Bees

[user 7704]

Got my bees into their new homes and added the honey supers.

I had an empty hive and some renegades had a huge comb attached to the inner cover. What a mess. There was a little honey so I broke off that part of the comb and brought it in. I know that hive is going to be hard to harvest.

 

[user 7704]

Did a well check on my bees today. All three hives are alive. That's major for me in mid-December. Lol

 

[Noctis_Labyrinthus]

That's good news. Did you heft the hives gently to check their stores? How do you prep them for the winter?

 

[user 7704]

That's good news. Did you heft the hives gently to check their stores? How do you prep them for the winter?

They don't have much stored because I didn't get my nucs until June so we missed the flow. Therefore, I am feeding them sugar all Winter.

 

[Noctis_Labyrinthus]

I'm sure you know this. Moisture is one of the major causes of colony loss during the winter. So make sure you are feeding them sugar or fondant. Also, using a moisture box / blanket over the winter is a really good idea. I keep around 20 hives and I have noticed a major increase in hives making it through the winter using a moisture box. If you need some help, ill be more than glad to impart some knowledge.

 

[user 7704]

I'm sure you know this. Moisture is one of the major causes of colony loss during the winter. So make sure you are feeding them sugar or fondant. Also, using a moisture box / blanket over the winter is a really good idea. I keep around 20 hives and I have noticed a major increase in hives making it through the winter using a moisture box. If you need some help, ill be more than glad to impart some knowledge.

Thank you. The one year I wrapped my boxes, too much moisture was inside and they died. So moist they couldn't flap their little wings and they died. TN has very few really cold days, so it is best to leave them alone except to feed.

 

[Mountain trapper]

The wife plans to order bees in January for May delivery. She didn't get bees last year like she planned but now that she's retired she should have time for her bees.

 

[Noctis_Labyrinthus]

Give the moisture blankets / boxes a shot. Having just a couple hives is a good chance to experiment to see what works. Essentially, the moisture boxes are just an additional box that you can easily make or buy from Dadant. It has a mesh bottom and vent holes on the sides. You fill it with wood shavings. I use animal aspen bedding. The moisture drips from the top cover into the wood shavings and never makes it to the bees. The vent holes in the sides helps to keep air movement in the hive to help further combat excess condensation. You would think the air movement would be counter productive however, I have cold nights in the winter down to -15°f and the bees don't bat an eye at it.

Arcticdude - Glad to hear your wife is getting into the hobby. Is she starting with just one hive?

 

[Mountain trapper]

Give the moisture blankets / boxes a shot. Having just a couple hives is a good chance to experiment to see what works. Essentially, the moisture boxes are just an additional box that you can easily make or buy from Dadant. It has a mesh bottom and vent holes on the sides. You fill it with wood shavings. I use animal aspen bedding. The moisture drips from the top cover into the wood shavings and never makes it to the bees. The vent holes in the sides helps to keep air movement in the hive to help further combat excess condensation. You would think the air movement would be counter productive however, I have cold nights in the winter down to -15°f and the bees don't bat an eye at it.

Arcticdude - Glad to hear your wife is getting into the hobby. Is she starting with just one hive?

She has a couple hives but a couple years ago hornets and yellow jackets killed both hives. She has some ideas on how to reduce the entrance openings to keep the wasps out.

 

[Noctis_Labyrinthus]

Yellow jackets are such a pain in the rear sometimes. When I was feeding a weaker hive this fall using a ceracell top feeder. I popped the cover to the feeder to a mound of dead yellow jackets in the thousands. No idea how they got into the feeder. Thankfully, they didn't kill he hive off. I don't even think they bothered it. They just went after the easy to get syrup. Not exactly what I was expecting to see. I need to figure out what is up with that feeder or top cover on that hive.

Here are some thermal images from a couple of my hives last winter. This is how I check if any died off.

 

[Mountain trapper]

I have a question for the bee experts here. What do you suggest for protecting bee hives in heavy snow country? Most of our winter storms dump 1 to 4 feet of snow at a time, and it doesn't melt until spring. Should I build a roof over the hives, or move the hives in to the barn for the winter? Should I just dig the snow out from around the hives after every storm?
The wife would eventually like to have 6 or 8 hives. I've already built her a bee house where she can store everything she needs for bee keeping and for processing the honey.

 

[user 7704]

I have a question for the bee experts here. What do you suggest for protecting bee hives in heavy snow country? Most of our winter storms dump 1 to 4 feet of snow at a time, and it doesn't melt until spring. Should I build a roof over the hives, or move the hives in to the barn for the winter? Should I just dig the snow out from around the hives after every storm?
The wife would eventually like to have 6 or 8 hives. I've already built her a bee house where she can store everything she needs for bee keeping and for processing the honey.

I'm probably the most inexperienced, but I vote no to barn. They still do cleansing flights. They take the dead bees out. I wouldn't say no to a roof overhead. I made the mistake of wrapping mine and killed them. They still need air and for the moisture to be able to escape. Some put a nickel in the corner of the lid for moisture to escape. Of course, it's much warmer here.

 

[Mountain trapper]

I'm probably the most inexperienced, but I vote no to barn. They still do cleansing flights. They take the dead bees out. I wouldn't say no to a roof overhead. I made the mistake of wrapping mine and killed them. They still need air and for the moisture to be able to escape. Some put a nickel in the corner of the lid for moisture to escape. Of course, it's much warmer here.

Yeah I dont like the idea of putting them in the barn either. Even if I build a roof over the hives the wind will still blow snow in through the sides. I could put the hives in a location where I could clear the snow with the tractor, and then shovel around the hives by hand. I was just concerned that a heavy snowfall could smother the hives before I could get them dug out.

 

[user 7704]

Probably could smother them.

 

[Mountain trapper]

Last week the wife ordered 2 packages of bees. They should be ready to pickup in May.

 

[user 7704]

Luckily, mine are all alive and it's February.

 

[GeorgiaPeachie]

Last week the wife ordered 2 packages of bees. They should be ready to pickup in May.

So how many hives will that make you? A good YouTube to watch for keeping bees alive in lots of snow and cold is the couple in Alaska. They’ve managed to keep their bees going in that environment.

Here is a link.

 

[Mountain trapper]

So how many hives will that make you? A good YouTube to watch for keeping bees alive in lots of snow and cold is the couple in Alaska. They’ve managed to keep their bees going in that environment.

Here is a link.

Right now we only have two hives. We plan on getting 2-4 more by next year.
I'll check out this video when I get an internet connection.

 

[user 7704]

My bees lived through the Winter. There is always a first time.

 

[user 7704]

I put the honey supers on today. Now all they have to do is make some honey.

 

[Mountain trapper]

Last Saturday we picked up 2 packages of bees. We put them in the hives that afternoon and the temp was 35 degs. Everything looked good for a day or two, then the temps dropped to the low teens and we got a couple feet of snow since then. Today it warmed up to 45 degs so we opened the hives. All of the bees were dead. We're trying to find a couple more packages or nucs to refill the hives.
Found out today that the dogs love eating dead bees.

 

[GaRp58]

All of the bees were dead.

Terrible, sorry for your loss of foodstuffs and investments. Gary

 

[Mountain trapper]

Terrible, sorry for your loss of foodstuffs and investments. Gary

Thanks Gary. We contacted the bee guy yesterday. Its possible he may have bees available in a couple weeks. We're waiting on a call from him today.

 

[Mountain trapper]

The wife just ordered 2 packages of bees from Mann Lake today. They should be delivered by the first week of May.

 

[Mountain trapper]

We going down tomorrow to pick up another package of bees, to replace the one that had a dead queen. We now have 4 hives. Nice weather today, not. Its snowing hard and the wind is blowing it sideways.

 

[Mountain trapper]

We just put another package of bees in the 4th hive this evening. One of the little buggers stung me on the middle finger. Gentle my arse.
My wife is a little nuts. She spilled a few bees on the ground so she picked each one up and gently put it in the hive. She'll probably start naming them soon.

 

[EastenerWesterner]

We just put another package of bees in the 4th hive this evening. One of the little buggers stung me on the middle finger. Gentle my arse.
My wife is a little nuts. She spilled a few bees on the ground so she picked each one up and gently put it in the hive. She'll probably start naming them soon.

I would start to worry if she wants to argue which one is which.

 

[Mountain trapper]

We fed the bees this morning. They go through about a gallon of syrup every 3 days per hive. Now that its warming up and flowers are starting to bloom, the bees should be out foraging. We pulled a few frames out and it looks like they're doing what they're supposed to be doing. Maybe in another week or 2 we can add another brood box on each hive.
The bee guy said he'll come out in a week or so to check on the queens and make sure everything is going well.

 

[TexPrep]

You brought up a good question for me. How far away does the hive need to be away from lawn mowers. Etc. I can go deeper away from the lawn.

I also use a tiller in the spring. In my Beekeeping for Dummies book, he doesn't even wear gloves except for certain times of year when they are more easily agitated. He has Italian and Russian.

The head of the bee club says that 3 of the members sell bees so that' worth looking into. Her hives are 10s, but I read that when you are acclimating the queen, you only use 8 to have room for her box. Do you have to add the other 2?

Thats a great question.
My father in Law got swarmed when he went by one of his hives.
Apparently he did this all the time and they never swarmed him in the past.
I guess they were a bit ornery that day for some reason.

 

[user 7704]

I am so far behind on my honey this year. It has been too hot to put on the suit for long periods.

Since I'm down to one hive, I shouldn't have much work to do.hopefully it will be enough for us and my daughter.