#winterizing bees

This year has been extremely cold for long periods of time. We wrapped the bee hives in blankets as well as using special lids with protective foam. My son and I checked on the hives the other day and put our ears to the lids. On hive #3 we heard nothing. In hives #1 and #2 we heard a low buzz. In winter the bees cluster together over their honey stores. They quiver to keep a constant 95 degrees…

     It's absolutely autumn, and that means the growing, flowering and nectar season is coming to a close.  For the bees, it means they retreat to their hives, cluster around their queen and their brood (or baby bees), and hunker down for the winter ahead.  If they haven't stored up enough honey during the season (or the nectar flow was really poor, such as this year with the Southeast's drought and heat), we beekeepers have to supplement their stores.  In our case, we fed about 90 lbs of sugar to the bees between the two hives.  Mixed with water, the bees quickly turned it into honey and stored it away.

     But after feeding completed in September, we had a few more chores left to do before we could all curl up and sleep away the season.  We had to do a full inspection early- to mid-October to make sure: 1) the queen was healthy, active and laying, and 2) the bees had honey and pollen accessible and positioned for their winter cluster. 

     Here's our final inspection:

     We must have fed them really well, because they had so much sugar/water that they built burr comb between the supers, which split open to reveal the nectar when we inspected the hives.  Luckily, the gooey sweet stuff kept them busy as we searched.  Unluckily, the burr comb and syrup made it impossible to search below!  If the broken, oozing honeycomb is any indication, they've got tons stored underneath.  That's good enough for me!

     All in all, by mid-October, things were looking great.  Both hives passed the "heft test" (meaning, so full of food stores that the hives were really heavy and hard to lift!). 

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     By today, the first Saturday in November, the final winterizing steps needed to be taken.  Here's the equipment we used and why:

1.  Two mouse guards, made of metal, one for each hive's entrance (keeps mice out, as they'll chew through the wood of a typical entrance reducer, make a nest in the hive, chew through and eat the comb, and generally obliterate the colony).

2.  A drill to install them both.

3.  A wire hanger to scrape the bottom of the hive, making sure no mice have already taken up residence (we also knocked on the hives to scare them out should some already be getting cozy and building a nest!)

4.  A hive tool (we used our smoker as backup, and carried our bee brush as well)

5.  Popsicle sticks: when installed between the top super and the inner cover, they create gaps in the top of the hive to ventilate the hive.  The gaps aren't so big that bees can get in or out, but the bees will propolize them when the weather warms and they break cluster, so they're a temporary ventilation strategy. 

Here's Ian, so brave installing the mouse guard, barehanded.  Now that's a freakin' beekeeper.

     The final product?  Funny looking beehives, equipped with mouse guards, tipped forward to allow for condensation to drip out (see the 1 x 2 board under the Peach hive?), and strapped down.  The straps aren't a common winter requirement, but since we can't afford to put up bear fences, I'm taking a tip from some natural beekeepers to protect my hives.  I'm hoping that IF bears DO decide to meander into our yard (knock on some wood for me please!), they won't be able to get into the hives by tipping them over.  Maybe I'm wrong.  Maybe I'm naive.  But those neon orange straps are gonna help me sleep better during these coming winter nights.