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.
Max's Minute - Archives
Max's Minute - Archives provides helpful insights and tips for managing your beekeeping throughout the year, as well as a look into the monthly activities of the Door County Beekeepers Club. These posts are provided by Max Martin, co-president of the DCBC, and initially appear on the Home page for timely aid during the various beekeeping seasons. Visit our Home page often to see the latest Max's Minute.
Max’s Minute 2024-01-26
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!
Max’s Minute 2024-01-06
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.
Max’s Minute 2023-05-19
Max’s Minute 2023-04-11
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.
Max’s Minute 2023-03-15
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.
Max’s Minute 2023-01-13
Door County Beekeepers things to do in January
- Keep the hive entrance clear of snow and dead bees to allow for proper hive ventilation.
- As soon as the temperature rises to 40 degrees, preferably in January, take a quick peek inside the hive. Without removing any frames, see if you can spot the location of the cluster. How are they doing for food stores? It is a good idea at this time to provide your bees with fondant, sugar candy or granulated sugar to ensure they have enough food.
- If the temperature is too cold to open the hive, you can listen to the hive instead. Do you hear the gentle hum of the cluster? If so, you can be relieved to know your bees are still alive. Wait for a warmer day to open the hive and take a look at them. If you are accustomed to knowing the weight of your hive full of honey, you can also lift the hive slightly to judge how much food stores the bees have left. This will give you an idea how soon they will need supplemental food.
- Assess your equipment and plan for the upcoming year. Now is the time to order new equipment, build, paint, clean and repair if needed.
- Order new package bees and/or queens to be delivered in the spring.
- Attend local bee club meetings, take or register for a beekeeping class, read beekeeping books and articles, and research, study, and make a varroa testing and treatment plan for the new season.
Max’s Minute 2022-11-29
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!
Max’s Minute 2022-09-12
It is the time of year to prep your hive for the winter months ahead. Your goal is to raise fat bees that will overwinter in the hive for the next 5-6 months. There is interesting reading on the web about vitellogenin and overwintering bees.
Harvest honey at the end of August, first of September and remove queen excluder.
Varroa mite treatment program. Check your hive for mite levels and if you find you have no mites then check again! Go to DATCP Varroa mite treatment and see the recommended options for mite control in Wisconsin (https://datcp.wi.gov/Documents/TreatmentOptions.pdf). After you have finished your mite treatment protocol, you may want to check for mites again just to be sure your mite treatment worked — brood timing can be a glitch and resistance exists!
Check your hive for pollen supplies. If you don’t see much pollen, you might want to add a pollen substitute for the bees. Check out the pollen substitute article by Randy Oliver (https://scientificbeekeeping.com/a-comparative-test-of-the-pollen-sub/). If you are going to feed pollen patties, use winter pollen patties.
Feed the bees heavy syrup to assure that they have enough food to get them through the winter months.
Decide if you are going to wrap your hives in a cozy or cover it with a pillow or a 2 inch polystyrene hat.
Last, but not least, be sure to put on a mouse excluder just before the first frost; be sure to check that you have not enclosed a mouse family inside the hive (been there and done that).
See you at the meeting September 20th.
Max’s Minute 2022-04-14
Good nutrition for your hives will be naturally a challenge with the irregular spring weather (rain, wind and cold). If there’s no food available to your hives; feed, feed, and feed some more! If you think there might be a tiny shortage, feed as early as you can and check for carbs and protein. A protein patty (or frame of pollen) now is the cheapest insurance you can buy. For carbs, try a sugar board, (or frames of honey). Easy to feed and easy to eat. Feeding syrup or sugar boards will stimulate your bees and encourage them to eat. Continue feeding until they no longer take your offering.
Weather permitting, comprehensive inspection and spring-cleaning time is here. Reverse the brood supers, unless the colony and brood are strong (covering both boxes). In this case, you should probably not reverse boxes (as this will split the brood area). You should, however, clean the bottom board whether you reverse boxes or not.
Note: Depending on the weather all of the above may need to be delayed until early May.
Later in the month, check your hives on a warm day for brood pattern, signs of diseases and overall health. If diseases or parasites are found, take necessary action to treat using whatever methods you are comfortable with.
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