This extreme and extended cold period has kept the bees pretty tightly clustered, but several of my colonies had bees on the top bars eating sugar in the 10 F temperature today. Since there was no wind, I decided it was a good day to do quick checks of their food supplies before the forecasted January thaw arrives mid next week. They will surely be moving about then, filling up on honey/sugar, and taking cleansing flights, if the predicted 40 F does arrive. The colonies all had at least ½ of a sugar disc on hand, and I added a second disc (a little over 1 lb. sugar per disc) and a pollen (substitute) patty to all. Some colonies were still in the deeps and hadn’t touched the sugar disc on the top bars, but to those I added a second sugar disc and a pollen patty as well. I’d rather err on the side of plenty. The queens will be laying eggs soon and protein is essential for brood rearing. The Fat Bees will produce royal jelly from the protein reserves in their bodies, and the protein in the patties will supplement the larvae’s need for protein. They may have enough stored pollen to meet their needs, but again, I prefer to err on the side of plenty. Today turned out to be a fortunate day for me to check the hives because there was frost in most of them under the winter covers. The amount varied from a little bit to a whole lot, and by a ‘whole lot’ I mean half the length and width of the winter cover with 1 1/2” thick frost. This gave me the opportunity to scrape it off and get it out of the hives before those warmer temperatures arrive and cause it to melt and drip on the bees. Dripping water with cold temperatures will kill bees. Some moisture is needed by the bees to thin honey and dissolve sugar, but when it builds up to an inch-thick sheet of frost across the bottom of a winter cover, that’s way too much. That’s death waiting to happen, and you may not know what killed your bees come spring. Sadly, I found a third hive had gone quiet. That brings me to a 73% survival rate so far this winter, and who knows what the rest of January and February will bring? Add to that that the highest losses are in March (when Varroa can out-compete the bees), and there’s a lot of waiting and wondering to do yet this winter. I hope that everyone is prepared and is making sure the bees have emergency sugar on hand, now. Others have reported that some of their colonies are in the supers and taking sugar as well. 2017 was a lean year for the bees, and even though I felt mine had plenty of honey and syrup for winter, apparently they did not. And a pollen patty won’t hurt. January 12 is the target date for moving the extractor to the Rushford Meadery and Winery. So far Fred and Al are on board to make the move, and anyone that can help is welcome. I don’t know what the plan for loading is on the front end, but it’s tentatively planned that Fred and Al will arrive at the Meadery with the equipment around 2:30 pm on the back end. I don’t think I can make it there before 3:45, but anyone that can make it earlier please let me or Fred know so we can get you in the loop. I hope that everyone has responded to Patti’s (emailed) inquiry about the ECWBA offering beekeeping classes. Patti is trying to gain a sense of the interest level among the membership as to whether we should bee involved, or not. Patti will present the results of the survey at the January 20th meeting, and we’ll go from there. Member D (D’s Bees) will be providing a beekeeping class again this year and has provided a brochure which is attached to this newsletter. She is not asking for an endorsement from the ECWBA, nor could we give her one, but if you have a color printer and are willing to post a few brochures around your area, you’ll be doing it as a public service for those that are seeking beekeeping training. D has again invited the ECWBA to her apiary on July 7 for a “field day”, and has made the offer for the ECWBA to have a representative present at her class on February 3. Anyone interested in representing the ECWBA at this class should attend the January 20 meeting so that a member can be selected. Stay warm, and enjoy the thaw (should it actually arrive). Gerard
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ECWBA NewsletterSince 2009 Archives
March 2019
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