Subject: How quiet is quiet?

From: Mike Quimby <[email-masked]>
Date: 19 Dec 94 07:47:04 EST

Greetings!  I am at the very beginning of my beekeeping experience
and I am helping a friend of mine with his single hive.  My question
is this.......What is the noise level of a hive when the bees are
clustered, especially when they are a few supers down and the 
temperatures are about mid 30's and fairly sunny??

I went over this weekend to his house and we went to see the 
bees expecting at least a few to be at the entrance, but there
was no activity. I put my ear to the side of the brood nest area
and could hear nothing so I removed the cover. No bees at the very
top, but I could hear faint buzzing from far below.....faint.

It also seems to me that the honey filled supers between my ear and
the cluster are probably very sound absorbent as well.  Any comments
would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Mike Quimby
[email-masked]

PS   I am in east-central Indiana......

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From: [email-masked] (C. Paul Ferroni)
Date: 19 Dec 1994 17:14:07 GMT

> temperatures are about mid 30's and fairly sunny??

  I generally  put my ear on the side of the hive, then tap sharply on the
back of the hive once or twice to "stir them up" a bit.  Generally, you
can hear a definite buzz at this point.  Works for me...

  Of course, if it's a clear, sunny day, don't be suprised if a few bees
poke their heads out the entrance to "answer the door".  :) 

-cpf

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From: [email-masked] (Pollinator)
Date: 19 Dec 1994 22:39:50 -0500

> temperatures are about mid 30's and fairly sunny??

    It's perfectly normal for clustered bees to make a very faint hum,
especially on such a cold day. The bees on the outside of the cluster are
very near the air temperature (inside the hive), so they aren't moving
much. The inner bees, of course are well insulated by the cluster, and
they generate heat from burning sugars in honey, so they could be more
active. However they will also have some sound dampening from the cluster
around them. (The outer bees and the inner bees do exchange places
somewhat.)
   In your area, it is too late to do anything, if the cluster is too
small, as it could be from varroa or a failing queen. The cluster needs to
be about the size of a soccer ball, or they won't be able to hold heat
well, but that should have been checked earlier.
  The thing that concerned me, however, is that you have left honey supers
on during winter.
1. Are the supers full or empty? Full supers will feed the bees and act as
a heat reservoir for them, so that is ok, but empty ones are simply more
space for them to heat, and could even cause winter loss of the hive, by
making them burn up their fuel. Any empty boxes should be removed
immediately (or placed beneath the cluster).
2. Is there an excluder between the brood nest and the supers? Leaving an
excluder in place is a frequent cause of winter loss, because the bees
gradually move up as they consume honey, and, unless you have a very
skinny queen, she is left below to freeze. If you have an excluder, you
need to remove it immediately. I have found that, if the cluster is good
sized, you can leave one (and only one) shallow super over an excluder for
winter. The cluster won't entirely move through the excluder, because it
is too large to fit into a shallow.
   Wish you the best in your first wintering.
Dave Green,  Eastern Pollinator Newsletter, PO Box 1215, Hemingway, SC 
29554
E-Mail:  [email-masked]