer similar to what we use for the giving area to the baggie feeder when we feed in the spring?
Regards,
Gary
Gary,
Right. Some call them baggies feeders but since they are so versatile, I like to call them ekes. I use them for lots of things besides liquid food bags.
For overwintering, I put newspaper over the top bars, an empty shallow, and pour sugar on top of that. I leave about 3/4s of an inch in the front open, so the bees can get up and out the top entrance. By the end of winter, the sugar is hard rock candy from all the moisture it absorbs, and half to 3/4s is eaten. What moisture that doesn’t go out the entrance, is completely absorbed by the newspaper and sugar.
I leave a small opening at the bottom for some air circulation. That’s it. Works the best…for me.
I have a couple of the screened bottom boards, but I really don’t see any advantage for mites, or moisture. Just more stuff to buy, that really isn’t needed, as far as I’m concerned. I already have too many fiddly bits to fiddle with!
The price of sugar is starting to scare me a little though, I must say.