I'm the newbee who's posting pictures of wrapped hives and confusing everyone. I started 2 packages last spring so this is my first winter keeping bees.
As Rob said, most people around here don't wrap hives. I opted to do it mostly because I have only two hives and I'm obsessed and I like to experiment.
Although burning through the stores of capped sugar water/honey is a serious problem, I was really more concerned about reducing the amount of condensation within the hive. Experienced beekeepers will tell you that is really the biggest problem with overwintering bees.
Wrapping a hive could potentially increase the amount of condensation if you wrap it in such a way that is not allowed to breath. I chose to use Tekfoil (available at Lowes or from Farmtek) and I just stapled it loosely to the hive so that there is a layer of trapped air between the hive and the insulation. With small staples it pulls out easily, so it shouldn't damage the hive body.
I also opted to put a wintering inner cover just under the outer cover, and beneath the inner cover I put a regular inner cover, and beneath that I put my hive top feeder (full of granulated sugar - not sugar water of course!) The feeder sits on top of the 4th medium hive body. Pretty weird. Obviously, I made this up. I'm not aware of anyone else doing this.
Here is a link to a wintering inner cover:
http://www.brushymountainbeefarm.com/8- ... fo/W254IC/
Condensation is likely to be worst at the top of the hive - rather than the sides, as warm moist air produced by the cluster rises and then condenses to form droplets when it meets a cold inner cover.
With my set-up, I'm mainly worried about condensation forming at the bottom of the hive-top feeder and then dropping onto the cluster. I'm hoping that the multiple inner covers will reduce this abrupt temperature transition and thereby reduce the amount of condensation that forms at the bottom of feeder. The sugar also acts as a dessicant, stabilizing the moisture level inside the hive.
Ultimately, the issue is one of ventilation versus insulation, much the same as with our human homes. I don't think anyone has really figured this out (for hives or houses either one!)
I suspect that when I get 10 or more hives I will abandon the wrapping, simply because it is expensive and time-consuming.
On the plus side, I'm guessing that the insulation has slowed down the rate that the bees burn through their winter stores. Although both of my hives are strong and active, judging by Rob's hive tipping test, both of my hives are still very heavy. I'm not worried about them starving at this point. Come to think of it, reducing the burn rate on the honey stored in the hive will reduce the amount of moisture produced by the cluster, potentially aiding the cause of reducing condensation. I didn't think about that when I started wrapping. Hey, maybe insulating is a win-win situation!
Finally, I'd emphasize that I didn't take any honey this year. I wanted to make sure that my bees had plenty of food going into their first winter. And listen to the old pros, I'm just experimenting and making this stuff up. It's fun.
Paul
