Frost And Ice Sometimes Smother Bees
Categories:
WINTERING BEES.
Bee Keeping:
Mysteries Of Bee-keeping Explained
Besides freezing, there are other facts to be observed in stocks which
stand in the cold. If we examine the interior of a hive containing a
medium-sized swarm, on the first severely cold morning, except in the
immediate vicinity of the bees, we shall find the combs and sides of
the hive covered with a white frost. In the middle of the day, or as
soon as the temperature is slightly raised, this begins to melt,--first
ne
t to the bees, then at the sides. A succession of cold nights will
prevent the evaporation of this moisture; and this process of freezing
and thawing, at the end of a week or two, will form icicles sometimes
as large as a man's finger, attached to the combs and the sides of the
hive. When the bottom of the hive is close to the floor, it forms a
sealing around the edges, perfectly air-tight, and your bees are
smothered. I have frequently heard bee-keepers say in these cases, "The
storm blew in, and formed ice all round the bottom, and froze my bees
to death." Others that have had their bees in a cold room, finding them
thus, "could not see how the water and ice could get there any way;
were quite sure it was not there when carried in," &c. Probably they
never dreamed of its being accounted for philosophically, and to
analyze anything pertaining to bees would be rather small business. But
what way can it be accounted for?