First Winter - Hive Ready

[nmesmeric]

Hey Guys,

With winter fast approaching, i'm looking for some advice

I have had my first colony of bees since April.

They have packed out the brood box, however they never bothered to expand into the super that I added at the end of July.

What are the key things I should be doing now that we are coming to the end of the summer season?

I have done no Varroa treatment, do I need to?

Should I just take off the unused super for now?

Thank for your advice,

Felix

 

[For want of a better word]

Hey Guys,

With winter fast approaching, i'm looking for some advice

I have had my first colony of bees since April.

They have packed out the brood box, however they never bothered to expand into the super that I added at the end of July.

What are the key things I should be doing now that we are coming to the end of the summer season?

I have done no Varroa treatment, do I need to?

YES Surrey is a hot spot for varroa

Should I just take off the unused super for now?

YES.. put it in the freezer for 24 hours and store it in a sealed bag... never know Mr&Mrs waxmoth may have found it!!

Thank for your advice,

Do not forget to feed ... 18 liters of 2:1 for a reasonable sized colony!

Felix

**** Variations in areas may need different treatments and feeding regimes!

Chons da

 

[nmesmeric]

Thanks for your reply Cheers!

When should i start feeding?

Also which Varroa treatment would you recommend?

Thanks,

Felix

 

[Erichalfbee]

Feeding
What are the stores like in the brood box?
Are they foraging on ivy?
Varroa
You still have time, just, for Apiguard
Otherwise Apivar
You can explore other options next year but the two above are the simplest with Apivar being easiest to apply.
Are you a member of an association where all this should have been discussed already ?

 

[nmesmeric]

I am a member of the local association, I did a 10 week course with them earlier in the year. I'm just using this forum to confirm i'm doing things correctly.

They probably have around 4 frames of food store at the moment. I have just ordered some Apiguard!

Felix

 

[Erichalfbee]

They probably have around 4 frames of food store at the moment. I have just ordered some Apiguard!

Felix

If you are on National they need 8
If on 14x12 then it’s 5
You’ve plenty of food so treat then feed 2:1 or invert

 

[Curly green finger's]

I agree with Dani .
I go into winter with single brood Nationals weighing 40+ kgs and weigh weekly from November onwards when they get to about 30kgs fondant is added on the top bars under the crown board
I also keep an eye on frames of stores being consumed through the clear crown boards .
Cheer's
Mark.

 

[Beagle23]

A couple of things for winter.

You should see that the number of bees in your hive are decreasing gradually. All of the drones should be gone. You should get one last flurry of activity later this month as your local ivy blossoms and the bees forage from it. As soon as that's done then you can wrap up for winter.

I tend to over winter my hives on a brood box plus one super, but there's nothing wrong going with just a brood box.
Once the Ivy is done look for about 5 frames worth of stores (so half the brood box). I put a sizeable chunk of fondant on the top bars regardless of how many stores they have, and that does away with the palava of weighing and checking often. Last year I checked once a month, just by having a quick look under the roof, if the fondant was running low more went in.

If your hive is going to be in the path of a north or east wind I'd either get a screen in place or a jacket for the hive. If it's tucked away behind a hedge or some other form of windbreak it should be fine.

Good luck