My first winter

[mylene.baxter]

Help! This is my first winter as a bee keepers and I want to make sure my bees survive the winter. Should I do anything (supply them with fondant for example or leave them alone?). Should I even open the hive whilst its -3 outside?

 

[The Poot]

We need more information
Have you fed them? Have you treated for varroa?
Are they in wood or poly? Full hive or nuc? Are they in an exposed position?
Have you hefted the hive to assess weight/ food resources?

 

[Erichalfbee]

And where are you?

 

[pargyle]

Help! This is my first winter as a bee keepers and I want to make sure my bees survive the winter. Should I do anything (supply them with fondant for example or leave them alone?). Should I even open the hive whilst its -3 outside?

Firstly, welcome to the forum public side, I can see you've been a member for a few months and it's good that that you have recognised that winter is always a risk for our bee colonies. It's something that a beekeeper needs to be thinking about as soon as they have taken their honeycrop off in August or September.

But ... never too late to do what you can. As has been said, we need a bit more information to be specific but ... the critical questions you need to ask yourself:

1. Have they got enough stores to see them through the winter. (This will depend on what you left them with when you took your honey crop and whether you fed them to top the stores up if necessary). If they are light on stores then fondant is your friend.

2. Have you treated them for varroa, ideally you would have done something around September time. (If not the it's not too late but the treatments are rather limited at this stage to Oxalic acid by trickling or sublimation).

3. WIth any luck you will have some insulation on top of the crownboard and any holes in the crownboard covered over and no gaps anywhere. The hive entrance should be reduced down to the smallest size.

These are very general comments - they will vary depending on where your bees are located but - it's never a good idea to open up your bees in winter unless it's absolutely necessary to add fondant so no - you should not be inspecting them or opening them up unless it is critical.

Tell us a bit more about your set up, what you have done so far and where your bees are located and I'm sure we can offer more advice. Whatever you do, try and avoid panicking - and doing anything in haste. We've all been first year beekeepers at some point so we recognise the feelings of 'what do i do now' so you are in good company here.

 

[hemo]

As you progress in years to come one will learn there is little to do for the bees in winter and they shoud be left alone and not opend at all.
Many fiddle with bees over winter because they can, others do not as they know better.
I and others use varroa mite products that are administered without the need to open a hive and fondant feed if needed can be done above the crown board or set up before any major cold spells set in.
Generally if the bees are well provisoned come the end of Novemeber then interferring shouldn't be required.

Any winter treatment is just an extension of the Autumn main treatment, It is simply a chance whilst 99% broodless to mop up any remaining parasitic mites before the spring arrives.

 

[mylene.baxter]

Firstly, welcome to the forum public side, I can see you've been a member for a few months and it's good that that you have recognised that winter is always a risk for our bee colonies. It's something that a beekeeper needs to be thinking about as soon as they have taken their honeycrop off in August or September.

But ... never too late to do what you can. As has been said, we need a bit more information to be specific but ... the critical questions you need to ask yourself:

1. Have they got enough stores to see them through the winter. (This will depend on what you left them with when you took your honey crop and whether you fed them to top the stores up if necessary). If they are light on stores then fondant is your friend.

2. Have you treated them for varroa, ideally you would have done something around September time. (If not the it's not too late but the treatments are rather limited at this stage to Oxalic acid by trickling or sublimation).

3. WIth any luck you will have some insulation on top of the crownboard and any holes in the crownboard covered over and no gaps anywhere. The hive entrance should be reduced down to the smallest size.

These are very general comments - they will vary depending on where your bees are located but - it's never a good idea to open up your bees in winter unless it's absolutely necessary to add fondant so no - you should not be inspecting them or opening them up unless it is critical.

Tell us a bit more about your set up, what you have done so far and where your bees are located and I'm sure we can offer more advice. Whatever you do, try and avoid panicking - and doing anything in haste. We've all been first year beekeepers at some point so we recognise the feelings of 'what do i do now' so you are in good company here.

Thank you all for your responses! I would not want my lack of skills and knowledge to compromise the health of the colony. I have a great mentor to support me. He is just very busy with a new job and I have been asking him so many questions I want to broaden my network now.
So here are my answers to your questions:
I live i Hertfordshire in a small village called Aldbury. We have had a very mild autumn and the cold spell is very recent.
I have one Langstroth hive located behind our summer house and against the garden edge so fairly sheltered.
I did treat for varroa twice at the end of September (I left the last tray in).
I also fed them with thick sugar syrup after I collected honey and left some fondant. I have not opened the hive since.
My mentor did lift the bottom brood before deciding to collect honey and thought it was heavy enough to collect and leave enough food for them but i cant tell you how heavy.
I dont think i have any additional insulation in the crownboard but all holes have been reduced to the minimum.
This morning i noticed some dead bees at the entrance of the hive...
I hope this is enough information for you.
Thank you so much for your generous support!

 

[pargyle]

It's not unusual at this time of the year to see a few dead bees outside the hive .. it's a good sign in some respects because the undertaker bees are still doing their job.

It sounds like you have done a good job getting them ready for winter. A lot of us on here have found that insulation above the crownboard (all the year round) assists the colony to maintain the hive temperature without excessive energy expenditure. The best insulator is PIR - Kingspan/Celotex are usual brand names. 50mm under the roof will help enormously.

You can often find some (skip diving is the best and cheapest method !) on freecyle/Gumtree. If not your local Wickes will have some. If not PIR... an empty super between the top of the brood box and the roof filled with a bin liner full of anything that will insulate (Sawdust/Straw/old clothes/polystyrene chips - anything) will do. You will notice a difference when you put your hand on the crownboard - very reassuring to find that it's warm in the middle of winter.

Other than that ... let them be in peace, they will have sealed everything up with propolis and wax and the last thing they need is the beekeeper interfering with what they have done to get ready,

So far ... you've done everything right. Stop worrying. Read some bee books to allay the withdrawal symptoms or the back pages on here ....there's at least five winters worth if you are selective !

 

[blackcloud]

........ Stop worrying. ..........

That will be good for your bees as much as for you.
Dont kill them with kindness

 

[pargyle]

That will be good for your bees as much as for you.
Dont kill them with kindness

Yes ... our desire to look after our bees sometimes leads us to interfere with their natural ability to survive. We should allow them to do what they do naturally (and have done successfully for millennia) and just seek to assist their normal activity going into winter. I've heard it said on a number of occasions that the biggest threat to the honeybees is the well intentioned beekeeper.