Author Topic: Hives Buried in Snow (Newfoundland)  (Read 1552 times)

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Offline MudSongs

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Hives Buried in Snow (Newfoundland)
« on: January 19, 2020, 11:49:56 am »
These are my bees on the east coast of Newfoundland today.  Completely buried but still breathing.  Snow is the best insulation, right?  Sure it is.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/700402276802774/permalink/1568175550025438/
- Phillip Cairns
Isle of Newfoundland
47°42'34.2"N 52°42'49.9"W
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Offline Bakersdozen

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Re: Hives Buried in Snow (Newfoundland)
« Reply #1 on: January 19, 2020, 05:41:10 pm »
Thanks for posting, Mudsongs!  We don't have anything here that compares to that amount of snowfall.

Offline MudSongs

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Re: Hives Buried in Snow (Newfoundland)
« Reply #2 on: January 20, 2020, 01:25:08 pm »
I have three hives that I can't check on until later this week. If they're completely buried -- with no air getting in the hives -- does anyone have any idea how long they can stay alive?

I've had hives buried for a day with no issues, but never for a full week.

The hives next to my house look like this right now:


- Phillip Cairns
Isle of Newfoundland
47°42'34.2"N 52°42'49.9"W

Offline Bakersdozen

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Re: Hives Buried in Snow (Newfoundland)
« Reply #3 on: January 20, 2020, 06:56:24 pm »
Mudsongs, you might try searching this forum for posts from Perry.  Perry lives in Nova Scotia, Canada.  He has posted pictures similar to yours.  I don't remember how quickly he went out to create some air flow around his colonies.  Those posts would be a couple of years old.

Offline Mikey N.C.

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Re: Hives Buried in Snow (Newfoundland)
« Reply #4 on: January 20, 2020, 07:43:37 pm »
I seen y'all were getting hammered. Hoping the best , that's alot of snow.

Offline Jen

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Re: Hives Buried in Snow (Newfoundland)
« Reply #5 on: January 21, 2020, 12:41:16 pm »
That's what I was thinking too Baker, Perry posted a few pics of buried hives.

MudSongs, Perry lives on the US east coast where the snow can get several feet deep. I remember a particularly deep snow photo of his hives, they were buried about 2 feet. His hives had been solidly buried a couple of weeks or more. He decided to dig down to the top of one hive enough to find the front of the hive where the inner cover notch was located. That's all he wanted to do was open up some air flow, too dangerous to see if the bees were still alive. 

The good news is, he found that the warmth from each hive had kept the snow melted back about 6 inches or more from the sides of the hives, much like an air pocket all the way around the hive. What he also noticed is that there was plenty of bee poop all over the melted walls and some down the front of the hive. Which means that the bees had enough room to go out of the hive and poop. Plus the air pocket seemed to give them enough air flow.

This gave Perry much relief and he didn't excavate the rest of his 50 hives. 

Maybe you could dig down to one of your hives, see what you find, take some photo's and share with us. I live in upper California US, we can get that much snow here as well.
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Offline neillsayers

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Re: Hives Buried in Snow (Newfoundland)
« Reply #6 on: January 21, 2020, 10:28:01 pm »
And I was thinking I had worries. It's been so warm I'm worried that the bees are eating all their supplies. Got some warmer days forecasted and I'm planning to check them for weight. If they seem light I'll add sugar.
Neill Sayers
Herbhome Bees
USDA Zone 7a