New beekeeper - fingers crossed for the winter!

[tania]

Having failed twice to get my bees through the winter (once because of a failing queen and once when they all died , I have a new colony from a nuc I got in late June. Loads of happy bees but not much in the way of stores. Am feeding now but welcome any advice about when to stop and how to tell if they have enough to get through the autumn.

 

[masterBK]

For most colonies you need about 40lbs of stores = 8 full BS deep combs to get through winter to April with most being eaten in March as the colony expands. I keep large double brood colonies so need a little more in the way of stores.

 

[yeoldgit]

Having failed twice to get my bees through the winter (once because of a failing queen and once when they all died , I have a new colony from a nuc I got in late June. Loads of happy bees but not much in the way of stores. Am feeding now but welcome any advice about when to stop and how to tell if they have enough to get through the autumn.

I assume your bees are in a full size hive, if so its worth making sure the hive is heavy when lifting, feeling like it's nailed to the floor when ready for winter. You may need to think about not over feeding them too early as the queen still needs somewhere to lay. Hope that helps

 

[Erichalfbee]

Having failed twice to get my bees through the winter (once because of a failing queen and once when they all died , I have a new colony from a nuc I got in late June. Loads of happy bees but not much in the way of stores. Am feeding now but welcome any advice about when to stop and how to tell if they have enough to get through the autumn.

Are you treating for varroa ?

 

[BeeAdmin]

Welcome to the forum Tania. Enjoy!

 

[Erichalfbee]

Tania. I’ve moved your post to the beginners section so that you can have some sensible help getting your bees through winter if you need it.
How much feed have they taken and when did you last look in?

 

[Beagle23]

Weight is a good indicator of the amount of stores as Erich said, the hive should be heavy going into late autumn. Bear in mind that until early October bees will be bringing in Ivy and other late flowering plants. So mid October is a good time to make a judgement on feeding. I've had them fill supers in late September

 

[tania]

Are you treating for varroa ?

Yes I have treated, although my varroa count was pretty low when I checked. Thought best to treat anyway.

 

[tania]

Tania. I’ve moved your post to the beginners section so that you can have some sensible help getting your bees through winter if you need it.
How much feed have they taken and when did you last look in?

thank you! I have been feeding a couple of litres of syrup every few days and it has been disappearing fast so will continue feeding until they stop being interested in it. I checked them about 10 days ago - 4 or so frames of brood and about 3 of stores (not full ones though) and a couple of empty frames so I hope they’ll fill those up. They’re still coming in with pollen so I think there must be food around as well.

Weight is a good indicator of the amount of stores as Erich said, the hive should be heavy going into late autumn. Bear in mind that until early October bees will be bringing in Ivy and other late flowering plants. So mid October is a good time to make a judgement on feeding. I've had them fill supers in late September

Thank you - it’s not that heavy yet - so will keep feeding for a couple of weeks I think.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Bang that syrup in as fast as they can take it. Check the feeder every day. That way the bees will store it in time.

 

[Hachi]

Yes I have treated, although my varroa count was pretty low when I checked. Thought best to treat anyway.

What does that mean exactly?

 

[Erichalfbee]

Yes I have treated, although my varroa count was pretty low when I checked. Thought best to treat anyway.

Tania. How are you doing your count? Natural drop is a poor indication. Did you check the drop when you started treatment?

 

[tania]

I assume your bees are in a full size hive, if so its worth making sure the hive is heavy when lifting, feeling like it's nailed to the floor when ready for winter. You may need to think about not over feeding them too early as the queen still needs somewhere to lay. Hope that helps

Thank you - when I last checked there were about 4 frames of brood and still a couple of empty frames so I assume they have room for more stores. My husband is definitely still able to lift the hive (wooden, full size) so I’m going to keep on feeding for now.

Tania. How are you doing your count? Natural drop is a poor indication. Did you check the drop when you started treatment?

I had the white board in for 5 days and only had a few varroa drop. I know it’s not that accurate but there were a lot less than the ones we checked at my local association apiary (also done over 5 days). Less than15 on the whole of my board. That was before I treated.

 

[ericbeaumont]

about 4 frames of brood and still a couple of empty frames so I assume they have room for more stores. My husband is definitely still able to lift the hive

Best outcome is to put them into a 6-frame poly nuc and keep feeding.

once when they all died

It's useful to know why they died: for example, a small colony in a big box will not be able to reach stores (even an inch from the nest) and will die of starvation. The same set-up will also be unable to maintain nest heat easily.

A small colony in a small box will fill the box with bees and avoid both those negatives.

Hachi asked: how exactly did you treat for varroa? Let us know the detail.

Most varroa will be in sealed brood and natural drop is unreliable.

https://bees-online.co.uk/product/nat-poly-6-frame-nuc-empty-option-1-1-to-4-each/https://www.bshoneybees.co.uk/polyhives/poly-nucs

 

[tania]

MAQS strips for 7 days. Didn’t seem to bother the bees - I’ve seen the queen since and there was BIAS when I inspected a couple of weeks ago and a lot more bees than I had when I lost them over the winter so hopefully they are a big enough colony to survive. They are taking syrup in huge quantities and also still foraging as it is fairly warm where we are in the south so I was planning to keep feeding until they stop taking it or when my husband can’t lift the hive and then leave them to it (mouse guard and woodpecker wire netting later on).

 

[Moobee]

MAQS strips for 7 days. Didn’t seem to bother the bees - I’ve seen the queen since and there was BIAS when I inspected a couple of weeks ago and a lot more bees than I had when I lost them over the winter so hopefully they are a big enough colony to survive. They are taking syrup in huge quantities and also still foraging as it is fairly warm where we are in the south so I was planning to keep feeding until they stop taking it or when my husband can’t lift the hive and then leave them to it (mouse guard and woodpecker wire netting later on).

A good slab of fondant directly over the brood nest (QX removed) is a good plan when it's too cold for syrup. Food is then close to the bees. Have you insulated the roof as well?

 

[tania]

Thank you. Do I put the fondant over the hole in the crown board or remove the crown board for the winter and put fondant on the frames? Leaving the board on gives an extra layer of insulation I would imagine

 

[Erichalfbee]

Thank you. Do I put the fondant over the hole in the crown board or remove the crown board for the winter and put fondant on the frames? Leaving the board on gives an extra layer of insulation I would imagine

Do this with it over the feeder hole. A deep roof comes in handy. All mine are the old style Abelo.