What are the common methods for keeping bees warm in winter?

Winter is coming, you need to know how to keep warm in advance. We will introduce seven commonly used methods:

1：The beehives are covered with straw, cotton and other warm materials

  Covering the hive with straw, cotton and other items can play a certain heat insulation effect. It is suitable for places where the temperature is not particularly low, and belongs to a primary insulation measure.

2：Put straw in the empty space inside the hive

  Winter temperature is low, if the free space in the hive is too large, the bees' difficulty in adjusting the temperature is high, which is not conducive to bee insulation. Filling the spare parts with straw reduces the loss of heat, thereby keeping the colony warm. This method is also a basic measure of insulation.
Note: The straw used must be dried, preferably exposed to the hot sun.

3：Place cotton clothing in the empty space inside the hive

  It's the same principle as the second method. However, cotton is not as good as straw, because there is a hidden danger of bacterial contamination, so it is also necessary to disinfect cotton clothing and dry cotton cloth before use.

4：Foam insulation（Inference：https://www.beeculture.com/winter-management/）

• the foam board wrapped in the hive outside, so as to play a temperature insulation effect.
• the foam board stuck in the hive inside the temperature insulation. However, some beekeepers have found that bees particularly like to bite the foam, so when using the foam inside the hive, be sure to wrap it in cotton cloth before using it, or use a board to separate the foam from the bees. The bees should not be allowed to come into contact with the foam.

5. Move into the cellar

  In these areas of northeast China, the winter is long and very cold, and it is freezing and snowy outside, so bees can only be effectively protected by going into the cellar. The principle is the same as burying the mound.

6:Install a thermostat

  When it comes to extremely cold weather, it is certainly not enough to rely only on some basic measures to keep warm. At this time, we need to raise the temperature inside the hive, and the common methods are to install electric heating constant temperature devices and use methods such as hand warming treasure to control the internal temperature of the hive at about 18 ° C.

7:Buy polystyrene beehives

  Polystyrene beehives are suitable for winter insulation and are more expensive than wooden beehives. If the beekeeper is worried about the price, there is an option to wrap a layer of foam around the hive.