Honey in the winter

[HEver]

Hi All,

I know this is super early to start asking, but how much honey should I leave my bees for the winter. They are new this year and in a 14x12 WBC. We had an NBU inspection a while ago now and she recommended putting on a super and so we did. They are slowly building it up as the brood box is now full of brood in the central frames and full of honey on the outer ones.

Do you recon I need to leave them a super on for the winter for them or should I extract it at the end - let them clean it up and then feed them some fondant later in the year? They do have a lot of honey in the brood so just don't want to waste a crop but even more importantly don't want to harm my bees.

Thanks so much - and I know its early to be thinking about this but just wanted to get it sorted.

 

[Vergilius]

I think most would say that a full 14x12 BB should be enough, but a number of factors make nothing certain. Many (myself included) overwinter on single nat broods, so you are being more generous than that!

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Take the supers off for the winter, extract and store them 'wet' sealed in a plastic bag or sandwiched between blank boards cinched up tight with a ratchet strap. Feed them plenty of sugar syrup end of September/October and they should have enough stores in the brood box to last until spring.

 

[Vergilius]

jbm, as (according to your bio) a predominantly National user, do you overwinter on a single box, or give them more? As I said, in my first incarnation as a beekeeper always stripped them down to a BB with 12 full Hoffman frames, but wondering if that is now considered too stingy (soft 'g' not some beekeeping-related neologism )...

BP

 

[bingevader]

I always leave a full super, then you don't have to feed.
But it's horses for courses and I am not reliant on the bees for any income.

 

[Vergilius]

I always leave a full super, then you don't have to feed.
But it's horses for courses and I am not reliant on the bees for any income.

Just for the sake of the OP, to avoid confusion, are you on 14x12s or Nationals?

 

[HEver]

Awesome. Thanks, thats what I was hoping for. Just one quick thing. Is it ok to move a used frame from one hive to another if they are pretty close to each other. It would be as a sort of way to boost a starting hive.
Thanks

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

jbm, as (according to your bio) a predominantly National user, do you overwinter on a single box, or give them more? As I said, in my first incarnation as a beekeeper always stripped them down to a BB with 12 full Hoffman frames, but wondering if that is now considered too stingy (soft 'g' not some beekeeping-related neologism )...

BP

I overwinter on a single national, some have a shallow nadired if they contained unripe honey at the end of the season. I usually have to take some frames of leftover stores out to give them room in the spring (I think I had about twenty odd spare to feed my nucs this year)

 

[For want of a better word]

I always leave a full super, then you don't have to feed.
But it's horses for courses and I am not reliant on the bees for any income.

What a good idea... but shirley a 14 x 12 behemoth of a colony would need two supers full to overwinter on?

 

[Erichalfbee]

I have 14x12
Some in ten frames some in 11
Plenty of room in the brood to over winter.
I usually end up taking a frame of stores out of the poly hives in spring.

 

[HEver]

When you say to “store wet”, is that just extracting from the frames and then sealing them for the whole winter to give it to them to feed on in the springs for a boost?


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[enrico]

I know you are not in this for the money. We all say that but as Finman would say....you can sell honey for maybe £6 per pound. You can feed them sugar at 60p per pound. Does it make sense to feed them honey? We all leave them some but I never leave a full super of honey!!!!
E

 

[HEver]

I know you are not in this for the money. We all say that but as Finman would say....you can sell honey for maybe £6 per pound. You can feed them sugar at 60p per pound. Does it make sense to feed them honey? We all leave them some but I never leave a full super of honey!!!!
E

Yep - that makes sense. Not in it for money but I have fallen in love with them so hopefully the honey too soon so just want some happy bees.
Thanks

 

[Levitt53]

You just have to work out your method. I have poly hives and find that I leave them with much too much the way of stores. If I nadir it then the brood box is a bit honey bound in spring (my freezer is full). If I leave it on top I find I've got brood in the super with granulated honey. This year my plan will be to take the last crop as the ivy flowers and then let them build up their own winter store from there. I'll nadir bits of unripe honey but probably not too much and feed them at Xmas if necessary. That is the plan any way. It'll probably change next year.

 

[HEver]

You just have to work out your method. I have poly hives and find that I leave them with much too much the way of stores. If I nadir it then the brood box is a bit honey bound in spring (my freezer is full). If I leave it on top I find I've got brood in the super with granulated honey. This year my plan will be to take the last crop as the ivy flowers and then let them build up their own winter store from there. I'll nadir bits of unripe honey but probably not too much and feed them at Xmas if necessary. That is the plan any way. It'll probably change next year.

Ok, thank you so much. Out of interest, how much honey do you harvest a year from your hives?

 

[For want of a better word]

When you say to “store wet”, is that just extracting from the frames and then sealing them for the whole winter to give it to them to feed on in the springs for a boost?


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That seems to be the general idea.. you can keep them stacked in the freezer room to keep the wax moth away.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

When you say to “store wet”, is that just extracting from the frames and then sealing them for the whole winter to give it to them to feed on in the springs for a boost?
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Extracted, not given back to the bees to 'clean up' but sealed nand stored for the winter ready for the bees to use again in spring.

 

[HEver]

Cool, thanks, I'll do that. I can assume it gives them a good starting boost in the spring to get them going.

 

[enrico]

Ok, thank you so much. Out of interest, how much honey do you harvest a year from your hives?

There is no answer to that. Two hives in the same area will give two different amounts. The flora of the area matters. Work on 30lbs. You may get 100+ you may get nothing! 30lbs is roughly one super!
E

 

[ericbeaumont]

I know this is super early to start asking, but how much honey should I leave my bees for the winter. They are new this year and in a 14x12 WBC.

HEver,

The variables involved are many and though the answers given so far have worked for those beekeepers in those areas, with those bees in those hives, they may, or may not work for you.

What, then, is a good starting point? Do you have a copy of The Haynes Bee Manual? The book is sound and gives beginners a guide to see most bees through most UK seasons. What does Haynes say about winter stores? On page 127, Chapter 5 is called Preparing for Winter, and the conclusion is straightforward: a minimum of 20kg/44lbs is adequate; beginners usually err on the side of caution and leave more, and that is understandable.

If you accept that a full 14x12 frame holds 7lbs of honey and a super frame about 2.5lbs, you can estimate how much honey is on board every time you go through the boxes. Tot up the part-filled frames roughly and see where that leaves you.

You may decide to leave honey, feed syrup or feed fondant (here is a good fondant method), but Enrico's point about the value of honey is well-put and you may decide that your investment in kit must be returned.

As Levitt said, you must work out your method; start with the basic guide to winter weight of stores and go from there. If it's any help in arriving at an answer, I used to run 14x12s and never needed to leave another box, and I agree with Dani: plenty of space in there for bees and winter stores.