What did you do in the garden today?

[Sally PB]

I think we should have fed more and earlier...? We had supers on in July, kept hearing everyone else in the bee club say how much honey they were getting. We have gobs of goldenrod (acres), and I saw lots of activity. I thought they had plenty. We were shocked (and very disappointed) when we looked and saw nothing in the super.

The supers were new, and half of the frames in each were new. We had one super worth of frames with some-to-a-lot of comb, so we gave each hive half.

 

[Apis mellifera]

I think we should have fed more and earlier...?

Could be, especially if they were a split. It's hard starting out, a lot can go wrong early. Lots of golden rod and other forage is great but if the colony doesn't have the work force to collect it something went wrong.

 

[Sally PB]

We did split in April. It looked like the original hive was bursting at the seams.

Would it have been better to just put on another deep brood box?

 

[WthrLady]

Our problem is mid winter and late winter deep freezes. I'm taking temp where the highs aren't above 16°- 19° for a week.
Even with food and wraps, they just cant....

 

[Jenbirdee]

Sadly nothing. But I enjoy reading about what some of you are doing.

 

[Apis mellifera]

Would it have been better to just put on another deep brood box?

Add supers early and check for queen cups.

 

[Apis mellifera]

Our problem is mid winter and late winter deep freezes. I'm taking temp where the highs aren't above 16°- 19° for a week.
Even with food and wraps, they just cant....

Those temps shouldn't be a problem. Preparing a healthy winter cluster starts in April.

 

[WthrLady]

Those temps shouldn't be a problem. Preparing a healthy winter cluster starts in April.

It's a huge problem when we don't have fodder for them until May. They eat through their stores in January, and then super late freezes they have nothing left. We bounce between 55/60 and they come out and there's nothing to eat, inside and out. Supplemental feed doesn't even help enough.
We had bees for 6 years and lost hive after hives after hives. All the surrounding keepers do too.
Major keepers here overwinter in protected sheds. Typical hive loss here is 25-50%.
It's a different game when 90% of your fodder is grassland prairielands and wildflower, which are late summer into fall availability.

 

[Apis mellifera]

It's a huge problem when we don't have fodder for them until May. They eat through their stores in January, and then super late freezes they have nothing left. We bounce between 55/60 and they come out and there's nothing to eat, inside and out. Supplemental feed doesn't even help enough.
We had bees for 6 years and lost hive after hives after hives. All the surrounding keepers do too.
Major keepers here overwinter in protected sheds. Typical hive loss here is 25-50%.
It's a different game when 90% of your fodder is grassland prairielands and wildflower, which are late summer into fall availability.

Yikes! Some places just aren't meant for honeybees. We are fortunate here in the northeast. Plenty of nectar and pollen from spring to fall. If supplemental feeding isn't enough, I wouldn't even keep bees there.

 

[WthrLady]

Which is why many have given up here. We have a huge solitary bee population out here.
And we care and support those as best we can.