At the Hive Entrance.pdf - BioBees

Observation
Explanation
Scraps of wood and other
damage are found at one or
more hive entrances.
A woodpecker is at work and searching for food. If it
succeeded at its first attempt it will certainly return.
The violent pecking so seriously upsets the colony
that the bees go to the hive entrance where the woodpecker
eats them. It will no only peck at the hive
entrance but also at the front wall and, in the case of
straw hives tear away tufts of straw with its strong
beak.
The bees which get eaten are the least of the damage,
more serious in the high consumption of food and the
ensuing dysentery. The following is a brief true exempIe.
A beekeeper had 6 colonies in straw hives located
behind his barn. Troughout the winter he never went
past the area. When he felt it was the time for the
cleansing flight he visited the apiary only to find the
populations dead. The hives were dislodged and pierced
up to the combs; two wood-peckers were still in
the vicinity.
(If a fence of strong, narrowly spaced wires is placed
around the hives, not only wood-peckers but other
birds are kept at a distance).
When it becomes warmer after
a period of extreme cold, water
is found at the hive entrance,
particularly when the hive contains
a vigorous colony.
From all the questions asked, notably after the drastic
month of February 1956, it seems that this observation
puzzles many beekeepers. There is however no
reason for concern, for on the contrary, the observation
indicates a promising colony. During the winter
months each cluster warms only itself and not the
whole of the surrounding hive. As is known, heating
implies food consumption. Bees continuously exhale
water vapour, some of which escapes through the
hive entrance and the rest settles on the hive walls
where, in times of frost, it freezes and crystallizes and
so the bees population finds itself living in a "palace of
ice". As it becomes warmer, the ice melts and water
trickles on the bottom board to appear soon at the
hive entrance. Experience shows that strong, healthy
colonies that have spent the winter in good conditions
and were not disturbed come to no harm in even the
most severe cold weather. Only vigorous populations
with a early brood are an exception.
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