Four Acre Farm Reports on SEMAP TIE Grant-Funded Insulated Hive

Four Acre Farm in Norfolk, MA was established in 2014. It is a small, yet growing farm dedicated to ethical, sustainable farming practices. Four Acre Farm recently released their report on an insulated Langstroth hive that they built using funding from a SEMAP TIE Grant. Download the full report at the link below.

It immediately occurred to us that humans have long ago added insulation to their homes to fix problems from heat loss, yet we were forcing them upon the bees. Our 3⁄4 inch pine box is failing in its ability to protect the bees from Mother Nature. Can bees work hard to deal with heat? Yes. Can bees eat extra food to keep warm in winter? Yes. But why should we force them to deal with this stress? Temperature fluctuations also can bring issues with bees entering brood cycles too early in the year, and not being able to cover their brood properly. They can lead to periods of excessive activity when the hive should be dormant conserving its food instead of thinking it’s time to be active and foraging. Let’s see if we can fix the problem.

Four Acre Farm