My bees, unfortunately did not make it through the winter, so I’ve ordered more. This happens sometimes for beekeepers who have bees in cold climates. I only had one colony going into winter and so my odds weren’t great. We had some super-unseasonably warm weather in February this year and keepers in my area had bees out flying. In FEBRUARY! Since it was nice and warm, I took a peek and found them gone. I have lost bees over winter a few times and upon making the discovery, I always read a ton to try and determine why. This year I found the queen (she was marked red-a 2023 queen) surrounded by a very small cluster. There was lots of honey left in the hive (so they shouldn’t have starved). Maybe there were too few clustered to keep them warm enough to survive through the coldest part of winter. In my reading this year, I had made a mental note that feeding too late in fall could mean bad news for bees, so this is a possibility too. I fed fall syrup, but maybe it got too cold and they weren’t able to reduce it enough … and that moisture was what did them in. I didn’t see mold, which would be an indicator of excess moisture though. I also didn’t see any signs of deformities, but did see some varroa mites. Ick! Sorry honeys ☹ They’re pretty bad if you can see them of the bees. I saw at least 3 on the little cluster. I treated for mites end of August (ish). Combined with a fairly warm fall this may have been a little earlier than it should’ve been for winter prep. I’ll have to plan that better this year.
In preparation for picking up new bees near end of the month, I’ve cleaned out and prepared my bee bag. Here’s what’s I keep in it: leather and puncture resistant rubber gloves, hive tool, matches, lighters to keep my smoker going, razor blade knife, needle nose pliers, jar of fine sugar (I occasionally shake sugar on the bees to encourage grooming behaviors which can dislodge varroa), small container to collect burr comb, hive tool, and some old shears in case I need to trim some grass.
Some beekeepers suggest running a flame over wooden ware to help prevent the spread of disease. I figure it doesn’t hurt. The wooden ware is stored away at the farm, so I’ll have to get it out and scorch it when I’m there next. We’re about 20 days from bee-day. Can’t wait to pick them up!
– Beck
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