Do you over winter your bees

[BeeJayBee]

Then it sounds like a bad batch, do you have any come-back (refund)?

 

[QueenMaster]

As an experienced beekeeper, why don't you make your own splits and queens ?
There is no reason to continue buying that sh*t!

When I began beekeeping I spend hundreds buying queens or swarms from well known suppliers. What I've got was sh*t. Since that time, I do my own selection, my own splits, my own queens.

Now I got almost no loss, and I don't treat against varroa and I don't feed for wintering and I got high yield honey bees. Do your own selection, you will achieve far better results and quality than any industrial suppliers.

 

[Bee View Farm]

As an experienced beekeeper, why don't you make your own splits and queens ?
There is no reason to continue buying that sh*t!

When I began beekeeping I spend hundreds buying queens or swarms from well known suppliers. What I've got was sh*t. Since that time, I do my own selection, my own splits, my own queens.

Now I got almost no loss, and I don't treat against varroa and I don't feed for wintering and I got high yield honey bees. Do your own selection, you will achieve far better results and quality than any industrial suppliers.

Does all of the world have junk? We can't buy anything good in the USA

 

[Swarm]

That's not the first time I've heard that from an American.

 

[Hebeegeebee]

There are reputable breeders in the US, you need to find one that has queens that are capable of overwintering well. Italian (Ligustica) are not as hardy as other bees - it's said and there are a lot of Italians in the USA. A queen that is fine in, say, Houston, will not necessarily be any good where it's colder so you need to find a local queen-breeder. Queens will stop lay in winter when it's cold.

However if you don't monitor and treat for Varroa, then there's a good chance that your bees WILL die. Plain and simple. The poor brood pattern could well be attributed to varroa rather than the queen.

Skyhook's post # 11 is spot on.

 

[Into the lions den]

Does all of the world have junk? We can't buy anything good in the USA

I buy lots of stuff from the USA. Good sound quality gear at decent prices. There are poor makers of course, as everywhere, but generally good stuff.

I would humbly suggest that a lot of the advice you might get here, from a forum in an area with very different bees and climate from Wisconsin might only be of limited value. I would suggest going the honeybeeworld.com, the work of Allen Dick in Alberta, which has lots of good info on it about wintering etc in a prairie province environment. Much more relevant than that of a mild damp maritime zone.

 

[beeno]

Does all of the world have junk? We can't buy anything good in the USA

Always by German. Expensive but it lasts.

 

[user 6228]

I have my hives inside it's around 30 to 35 degrees. I'm feeding sugar candy to then. I found dead bees right by the sugar candy. YES they need a queen. Queens will lay eggs in winter.

in cold dry winter Bees can die from either heat loss or dehydration.
A top vent increases both water and heat loss.

 

[Finman]

in cold dry winter Bees can die from dehydration.
A top vent increases both water and heat loss.

Never heard about dehydration. And top vent is essential in wintering.

Derekm speaks rubbish. YOu may arrange wintering so that bees have no problems in svere winters. Northern USA is not a severe place.

 

[user 6228]

Never heard about dehydration. And top vent is essential in wintering.

Derekm speaks rubbish. YOu may arrange wintering so that bees have no problems in svere winters. Northern USA is not a severe place.

Finman rubbishes

Dehydration: go do some reading...
And as regards top vents being essential, Apis Mellifera does not agree!

 

[BeeJayBee]

And top vent is essential in wintering.

Matchsticks?

 

[REDWOOD]

Does all of the world have junk? We can't buy anything good in the USA

Once America, Germany and Britain produced top quality everything, now we don't produce much as China with it's cheap labour turns out piles of sh!t for us now, sub standard throw away items.

 

[Finman]

Matchsticks?

15 mm hole in front wall. Matchsticks kill hives here.

The hole let the respiration moisture to go out.

.

The British beekeepers cannot even imagine what is to over winter bees in the temp of -20C or -30 C.
Neither do I, because they are in their hives and I do not peep them.

 

[user 6228]

15 mm hole in front wall. Matchsticks kill hives here.

The hole let the respiration moisture to go out.

.

The British beekeepers cannot even imagine what is to over winter bees in the temp of -20C or -30 C.
Neither do I, because they are in their hives and I do not peep them.

We do get temps of -15c even in hampshire... in the mountains of wales and scotland even lower
lowest recorded temp in UK is -27.2C

 

[Finman]

We do get temps of -15c even in hampshire... in the mountains of wales and scotland even lower
lowest recorded temp in UK is -27.2C

That has nothing to do with knowledge of bee wintering.

Our cold record is Suomen kylmyysennätys, -51,5C

This winter's record is -32,9 two weeks ago 19.12.

The whole country has about half metre snow but it is now raining clear water several days.

.

 

[user 6228]

That has nothing to do with knowledge of bee wintering.

Our cold record is Suomen kylmyysennätys, -51,5C

This winter's record is -32,9 two weeks ago 19.12.

The whole country has about half metre snow but it is now raining clear water several days.

.

and temperatures are only a part of heat loss...

What do finnish beekeepers know about wintering through rain and wind ? 500mm is anual rainfall for finland, 1200 for the UK...

we have poly hives cos, not only do keep warm and dry, they float!!
http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/AG.LND.PRCP.MM

 

[REDWOOD]

And beekeepers in the UK are making rafts ready for next years season

 

[Finman]

and temperatures are only a part of heat loss... What do finnish beekeepers know about wintering through rain and wind ? 500mm is anual rainfall for finland, 1200 for the UK...
http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/AG.LND.PRCP.MM

through rain and wind ?

We know enough. It means nothing if you have rain cover on the hive.
Raining winter means warm winter.

I do not know a case that rain has killed a bee hive.

Our biggest rains come during summer months.


Your 24 h rain record is 270 mm and our one month record is 300 mm.

.


.

 

[user 6228]

through rain and wind ?

We know enough. It means nothing if you have rain cover on the hive.
Raining winter means warm winter.

I do not know a case that rain has killed a bee hive.

Our biggest rains come during summer months.



.

Then you know nothing about heat transfer...
Our wind and rain kills people every year through heat loss, even though they are dry. it does not need to be Finland cold to kill!

 

[Finman]

bout het transfer?

What is that? Here a gang try to melt lake ice