elif_arici · İzmir, TR · Beginners · Jun 30, 2026

Heat wave hitting 38°C this week — should I move my hives into afternoon shade now?

Second-year beekeeper near İzmir with 3 hives that sit in full sun all day — everyone told me full sun is good when I started. But the forecast says 38°C, maybe 40°C, for most of next week and I'm worried. Yesterday afternoon there was already a huge beard on the front of all three. There's a spot 20 metres away under an old olive tree that gets sun until about 1pm and shade after. Do I just move them there this weekend? I read something about "3 feet or 3 miles" and now I'm scared half my foragers will end up hovering at the old spot in the worst of the heat. What do experienced people in hot climates actually do — move, shade the hives where they stand, or trust the bees?

#heat-wave#hive-placement#shade#bearding

▲ 19 votes 💬 4 replies

4 replies

muglabalci · Jun 30, 2026

Merhaba komşu! 15 years in Muğla, our summers are the same. Don't move them for a heat wave — your instinct about the 3ft/3mi rule is right, and returning foragers milling around an empty spot at 40°C is worse than the heat itself. Instead: shade board or pallet propped on the roof to shade the lid, guaranteed water within 50 m (bees haul a lot of water for cooling — a dripping tap into a bowl of gravel is perfect), and crack the crown board for ventilation. Bees have kept themselves at 35°C in hollow trees through worse. The beard IS the cooling system working.

AbejasCarla · Jun 30, 2026

Andalusia here, we pass 40°C every summer. Everything muglabalci said, plus: white paint or a reflective cover on the roof makes a real difference, and don't do long inspections in the heat — the comb gets soft and new comb can literally collapse. If you do want them under that olive tree long term, move them in November, not now.

TexasBeeSam · Jun 30, 2026

Texas guy chiming in — one thing I'd add is that full sun placement still earns its keep in hot regions because it suppresses small hive beetle. Afternoon shade is a nice-to-have, water is a MUST-have. My bees drink from a stock tank with float boards and on 40°C days it's rush hour there all day.

elif_arici · Jul 1, 2026

Thank you all! Water station built today (big terracotta dish, gravel, dripping hose) and old white-painted boards going on the roofs. Staying put until November. Feeling much calmer about the bearding now.

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