![]() Make sure the honey is in the right spot. This will also limit the space available to mice and other small critters looking for a warm place to crash. Remove unnecessary space. Overwintering your bees in the smallest space possible by pulling off empty boxes (or top bars) will prevent heat diffusion, keeping the bees from expending unnecessary energy warming their cluster. Increasing your winter population artificially could harm your hives. If you aren’t planning to load your bees up on a truck in February and head to California, you don’t need to feed pollen in the winter. The middle of winter is not the appropriate time for a population boost, because the last thing they need is an influx of hungry mouths to feed.Ĭommercial beekeepers feed pollen mid-winter to stimulate brood production in preparation for pollination contracts in early February. It becomes abundant in early spring when the hive needs to expand their population quickly, and again in the fall when the bees need to raise strong, fat winter bees. Pollen is a vital part of baby bee development, as it is their sole protein source. There seems to be a lot of confusion about whether or not to feed pollen in the winter, so let’s consider the role it plays in the honeybee diet. It combines the easy clean-up and reusability of the normal candy boards and fondant, while being much simpler to put together (and much less dangerous). You can use traditional candy boards, fondant or just plain old piles of sugar on top of some newspaper, but our favorite method is the no-cook candy board. That way, you don’t have to open the hive later on and expose them to cold weather. It’s a good idea to plan ahead and install your late winter feed when you close them up in the fall. You cannot continue to feed liquid syrup, as the bees will stop taking it once it dips below 50 degrees. If they are still light once cold weather hits, you'll need to make preparations for winter feeding. If you are able, feeding excess honey from a stronger hive is exponentially better for the bees than sugar. Refined white cane or beet sugar works, but never give them raw sugar the solids will upset their little bee tummies. They will store the thicker syrup in place of nectar, bolstering their winter stores. ![]() Heading into fall, you will want to feed a 2:1 sugar water syrup (as opposed to the 1:1 syrup in the spring). However, if the bees’ honey stores are not sufficient to support the established population through the winter, artificial feeding (negative effects and all) is a better option than letting them die from starvation. Additionally, feeding can support bees that were not able to adequately prepare for winter, thereby allowing weak genetics to persist. The nutritional components of honey are complex and cannot be replaced by sugar syrup without detrimental effects to colony health. We are advocates of feeding only as a last resort. If a hive feels light, or you count frames and find them lacking, it’s time to consider feeding. New beekeepers may find it helpful to count frames, but as you gain experience, you’ll be able to get an accurate read on your honey stores by “hefting” the hives - they should feel quite heavy. In Portland, we like to like have a 1:1 ratio of brood frames to honey frames (and a little extra, to be safe). We recommend finding out the general harvest guidelines from experienced beekeepers in your area. It is good practice to not harvest from first-year colonies, and for established colonies, the harvest amount will vary by location depending on the length of the winter season. The bees have stored about as much as they’re going to before winter hits, giving us a chance to evaluate their food stores and decide how much we can responsibly take from them. Here in Oregon, our honey harvest falls at the end of August. In this post, we’ll be taking a look at:įall and winter feeding (yup, gotta think about both!) Everything we do is meant to support what the bees are already doing, keeping in mind that interfering too much can be counter productive. The build-up period is over, and it is time to winterize and help our bees get ready for the cold months. Fortunately, honeybees are excellent planners they have been preparing for this since the end of last winter! The colony’s life cycle revolves around two things: swarming (to spread their genetics) and stockpiling enough honey to eat through the longest, coldest nectar dearth of the year.Īs beekeepers, our winter preparations generally begin at summer’s end as temperatures peak, humidity decreases and the nectar ceases to flow. ![]() ![]() Our bees may not be headed for an epic battle against white walkers, but the winter months are a terrifying prospect in their own right.
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