![]() So if the spring nectar flow was sufficient, you might need to sacrifice a few honey frames from your honey harvest. In a good year, the fall nectar flow will be sufficient to set up your bees for the winter. In order to get the formula that works for you, you need to find out how much honey the local beekeepers in your area regard as sufficient. By this time, the queen bee has begun laying eggs, meaning there are more mouths to feed. By going out to rediscover their environment, they burn through even more food. Sometimes, the sun comes out, and the colony starts to exercise those wings. ![]() In fact, many beekeepers lose their colonies at the beginning of spring. During more bitter winters, they may need to stay indoors longer.Įven when the landscape starts to thaw out, the blooms are still not available to provide nutrition for our little workers. In addition to that, the severity of the winter will also determine how much honey they’ll need. The size of the colony will determine the amount of honey they need. Stores can be checked by weighing the box. This would help prevent cold air from coming into the hives.Ī thermal camera may aid you in this task of looking after the colony without opening the hive too much. Additionally, the pantry has to have adequate food stores for the honey bees to make it through the cold winters.Īlthough you will need to keep an eye on the colony and check on them from time to time, you want to minimize the number of times you need to open the hive entrances. You have to make sure the mite count is way down. Once July is over, you really need to get going to ensure your bees survive the winter. Winter preparations begin early, even before the cold climates set in. This way, although they don’t hibernate, they are pretty inactive. This is the bee equivalent of lying on the sofa with minimal movement. The less they do, the less honey they need, keeping winter feeding to a minimum. The cool temperatures also reduce the amount of activity in the hive. By the time they get to the honey, it’s not too cold it’s not too hard, it’s just right. However, the heat generated by a cluster rises and thaws out the honey above the cluster. The heat and moisture generated by the cluster also enable them to feed.Īs you can imagine, it can get pretty frosty in the northern states, and honey is difficult to eat frozen. It also keeps the hive warm in the cold months. The bigger the cluster, the warmer the bees are. The cluster moves together and uses its wing muscles to vibrate and generate heat to keep the winter bees warm. And then, the colony comes in for a 4-month-long cuddle, with a few bathroom breaks for hygiene.īanding together for warmth makes them form a winter cluster. These ladies can live for 6 months, unlike their sisters, who only make it to six weeks.Įventually, the queen stops laying eggs altogether, which ensures that the stored honey will be enough to get them through the winter. The queen lays eggs to get workers who will see her through the winter. ![]() Prior to the winter months, they had to make sure they had enough food stores to keep them fed when they could not go out to forage. They collect nectar and work really hard to cure it before the temperature falls too low. They spend the fall gearing up for winter. Oh, and of course, a four-month supply of food stores so I’d never have to leave my cozy wonderland until jack frost’s reign was over. If you didn’t have to work, what would you do in the winter? I would move to a cabin in the woods with a stack of best sellers and a magical fairy who kept the fire burning in the chimney all through the cold weather. Since we caused the problem, it is now upon us to help them through by preparing beehives before the cold weather descends. All these factors have caused their natural winter processes to malfunction. That wasn’t something these European bees had to worry about 1000 years ago. We also started shipping things all over the world and brought some nasty little critters, such as the varroa destructor mite, to their doorstep. Our agricultural practices have altered their environment so much. Winter isn’t new to them, but our hives are. Let’s get something straight, though, before we dive into winterizing bee hives.īees have been getting through winter for thousands of years. Winter is one of the top causes of dead bees. ![]() Whereas individual workers drop dead from exhaustion every day, the colony, which is a superorganism, can also meet its demise from natural causes. But beekeepers have been dealing with these words for decades as they prepare for winterizing their bee hives.įor many beekeepers, the thought of winter brings an ominous feeling. Three words that Game of Thrones fans think they invented.
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