Farm Dreams

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December Hive Update

To say it’s been a weird winter in Memphis so far would be an understatement. Last week we had consistent days over 60 degrees, and the week before was solid 50′s. Today it’s 43 degrees, and we’re expecting it to dip down in the 20′s.

Since the temp was so high on Friday (65), I decided it was a great excuse to go visit all the hives. Bees will become active when the temp is in the 50′s, and my bees in the back yard were licking up some combs (I extracted some honey the week before). I don’t like to go into the hives in winter unless I have a good warm day. If you open a hive on a cold day, you risk breaking the cluster – where heat is generated – and risk killing a large number of bees. So Friday was perfect.

What I found was mostly good news. I left plenty of honey stores on the hives this fall and, surprisingly, they were still quite full. I say surprisingly since the bees have been so active. It’s a novelty to see bees out flying in the winter. It’s nice, and I enjoy watching them. But the truth is, it’s also dangerous. The bees are out looking for forage, and at this time of year there’s little to offer (although my leatherleaf mahoniasare providing a little food due to the unseasonably warm temps). And since there isn’t much to eat, they’ll turn to the one food source they have – honey stores. So I really thought that they would have eaten more of their summer surplus. I brought sugar syrup along to supplement, but only had to feed one hive.

Which leads me to another subject. I’ve said before that I like to use Russian bees. They don’t produce as much as Italians, but they overwinter well, and because they’re hygenic, they have proven – in my apiaries – to resist mite infestation. And true to form, these hives are strong. I also started a hive using a queen from Wolf Creek Apiaries this year. Their bees are small-cell bees, and are “mutts” – crosses of feral bees from middle-Tennessee, Russians, Italians, and Carnolians. This hive was strong as well. My Italians, however, were performing as expected: poorly. Honestly, I never thought they’d make it through last winter, but they did. I’d take bets that they won’t make it through this winter. The cluster was extremely small, with little honey left, and they had a smell that’s characteristic of a sick hive. I fed them and pulled the empty honey super off the hive to allow less room for the invasion of critters, and to give the bees less area to heat. But I’m betting that by the time I check again in January these gals will be dead. I’m a little sad – they were good honey producers this summer. But I’ve never had good luck with Italians.

That’s this month’s hive update. How are YOUR hives faring so far?

Tags: Beekeeping, Bees

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Comment by Chris Henderson on January 4, 2012 at 12:27pm: I'm experiencing my first winter with bee's, and it is nerve racking because of my choice in the location for the hive. The hive just doesn't get enough sun, which was nice during the hot dry summer, but is less than ideal for the winter months. There were many reasons for the choice in location, but all that has changed. I will be moving the hive this spring in order to relieve stress, and clear my conscience. I have grown quite attached to these guys and don't want anything to happen to them. :)

It sounds like Utah is having a similar winter, with December setting a record for the least amount of snow since they started keeping records. That isn't good for our state for many reasons, however, I was very grateful for the 56° weather this past Friday. In fact, I took the day off just so I could be home to see if my bee's were alive and well. I was very relieved and excited to see my Carnolians buzzing about! I have learned my lesson about the location of the hive, and hope that they do well the rest of the winter. I wasn't able to get into the hive to look at the honey stores, but I don't feel like I was greedy in harvesting in August so they should be fine with food.

Another mistake I made as a first year beekeeper is going with one hive and not two. I have nothing to compare my hive with. My bee's look like they are thriving and doing well, but I really have no way of proving it. This spring I will be adding another hive, and I had planned on going with more Carnolians, however, you have me thinking about changing things up.

I am now thinking of either going with a standard hive with Russians or trying out small-cell bee's and hive. I would be interested in others opinions on what I should do for my second hive.

Thanks for your post, I enjoy hearing about how others do things and learning from them.

Best of luck!

Chris

Comment by Pat Barr on January 5, 2012 at 8:46am: I like to put the hives under a big tree. The tree provides the shade in the summer, but allows the winter sun to help warm it up. When you move them, if you have such a location...

Pat

Comment by Daisy on January 6, 2012 at 11:06am: I have heard of people wrapping the hive in black tar paper for the winter to help keep it warm.

Comment by Chris Henderson on January 6, 2012 at 12:00pm: @Pat I do have a spot that I have picked out under a tree. It will be a much better spot that will make me and the bee's much happier. :) @Daisy I was so worried in the early fall about the location that I ended up wrapping the hive with the foam board insulation, which I am assuming has helped. Even with changing the location of the hive in the spring, I might continue doing the foam board because we get so much wind in the area.

Comment by David Scott on January 6, 2012 at 12:22pm: @Chris Henderson - You're right, 2 hives are almost a must. It makes such a difference, especially if one dies. Most folks I know who only start with one hive quit if that one hive dies. But then also having a comparison to work with is so good.

And location - been there, done that. In the beginning, I picked a place that was too shady, and too wet. The bees just didn't do well. They weren't strong, and got infested with small hive beetles (a big problem down South). I try to find a well drained, sunny location year round. Bonus if I have a tree line to shade them in summer.

Good luck!