The Vivaldi Board – I’m such a fan!
A top down view of the Vivaldi Board set up for winter use, with folded length of burlap in place to hold in warmth. The screened gap that allows for air flow is visible at the top of the photo.
In beekeeping, you’re either going to have a Langstroth or Top Bar hive system. Here on my little patch, it’s Langstroth which essentially means I use a series of boxes stacked one upon the next, with 8-10 frames hanging within each, upon which the bees perform their various functions, from brood rearing to honey-making. On top of the uppermost box sits an interior cover, followed by a telescoping outer cover. I’m not sure why it’s referred to as “telescoping” as it only slides from front to back a bit, but that can be debated another day. The point is, what goes on top of the hive boxes is important, particularly during a PNW winter (see more about hive winterization tips here). Cold and humidity are a tough combination for bees. They might be able to generate enough warmth to survive, but the resulting condensation can doom them. After my first beekeeping winter turned into a moldy failure, I sought out a better solution to controlling winter moisture in the hives. The Vivaldi Board did the trick, and proved useful the rest of the year, too. I’m such a fan!
Top down view with the burlap removed. The interior screen keeps the bees in while I take a peek.
So, what is a Vivaldi Board? It’s basically a ventilated inner cover that allows for better air flow in summer and moisture control in winter. With a removeable interior screen, it enables controlled visual access to your bees (they can’t fly out while you peek in), and an easy means of delivering feeding, whether it’s dry/damp sugar in winter or a top box of syrup in the spring. Furthermore, it has a built-in upper entrance that is especially helpful for the winter setup. To help keep heat in and moisture at bay during the coldest months, it’s recommended to tuck in some folded burlap or other natural material. I used burlap last year, and things couldn’t have gone better. Once warmer temperatures rolled around, I took the burlap out but kept the Vivaldi Boards on to help the bees stay cool. That seemed to work quite well, too, as I never observed any of the bearding on hot summer afternoons that I’d seen in previous years (where the colony basically hangs out on the outside of the hive to cool off).
Looks a bit weird, I know. This photo shows the addition of sugar with a little water sprinkled on top - a fall feeding that they will go through in just a couple of days! The Vivaldi Board makes delivering this so easy.
So, what was originally purchased for winter use has become an integral component of my year around beekeeping set up. I’m a big fan of the Vivaldi Board! Have you tried it? And about that name, does anyone know what the Vivaldi connection is?