Happy New Year, everyone! This time of year is the doldrums of beekeeping, a great time to learn something new about the hobby. There isn’t a lot to do, but there are very important things to periodically check. We’ve seen temperatures with extreme cold and some warming into the 30s and low 40s. It is important to observe the hive entrance, look for bees taking cleansing flights on the warmer days, and keep the entrance to the hive clear from expiring bees. Use a bit of caution because the bees can and will fly at you. You should also be checking colony food stores by doing the tilt and lift to gauge the weight of the hive. When it’s above 32 degrees, it’s safe to do a quick 30-second peek and add supplemental feeding if needed; food includes sugar brinks, fondant, and some use sugar on a paper plate.
If you did experience a colony loss or a “dead out”, it’s important to take care of it as soon as possible. You can learn a lot if you have a colony loss by doing a “bee-cropsy” to see if the colony had adequate food stores, and other contributors to colony loss. The important part is to clean the dead bees out and protect all that drawn-out comb to use in the spring if you decide to repopulate the colony. Once you have it cleaned out, you can freeze the frames for 24 hours or more to try to remove any other unwanted problems. Try not to freeze them too long; the comb can get more brittle. Once removed, you can store them back in their hive box but be sure to continue to protect that hive against things like wax moths.
