We have bees arriving tomorrow for three hives. We thought we had the spot picked out, but we are second guessing ourselves. I was hoping to get a little advice before our bees arrive if possible.
We are in Texas, and not sure if full sun would be too hot, or if part sun, part shade would be best. We have read that full sun is best in some books, but others say full sun is too much. Then there is the summer/winter question, if we go part shade, is it warm enough in the winter for the hives.
The part sun, part shade is very close to our lake, the full sun spot is just around 100 yards from the lake.
I would be completely thankful for any suggestions.
Hive placement for Texas hives
I live in central PA and have only had bees a few years. My bees are located at the woods edge with southerly exposure. In the summer, they have plenty of shade. In the winter, the leaves drop and the sun shines directly on the hive. I hope that helps.
Pat in PA
Thanks for the response. I think we finally figured it out, and the bees were placed in the field. It seems either site would be just fine, and we figured we would put these a bit further out, then add more hives at a later time.
Thanks again for the reply.
When we place our hives in a hot climate, we put them in the dappled light under some trees. Plenty of sun early and late, when it is cooler, but shade during the hottest part of the day.
When the weather is cold, we place them in as much sun as possible, especially morning sun, but all day sun if possible.
Obviously this idea works only if you have several locations to move the hives to and from.
Good luck, Tatum! Let us know how they work out.
We have hives moved into the squash fields around town. Full West Texas sun. They do have loads of water barrels around. No shade though and hives seem to do well.