Overheating

[Roly]

Hi all,


I am new to beekeeping. The hives did well through the winter and this being my first spring, I have split some of my hives up into nucs  to try to reduce the risk of swarming and overcrowding, but with the recent hot weather I have one hive that continues to have a large amount of bees covering the brood box, which from what I have read is possibly overheating.  They are in partial shade but do get full sun during parts of the day.  Should I move them or is this the norm.. for the bees.  I have 2 stickies on it too. 

Cheers,

Roly.

[BlueBee]

You could try an oversized reflector or a piece of foam on the top cover to reflect heat gain from the sun. 

You could try a top entrance.  That might exhaust heat better and it gives the field bees lots of room to roost above the brood nest.

If using a bottom entrance, you could try adding a slated rack between the bottom board and the brood box(s).  That would give the field bees more room to roost when coming in from the bottom.

I’ve tried all of these ideas and I prefer the top entrance for solving this particular problem.

[OzBuzz]

Are your lids vented? you could also put a match under the sides of the lid to lift it a little

[Roly]

Thanks. 

Weather is up and down at the moment. Turned from 30 degrees to 12 degrees days.  Lids are vented. Will try your ideas when things warms up again. 

Roly

[derekm]

over a 1" hole in the roof fit a 18" long  2" diameter black plastic pipe sealed to the roof. Insulate the hive. The pipe getting hot in the sun  causes  an upward draft