I used to not like Winter….at all. That is mostly because I grew up in Iowa and then moved to Idaho. Both very cold, snowy states.
Since moving to North Carolina, I have changed my thinking on Winter. Yes, it still gets cold here, but only for a short period of time. Here in North Carolina, my least favorite months have become July and August. Those months can be brutally HOT! But the months that you think of as Winter – November, December, January and February, are much warmer than the northern states!
Yes, we still get some cold days in those months, but they are usually short lived. I remember in the northern states, not getting above freezing for weeks! We do not see that in North Carolina.
Another good thing about cooler weather is that you can work outside without dying from the heat. I can put clothes on…..but I can only take so many off (without offending neighbors).
Which brings me to the topic of “wrapping bee hives”. For many years, I would get opposition from other beekeepers that there was no need to wrap a bee hive in North Carolina. Especially southern North Carolina.
The tune of many beekeepers has changed over the years. My point being that the temperature influx here is the reason that I wrap my hives. One day it is 70 degrees and the next it can be 20’s at night and only 40-50 during the day. We are on a constant roller coaster of temperature changes through the winter months.
Wrapping the hives can lessen that influx of temps in the hive. Also, I wrap with an insulated wrap that has black plastic on the outside. That black plastic absorbs the heat from the Sun. It is always recommended to place a hive with the entrance facing south. Then the hive will get morning Sun and the black plastic will absorb the heat of the early Sun.
Now manufacturers of bee hives have made a hive called the “Apimaye Hive” This is a plastic insulated Lanstroth hive. Many new beekeepers are opting to purchase these hives. Note that these hives are expensive and the fact that they are made of plastic……I’ll Pass on this hive. ( I don’t even like plastic frames and I’m not so sure the Bees do either). I’ll continue to wrap my hives with the wraps that I purchased several years ago. The cost of a wrap ($14) vs the cost of a Apimaye hive ($400), I’ll stick with the wrap.
I usually do not wrap the hives until November or December. It all depends on the weather, like so many things in Beekeeping.
By March it is time to remove the wraps. Temperatures have warmed considerably and there have been years that the hive swarms before I can get the wrap removed. Once the Red Maple starts to bloom, it is GAME ON for the nectar flow.
It is your choice to wrap or not to wrap. I choose to give my bees a more balanced temperature option.
Until next Month – stay balanced and stay warm.
Namaste’
