Feeding Time

Today was feeding day again and since it was so warm, we were able to get into the hives and check on everybody.  The bees like to keep the inside of the hive at about 95 degrees and we won't go poking around in them if it's 55 or below.  If  we did that, it would simply take them to long to get the temperature back up again.  In the winter they regulate the temp by forming themselves into a ball shape cluster that is constantly moving.  The energy created by their body movements produces heat.  They're such clever little creatures.

Now back to feeding.  Back on August 8, we tried the ziplock bag method, but by the time we got bags in each of the hives, we knew that we'd go back the feeders we'd been using.  Danny mixed up 20 gallons of sugar water and we put 1-2 gallons in each hive that had gotten low on their honey stores.  Two hives still had capped honey, which means they haven't had to get into their stores that they had at the end of summer.  One hive actually had new honey.  This means that they are healthy hive and have been able to get out on the warm winter days and forage.

A month ago, we ordered 15 hives that will be ready for pickup in April.  At that time we will have 29 hives if the 14 we have now survive the rest of the winter.  Today we found that we had lost one hive due to starvation.  When we looked in the main hive body, we found the bees dead and in the ball shape they use to keep warm.

Our hives are located next to a fence at the edge of our property.  Our next door neighbor has a number of cows and today several of them mosied over to check out what we were doing.

To Do List - November

Hives don't really need constant attention, and it would probably annoy the bees if they got it.  It would be like someone taking the roof off your house regularly, pulling you and your furniture out and giving you the once over.  And if that was done when it was cold, rainy or windy, I imagine it would tick anybody off. 

That being said, they do need to be checked periodically to ascertain the overall health of the colony, to make sure they have an adequate food supply, and prepare them for each season.

Now is a good time to reduce the entrances.  As cold weather arrives, the population begins to drop due to the limited food supplies available throughout the winter.  Less total bee population means less bees to guard the entrance against robber bees and potentially mice looking for a warm dry winter home.

Feed the bees occasionally with a 2:1 sugar water solution.  This will help their honey stores last a bit longer.  Check to make sure the bees are not honey bound.  This means that the queen has run out of room to lay eggs because so many of the cells are full of honey. 

It is also a good time to get your honey and wax ready for gifts.  I enjoy using decorative jars in organza bags as a simple yet always welcome gift bags.   Sometimes I also add small beeswax ornaments, soap, dippers and/or a christmas ornament.  Honey lovers are always excited to receive these.

Feeding

It's time to start feeding the bees. We harvested the honey two weeks ago. When we 'pull' the honey, we try to leave enough for them to make it thru the winter as it's their major food source. With no flowers blooming during the winter, they can't forage for food.

If it doesn't look like they have enough honey, we feed them sugar water to help them out. Sometimes pollen patties, since they have protein in them.

There are different types of feeders, today we tried the ziplock bag method we'd heard about from another beekeeper. After mixing two parts sugar to one part water in a 5 gallon bucket, we filled a dozen gallon sized ziplocks. We laid them inside the hives and cut a small slit in the side so the bees can gradually suck the sugar water out.

We'll check them in a week to see who needs more.

This is hive #16. It's a swarm from last year and has been the most successful one we've caught. The population is high and the queen appears to be healthy, producing the appropriate amount of brood.