Kittih
New Bee
On Christmas Eve we experienced a flood surge in our apiary that knocked over most of the hives. Of my three hives two colonies were drowned but one somehow survived. The frames in the drowned colonies are all waterlogged.
We were only able to access the site today and were able to move all hives to higher ground as 6 hours of heavy rain and more flooding is forecast tonight.
I have not inspected my surviving colony except to leave a big block of fondant on the crown board where many of the bees were huddled. They are also sitting on the upper sections of the frames.
It is likely that the frames are at least partially waterlogged. Daytime temperatures are a maximum of 5 or 6 degrees for the next week.
I am looking for some advice on how to give the colony the best chance of survival. I wouldn't normally open them up and inspect / do maintenance when the weather is this cold but I am concerned they will struggle to stay warm if the combs are wet and dirty.
Any suggestions please?
An added complication is that the access road is badly damaged and impassable to vehicles. As it was my first year I don't have any dry drawn brood comb available.
Thanks.
We were only able to access the site today and were able to move all hives to higher ground as 6 hours of heavy rain and more flooding is forecast tonight.
I have not inspected my surviving colony except to leave a big block of fondant on the crown board where many of the bees were huddled. They are also sitting on the upper sections of the frames.
It is likely that the frames are at least partially waterlogged. Daytime temperatures are a maximum of 5 or 6 degrees for the next week.
I am looking for some advice on how to give the colony the best chance of survival. I wouldn't normally open them up and inspect / do maintenance when the weather is this cold but I am concerned they will struggle to stay warm if the combs are wet and dirty.
Any suggestions please?
An added complication is that the access road is badly damaged and impassable to vehicles. As it was my first year I don't have any dry drawn brood comb available.
Thanks.