Promoting beekeeping in Door County
NOVEMBER
The Bees. The bees continue to cluster for winter. They may not yet go into a full winter cluster. They may break cluster frequently on warm days and recluster at night. But they will begin to cluster for the winter.
DECEMBER
The Bees. The bees are in a tight cluster. No peeking.
The Beekeeper. There’s nothing you can do with the bees, except clear out the entrance of dead bees. Read a good book on beekeeping, and enjoy the holidays!
Now that the LAST winter storm is behind us, it’s time to focus on our bees, hives, and spring apiary work. Temperatures are warming and the sun is hotter, but don’t make the mistake of thinking your bees can solo just yet. Keep checking food stores and add sugar hard candy and/or pollen substitute patties as needed. By mid-April you can start feeding colonies light syrup. Remember that light syrup is a 1:1 water-sugar mixture. We will talk more about feeding and other spring tasks at the upcoming meeting in April. This meeting is one of our core programs for both new and experienced beekeepers. There will be lots of opportunities to ask questions and talk to your fellow beekeepers.
For those of you that need bees and have ordered them through Max, start watching your email inbox towards the end of April. Max will let everyone know the anticipated delivery dates and then specific times to pick up your NUC’s and packages when they arrive.
These strange temperatures and weather patterns are certainly confusing for both the bees and the beekeepers. If you are seeing flight activity around your hive(s), don’t assume the hive is back in warm weather mode. Most of the bees you see emerging are likely doing cleansing flights. It will be a while before they start foraging and gathering flights. For now, it’s very important that you monitor the hive and make sure there are adequate food sources and open entrances. March is a critical transition month and hive starvation is common if you aren’t checking. On these mild days, peek into the hive and make sure your hard candy (sugar bricks) and spring pollen patties are still sufficient. Checking the hives every 7-10 days will ensure that the colony doesn’t starve and successfully transitions into spring activities. You should also check your entrance to make sure it’s not blocked by dead bees. Temporarily remove your mouse guard and using a stick or long screwdriver, scrape out the dead bees. When you are done, be sure and put the mouse guard back on. At the meeting next month, we will talk about equipment, how to care for your bees in the spring, and how to install new bee packages and nucs. If you are planning to order bee packages or nucs from Max Martin, please email or text your order to him right away.
We are getting a warm spell!
Get out and clean out the entrances to your hives! I checked mine on Wednesday and 9 of 12 were blocked with dead bees!!
Also lift the lid of your hives. If you can see the top of the cluster, feed your bees. In 10 of my 12 hives, the cluster was visible on the top of the second brood box. Those 10 now have hard candy on top of the brood box frames.
The good news is that all 12 of my hives were alive yet as well as one nuc with the VSH queen in it!
If you have a hive that died, make sure to clean out the dead bees as soon as possible to prevent molding in the hive.
Good luck!
Winter has certainly been slow to arrive this year, but it doesn’t mean the care of your hive(s) can be relaxed. The bees are clustered around the queen to keep her warm and properly nourished. By this time, you should have your hive closed, a mouse guard installed, and proper ventilation systems in place. There are also things that you should periodically check as the winter progresses. Check your hive entrance for snow blockage. On sunny days, the bees will try to exit the hive to do cleansing flights. It is also important to make sure dead bees aren’t blocking the entrance. Remove the mouse guard and using a stick or long screwdriver, scrape the dead bees out. Make sure to reinstall the mouse guard when you’re done. You should also check food supplies and make sure the bees have ample honey. This can be verified by simply lifting the back of the hive to see if it still feels heavy. If it feels quite a bit lighter than it did last fall, it’s time to provide emergency feeding; the most common of which is hard sugar blocks. Try to perform these checks on a sunny day when the temperature is at or above freezing.
Happy Spring everyone! Despite a cold and snowy March, warmth and bee activity is at our doorstep.
For those of you that were successful in overwintering your colonies, there are several important things to focus on. Hive wraps and moisture pillows should be removed. Check food supplies, and until pollen is plentiful, add sugar cakes and or patties.
For those that lost hives, review the information presented by Max last month and try to determine what went wrong. Be sure to clean the dead bees out of your brood boxes and prepare the hive for re-populating.
Watch your email inbox for notification on the arrival of new bee packages and nucs. Typically, that occurs in the first week of May.
Door County Beekeepers things to do in March
Most queens will be laying eggs by the end of March so monitoring food reserves is critical. It is not uncommon for a hive to make it through the hardest part of winter only to starve in March or April. If honey reserves are low, feed candy, fondant, or dry sugar. Colonies that consume feed should be monitored carefully and fed as needed. Feed pollen substitute to strong hives with plenty of honey stores in mid-March.
