A BEE thread....for those interested in beekeeping.

[Sooner]

At what point do you know if you have enough ventilation???

I will be adding the mouse excluder today.

We are still in the 60's during the day so I won't be adding anything else for a while but I had planned to put a wind block up for the north & south wind......

I am also unsure how you know if you need to feed.

 

[Stacykins]

At what point do you know if you have enough ventilation???

I will be adding the mouse excluder today.

We are still in the 60's during the day so I won't be adding anything else for a while but I had planned to put a wind block up for the north & south wind......

I am also unsure how you know if you need to feed.

Determining whether to feed or not is based on how much stored honey they have. They should have 100-140lbs for their use during the winter. If they have less, they need fed, or they may starve. Sugar syrup, two parts sugar to one part water, if they will still take it.

Ventilation, if it is damp in the hive, they need more.

 

[Sooner]

Determining whether to feed or not is based on how much stored honey they have. They should have 100-140lbs for their use during the winter. If they have less, they need fed, or they may starve. Sugar syrup, two parts sugar to one part water, if they will still take it.

Ventilation, if it is damp in the hive, they need more.

Ok they have two 10 frame hive boxes that were full the last time I checked, granted some of that would of been brood at the time. Guess I need to open it up to see what they have in honey.

We are getting some cold nights & warm days so I will look to see if I see any signs of dampness.... thank you!

 

[sgtmom52]

If you see moisture on the inner cover it is too damp in the hive. I do not close my screened bottom boards for the winter and do not wrap my hives. Make sure that the hives is protected from high winds and add a mouse guard.

I stop feeding liquid syrup in the beginning of October as it creates too much moisture in the hive. I switch over to "bee candy" or fondant. There are many recipes for "bee candy" ~ this is what I use. My bees go crazy for this candy and I usually need to put 2 pans on each hive for the winter. Feed as needed.

Quote:
The nice thing about bee candy is that you put it on in the fall and they can take it all winter as needed. The bee candy also absorbs excess moisture in the hive. We built 2" high spacers that fit between the inner and top covers as candy feeders. We drill an extra 1" diameter ventilation hole in the inner cover then place the candy over the large hole in the center. The bees can feed from under the inner cover in colder weather.

I know commercial beekeepers that feed dry sugar for winter feed. It is simple and can be a hive saver. All you need to do is place a paper towel over the hole in the inner cover and spray lightly with water. Then pour a 4 or 5 pound bag of white cane sugar on top of the paper towel. The damp towel will cause the bottom of the sugar to harden a bit keeping it from falling into the hive. The sugar will absorb excess moisture and feed the bees for the winter. Any excess in the spring can be used to make syrup to feed. (It will be hard by then). Do not use any other types of sugar, esp brown, "raw" or powdered as they can give bees dysentery which will kill them over the winter.

 

[Sooner]

sgtmom52 you never close the screened bottom? That is what I have & thought they would get too cold with it completely open? I'm guessing it gets a lot colder where you are than here. I tell ya the learning curve is crazy with bee's (just like chickens) where everyone does it a little different.

Thanks for the bee candy, I copied it to make some. I am thinking if they don't need it they won't eat it & if they do it will be there.

I am hoping to have a strong hive next year & can split and have two!

 

[sgtmom52]

sgtmom52 you never close the screened bottom? That is what I have & thought they would get too cold with it completely open? I'm guessing it gets a lot colder where you are than here. I tell ya the learning curve is crazy with bee's (just like chickens) where everyone does it a little different.

Thanks for the bee candy, I copied it to make some. I am thinking if they don't need it they won't eat it & if they do it will be there.

I am hoping to have a strong hive next year & can split and have two!

No, I never close the screen boards. It is personal preference. If you live in a very windy area, you might want to partially close it. I only put in the bottom boards if I want to do a mite count. It does get cold here ~ we are averaging day time temps in the 40's right now and night time in the 30's. Bees are a lot like chickens ~ moisture and drafts are much more harmful than cold temps. The bees will cluster toward the center of the hive when it gets cold.

The bee candy is like extra insurance against starvation over the winter. The Honey B Healthy is optional, but makes the candy especially attractive to the bees. If you don't have Honey Bee Healthy you can use a little lemongrass oil instead. You can reduce the recipe to suits your needs ~ the above recipe is actually 1/2 of the original recipe which I found too hard to work with especially when it starts to harden at the end.

 

[Sooner]

We do have a lot of wind here in Oklahoma. I plan to add wind blocks pretty soon. The worst of our winter will be in Jan/Feb. Last year was very mild.

I also have to move my hive when it gets cold enough that they aren't flying around.....only about 5-10 foot but a move none the less.

I will be making my candy in the next day or two.

Thanks for all your help.

 

[LONDON HENS]

Look at the snow on the top of my hive today in London. It just shows how much heat the bees are producing in freezing winter conditions.



This is my other hive below. Very little activity compared to hive above. We have just added some fondant to both hives. Really hoping they will make it through the cold weather. Is there anything people would defenintely recomend doing for their bees during cold spells??

 

[sgtmom52]

We had an unseasonably warm day in Pennsylvania today ~ 57 degrees which is 20 degrees above normal. I took the opportunity to do a visual (exterior only) check on my hives. All 7 hives here at the house were active and flying. We also have hive on 2 farms in the area. One farm has 3 hives and it appears we lost 2 hives there. The other farm has 5 hives and we lost 4 of those.

Looks like we will have a lot of work to do in the spring to get back up and running again.

 

[NevadaRon]

My hive was started new last spring. My last inspection before winter set in the hive looked really healthy. My question is, should I try feeding them over winter? I'm concerned that they may not have had the numbers to lay up a good supply of food for the winter. But since I'm a noob I really don't know what I'm looking at when I open it.

Oh, also, I've been reading about varroa and how to treat for it. The treatments I've seen are toxic to humans (fumagillin). At least it has warnings about not getting it in your eyes or on your skin. I was wondering if there are natural treatments that aren't harmful? And what success any of you might have had using them?