We certainly have had mild weather lately, but it is coming to an end in several days when the temperature is forecast to plummet to the teens and twenties for an extended period (like 3 – 4 months, I’m guessing). Now is the time to make final winter hive preparations if you haven’t done so already. On Thanksgiving Day I treated my home colonies with oxalic acid vapor to knock the Varroa level down one more time before the cold sets in. That day it is was 64 degrees so the bees were very active, and very defensive. I anticipated that they would be vigorous in protecting their home and honey and was prepared. I walked away unstung, but several bees died with their stingers stuck in my gloves and jeans. I put sticky boards under the screened bottom boards to keep the vapor from escaping during treatment, and left them in for 48 hours to see what the mite drop looked like after that. Two colonies had a mite drop of around a billion young mites and a few adults, and the rest had maybe a half dozen mites each. Quite a disparity. I will wait 4 weeks and then treat the two hives with the heavy drop again when we get a 40 degree day. I decided to put the winter covers on while I was at it, and I looked down between the top frames when I removed the inner covers. All the hives have capped honey in the upper boxes, but I gave them all a sugar disc for future use and to act as a desiccant (moisture absorber). When I checked the sticky boards after 48 hours there were rows of sugar granules on them. Apparently they weren’t thrilled about the sugar discs. My winter covers have an entrance hole and a vent hole (two ¾” holes, one screened), and it is essential to have at least an upper entrance. (If you don’t have one, you can bore a ¾” – 1” hole in the top hive body, below the hand hold.) Snow and dead bees will block the lower entrance as winter progresses, and the bees won’t be able to use it to get out for cleansing flights. Bees are hygienic and won’t defecate in the hive unless it gets to the point where they can’t retain their waste and they can’t get out. That makes for a messy hive interior and will cause and spread disease. Make sure there’s an upper entrance above the snow line. I thought about adding a pollen (substitute) patty when I added the sugar discs, but the patties usually go untouched until around late January or early February, and too many times the heat and moisture in the winter hive caused them to melt (and drool down the frames) before the bees needed them. So I didn’t. Today, while checking a bird feeder, I saw a bee among the seeds gathering protein dust like they do in spring and I thought immediately about pollen patties. No, not now. I trust that they have enough pollen stored for the relatively small amount of brood that will be raised as replacement bees throughout the winter. I’m one that doesn’t wrap or insulate hives and so I won’t comment on those practices. I believe that a snug hive, plenty of capped honey or capped syrup, good ventilation, and a way out and back in are all they really need. The winter cover is good practice primarily to reduce frost buildup above the bees which would melt and drip on the bees on a warm day. Moisture + cold = dead bees. The ‘winter cluster’ is how honey bee colonies survive winter. “Heater bees” in the center of the cluster unhook their wings from their flight muscles and vibrate their flight muscles to generate heat, and “insulator bees” on the outside of the cluster hold the heat in. The insulator bees will eventually migrate back into the cluster to warm up, and bees from the center will move back toward the outside to serve as insulation. A heater bee can generate heat for about 30 minutes on a stomach full of honey, and then it needs a refill. It was recently discovered that some bees serve as “tanker bees”, and they transport honey from the honey storage cells to the heater bees, and any other bees that need a “top off”. These creatures continually amaze me. The cold is coming, and I hope we’ve all done due diligence in preparing our colonies for winter. But no matter how much we’ve prepared, no matter how much we care, there will be losses this winter. We can’t prevent them all, but we can make sure our hives are weather (and mouse) tight but well ventilated, there isn’t an overwhelming mite load, there’s an upper entrance, and there’s enough food with emergency sugar at the ready. But even though we care and we do our best, sometimes even that isn’t going to keep them alive. I was planning to go into winter with 12 colonies, but have 11. One of the colonies was low on foodstores in fall and refused to take syrup. They had been a strong colony all summer and I watched them dwindle away. I didn’t know what to do except to offer them syrup that they didn’t take. I’ve learned since that maybe a drench with essential oils would have turned them around. Maybe, maybe not. I’m still learning. December 16 is our next meeting at the Caestecker Library in Green Lake at 9:30 a.m. Seems like a good time to bring some holiday treats. I will try to have a (family traditional recipe) stollen to bring. Some items up for discussion are: 1. The requirements to be a 501(c)3 organization (with a vote on January 20 to proceed or not). Bring your questions and opinions. 2. Do we want to offer beekeeping classes? 3. Cost for 2018 membership dues. 4. Proceeding with housing an extractor at the Rushford Meadery and Winery for ECWBA membership use. It’s been approved by the FDA Inspector and Shane is asking for minimal compensation to cover costs of specific cleaning agents and hot water. We must also coordinate with Shane as we can only process when he’s not (FDA rule). And, of course, general bee talk! Note that 2018 membership dues will be due on January 20, and that we will be nominating/voting for President and Secretary at the January 20 meeting. One membership = one vote. See you there! Gerard
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ECWBA NewsletterSince 2009 Archives
March 2019
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