Today was fit for stacking split oak firewood in the barn, although I would have preferred more of a supervisory role. My plan (it was going to be sunny according to yesterday's forecast) was to remove the rest of the hive top feeders this afternoon, but the bees don't like me messing around on overcast, gloomy days. I listened to several of the hives and there a was a low, contented hum in all of them, and there was no reason to disturb that. There will be other days that will be better suited for ripping off their roof and putting the inner covers back on.
Looks like it's going to be cool for awhile. Right now Tuesday and Thursday are showing mid-50's, but otherwise in the mid-40's. The bees are staying inside, for the most part, and will be in a loose cluster at those temps. This is a good time to do a final oxalic acid vapor treatment (consider Varroa bombs coming to your apiary), but I won't be doing any until the feeders are off and the inner covers are on. One could also do an oxalic acid dribble, but the hive bodies will need to be separated to get to the bottom boxes and I, for one, don't intend to break any seals at this point. I refilled the repurposed Gatorade bottles with dry Ultra Bee powder after the storms, but the bees aren't visiting them today. I'll leave them up for awhile longer, then put them away until spring. I still have two supers of wet frames I'd like to have the bees clean out, but it might be too late for that and I'll have to store them as they are. I learned that paradichlorobenzene (Moth Crystals) inhibits mold and mildew, along with warding off moths, so I'm less concerned about storing them "wet". Now I'm in the process of cleaning up and putting the summer equipment into storage. I still have to count the winter covers because I think I'm short one. That's been gnawing at me lately, so either this evening, or tomorrow, I'll round them up. At this point I need 12. But I won't be putting on the winter covers for awhile yet. I usually wait until December and then put them on along with a couple of sugar disks and half of a pollen patty. Often they don't bother with the pollen patty until very early spring, but will consume the sugar if they're out of honey. Bees need water to consume honey as well as sugar, and they generate enough through respiration to do that during winter. They also generate enough moisture to create frost, mold and mildew. None of these are good, and frost can indirectly kill them. Frost will melt on a warm day, drip down on them, and that kills them. So it's good to have some form of insulation above the winter cover to help keep the inside surface warm enough to not cause frost to develop on it. Moisture boards and sugar (loose or candy forms) will absorb moisture, and vents will help to move it out of the hive. I personally use the winter covers with insulation boards that are sold by Brushy Mountain Bee Farm. The cover has a "deep" side and a "shallow" side. The deep side (bottom) can be used to make a candy board, but I prefer to just stick a couple of sugar disks and pollen patties into that space. The insulation board goes on the shallow side (top) and has a channel to allow the bees to leave the hive for cleansing flights. I bore additional 3/4" vent holes along the sides of the deep side and put in vent plugs to keep mice from entering. This system has been working for me. I also have a cover that I picked up at Honey Bee Ware for the lone 10-frame hive I inherited. It's a combination of a ventilation board and something else (can't remember what they called it), and it's super nice. (Don't bother asking them about their winter cover, when I did they didn't know what I was talking about, although they recognized my description of the ventilation board.) I keep thinking I'll make a bunch like that for my 8-frame hives, but so far haven't had the time. I'll bring it along to next Saturday's meeting. Did you notice that the word "mice" popped up? They seem to be plentiful again this year, and even with (3) inside/outside cats, and (3) full-time barn cats, I have trapped (6) mice in the house and the season has barely started. (At my house the term "trap-line" has every thing to do with fur bearing creatures, but the Hudson Bay Company just isn't interested.) I don't put mouse guards on unless I feel the need to, and that's when I see gnaw marks on the entrance reducers. But in order to see that, I need to check almost daily because they can get through in a short amount of time. Right now the bees are still active enough that if they detect gnawing they'll come down and sting the mouse away. And bees are very sensitive to vibration. But when it's cold and they're in a tight cluster, they won't break cluster and the mouse will gain access. She'll have a nice cozy home in which to raise a bunch of brood, and they'll all gnaw away at the frames and that valuable comb. So if you have hives that you can't monitor often, you may want to consider installing mouse guards soon. I'll be bringing a couple of winter covers to the meeting and I hope that other members will do the same. There's many ways of keeping the frost down and having a space for emergency sugar and patties. I remember Paul mentioning that he puts 2" styrofoam on top. I believe he uses some form of a moisture absorber as well, because Styrofoam won't absorb moisture, so hopefully he'll be there to describe his method again. We'll go over the important points of wintering (healthy bees, food stores, low mite counts, ventilation, upper entrances, etc.) so that everyone can be prepared. Winter will be here soon, and we all need to be ready if the bees are to have a chance. Also, Fred has scored more "free" sugar for club members. He will be posting a notice concerning this on our blog within the next couple of days so visit the blog if you're interested in picking up sugar at the meeting. http://ourbeeblog.blogspot.com/ Note, the meeting will be the only place and time that it will be available, and Fred is looking for a honey donation (to give to the person that provided the sugar as a thank-you) in exchange for the sugar. Bring 5 gallon pails, or whatever you have to carry the sugar in. Thanks again, Fred! That last batch saved me big time this fall! Next Meeting: Saturday, October 20, 2018 9:30am at the Caestecker Library, Green Lake. PS. I know that at least of two of our members will be vendors at "From the Land", just a few miles north of Green Lake on Cty Rd J, west of Hwy 49, and won't be able to make the meeting. Feel free to visit Pam and Deidre after the meeting. Good luck to you both on a good show! Gerard
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ECWBA NewsletterSince 2009 Archives
March 2019
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