Ep166 Warmer autumns are good for bees right? Turns out, not really.

Found a research article that was food for thought on how warmer autumns may be having effects on our bees that aren't so good: creating smaller late-winter clusters by increased wear and tear on the precious winter bees who should not be as active as the temps drive them to be. But also, it goes into novel solutions (well, not novel in Canada but novel in more Southern climes) to help. Do backyard beekeepers have any options to help? I do some thinking aloud about all that and pondering on an unexpected potential benefit of insulation perhaps?

Here is the original study if you take those straight-up-no-chaser (looking at you Susan S! ;-) : https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-55327-8

For a reader friendly overview that will help you then dive into the research paper: https://news.wsu.edu/press-release/2024/03/25/honey-bees-at-risk-for-colony-collapse-from-longer-warmer-fall-seasons/

Also: for my past episode on Condensing Hives vs Ventilating Hives see Ep 122

*Ep 122: New Insulation Setup and The "Condensing Hive"*

A deeper dive into the why and how of the insulation setup I started using several years ago, the condensing-hive concept. For the patrons, find the links to everything mentioned in the show, and the video I made for .

Wishing you all a wonderful week and let me know if there are topics about bees you have been wondering about and it's a great excuse for me to do a geek deep dive into research on it! —kind regards, Leigh

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