How Snow Melts around the Hive

I'm curious about how and why snow melts around a hive.

We've had a pretty big dump of snow lately--enough to make my nephew rather be up the slopes, snowboarding than doing anything else.

I've been busy the last couple weeks and didn't find time to visit the hives. I wanted to check the bottom entrances. Would they be covered in snow, keeping the bees inside?

There was snow all around the hive but surprisingly, the bottom entrances on both hives were clear. There were piles of dead bees too.

Hive #2 (pictured at left) had a lot more dead bees than Hive #1 (pictured above). It looks worrying to see so many. Being my first year, I don't have experience to rely on but I feel that Hive #2 has more dead bees out front than it should have.

When I did my Lazarus routine and a handful of bees came back to life, I had time to look them over. Their bodies looked to be in perfect health and I didn't see any signs of mites on them. I also didn't see any deformed bodies or deformed wings so that's a relief too.

I'm presuming that the queen has probably stopped laying eggs about now. I hope that Hive #2 has enough honey in the 1 1/2 boxes that they call home (a deep and a medium).

I wondered if the heat from the hive melted the snow away from the entrance. It's possible, even though the bees don't warm the whole hive--just their cluster.

Then I noticed that the tree trunks of the apple trees and the cut up stumps on the ground close by all had the snow melted away from the surface by a 1/2 inch or less.

It must be that the sun warms up the object and then the snow melts away from it and then freezes, once the sun goes down which would explain why the edges of the snow look like ice.

(See this photo of a stump at left, complete with a rabbit pellet and dead bee laying in the snow.)

I remember making igloos as a child. What always strikes me funny is how very warm it is inside a snow cave. Snow is very insulating and is great to block out breezes and cold drafts. Even my home is warmer on cold winter days when there's snow up against the foundation.

All these things should benefit the hive in retaining warmth and preventing drafts.

I did see some bees flying, not just the Lazarus bees flying from my hand. Hive #2 had a couple bees come out and circle around. I didn't see any action on Hive #1 but they always seem to be quieter than Hive #2.

Honey... Are you in there?

I dropped by the bee yard briefly today just to see how things were going.

I hadn't been by for almost 3 weeks. I noticed that. My entire summer was consumed by bees. Seeing the bees, working the bees, watching the bees, worrying about the bees and then on my summer vacation, reading about the bees.

I think about them still. I can't drive by every weekend or the guy who lives there will realize something about me. I'm a bit obsessed with bees. Actually, I think he's figured that out already.

I went out there once and he said to me, "You're a hobby beekeeper aren't you?"
I said, "Yes, why do you say that?"

"Because you've painted your hives all different colours. Commercial beekeepers," he laughed, "they don't do that."

I laughed too. "It's true, I have more time than they do."

"I can tell you're really into this hobby. You really love your bees," he said.

It's true. I do.

There were almost 100 dead bees in front of Hive #2 and not more than 15 in front of Hive #1. I do wonder at why? Was Hive #2 busier trying to bring in that last bit of pollen or nectar? Was Hive #1 so filled up and secure that they could afford to be more relaxed?

Then I wondered if anyone was in there. Could I put my ear on the hive and hear them? It'd be hard to listen through the quilted plastic covering.

I took some dry stiff flower stalks and scraped away the dead bodies. I did this for a couple reasons, one that it wouldn't looks so sad to see all those dead bodies, and two so that I'd know how many more may have died the next time I came out to check on them.

I looked over the bodies, looking for signs of Varroa Mite damage but didn't see any.

With my scraping I quickly got an answer to one of my questions. Are they in there? Oh yes they were! A bee flew out very quickly, obviously a guard bee, wanting to see what was going on. I stepped back really quickly just to make sure she didn't come after me.

So it appears that Hive #2 is still alive. But the actions of the guard were very aggressive which is what I experienced a few weeks ago.

My bee course instructor told me that if you let the bees make their own queen, the bees will get mean. I wondered about that at the time. Many would not agree. What do you think? I'd love to hear your comments on that. In a way it would make sense that the bees would do that. After all, they don't want you robbing their honey.

Time will tell on that issue when spring comes and I open the hive.

I took photos of the top exit. The inner cover is sitting underneath the styrofoam feeder so you can see it. It's also nested inside the "V" peak of the hive wrap, forming an upper exit for the bees.

At the bottom is a 3" nail, hammered into the hive. It's there to hold the plastic of the hive wrap back so once the snow falls the bottom won't get blocked. Of course, the entrance reducer is on it's smallest setting.

I read somewhere that when bees cluster, they work to keep their cluster warm, not the whole hive which I didn't know, thinking they kept the whole inside warm.

We've only had a light dusting of snow so far this year and temperatures haven't been colder than -10 yet. But that will come in time.

Meanwhile, my much loved bugs are pretty snug.