Winter bees

[Boston Bees]

I didn’t realise there would be a brood break from the end of July all the way up until she lays the winter bees in November

With a brood break that long there would be no bees left

 

[Curly green finger's]

I wonder if they weigh their hives though.

Maybe that's the difference

 

[Sanntos]

I don't weigh them, I would like to, but they are so heavy

 

[mbc]

That’s interesting, I didn’t realise there would be a brood break from the end of July all the way up until she lays the winter bees in November...or have I misunderstood what you’re saying?

No, they can have a brood break at weird stages of the season sometimes, I've had the majority of my queens stop laying for a couple of weeks in June before.
Most years there can be very little brood about in production colonies in August, nucs with new queens obviously keep laying.
I see my colonies progress in waves over the season, its very unusual for me to observe them going through a steady progression.
All of this must be understood to have the caveat that this is in my area(lower teifi valley) and with my bees(natives).

 

[mbc]

I wonder how @mbc or @Hedgerow Honey feed in the autumn ad- lib untill they don't take anymore?

Duw duw, I was born in Cardigan, I'm very tight with syrup, most production colonies get by on a little under 6kg each for the season, I rarely lose bees to starvation.
I've never weighed a hive in my life unless you consider hefting as weighing.
If colonies are light in the spring it's a better situation than heavy imho as the colonies can be expanded nicely with very little syrup until they're ready for supers.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Maybe that's the difference

Difference?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I wonder if they weigh their hives though.

every five minutes!

 

[user 20917]

I weigh the hives too. That is the easiest way to know if they need more food. Every hive needs 20 kg of food. A hive with brood en bees but no food weighs about 20 kg. So I feed them till they are 40 kg. That is too much but in the spring I take the frames with food and no brood out. They just keep 2 frames with food on the outside. The frames with food are excellent for the nucs. Or sometimes I need to give some back when the production hives are in the orchards and the nectar flow leaves to be desired.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I weigh the hives too. That is the easiest way to know if they need more food. Every hive needs 20 kg of food. A hive with brood en bees but no food weighs about 20 kg. So I feed them till they are 40 kg. That is too much but in the spring I take the frames with food and no brood out. They just keep 2 frames with food on the outside. The frames with food are excellent for the nucs. Or sometimes I need to give some back when the production hives are in the orchards and the nectar flow leaves to be desired.

Yes. A good thing for a beginner to do.

 

[oliver90owner]

That’s interesting, I didn’t realise there would be a brood break from the end of July all the way up until she lays the winter bees in November...or have I misunderstood what you’re saying?

That’s interesting, I didn’t realise there would be a brood break from the end of July all the way up until she lays the winter bees in November...or have I misunderstood what you’re saying?

You should be recording information when inspecting. The number of full frames-worth of brood is important - particularly if a beginner. Colonies can collapse late in the summer due to varroa loading - the colony brood decreases so virtually every pupa is affected by the varroa (sometimes more than one varroa mite being enclosed under the capping). This can mean the majority of the replacement workers are ‘duds’. Hence the colony collapses due to all old bees dying off, no new healthy bees to replace them and more varroa for the colony size. All colonies shrink in size before wintering - they do not ‘need’ to be double brooded as autumn approaches, but are often left with double broods when a 14 x 12, or a ‘brood and a half, is more than sufficient.

Winter bees are simply those bees which will need to survive through the winter. They are not produced by the calendar. Forget the calendar and use ‘seasons’. Sometimes seasons are early, sometimes late and the average is regarded as the ‘norm’. Climate change is altering the seasons.

If you can’t make allowances for the weather, you will never become a proficient beekeeper. Supers are not added in spring by the calendar date. Varroa mites are not treated by the calendar date. Drones are not kicked out by the calendar. Got the idea? Bees don’t read books like we do.

 

[Do224]

Most years there can be very little brood about in production colonies in August

So would there just be lots of empty cells or lots of stores in this situation?

 

[Curly green finger's]

I weigh the hives too. That is the easiest way to know if they need more food. Every hive needs 20 kg of food. A hive with brood en bees but no food weighs about 20 kg. So I feed them till they are 40 kg. That is too much but in the spring I take the frames with food and no brood out. They just keep 2 frames with food on the outside. The frames with food are excellent for the nucs. Or sometimes I need to give some back when the production hives are in the orchards and the nectar flow leaves to be desired.

This is debatable as to how much stores a colony will need for winter I keep near natives and most single brood will do just fine on 20 lbs +
Like you though I like to weigh monthly and heft in between you can be more accurate as to how much you need to feed and how much stores are being consumed. It's interesting to see that natives will get by on the smallest amount of stores.
we have somewhere near the same amount of hives and still weighing hives .
Thanks for posting Jos hillen.

 

[Sanntos]

Isn't easier to give the same amount to every hive, at the same time. No need to weigh.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I've seen colonys completely demolish 12.5 kgs of fondant in a week.

Really. That’s some feat. You’ve never mentioned that before

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I've seen colonys completely demolish 12.5 kgs of fondant in a week

Really. That’s some feat. You’ve never mentioned that before

Bit like Kids on Easter Sunday, they must have been rather sick the Monday after

 

[user 20917]

Isn't easier to give the same amount to every hive, at the same time. No need to weigh.

Before giving the bees enough food to see them through the winter you have to know how much honey they have left in the broodchamber. A way to do that is to take every frame out and estimate its weight. This way you can make a rough estimation of how much more food you have to give them. An easier way in my opinion is to weigh the hive and in a few seconds you know exactly how much stores they have left.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Before giving the bees enough food to see them through the winter you have to know how much honey they have left in the broodchamber. A way to do that is to take every frame out and estimate its weight. This way you can make a rough estimation of how much more food you have to give them. An easier way in my opinion is to weigh the hive and in a few seconds you know exactly how much stores they have left.

How do you weigh them?

 

[user 20917]

How do you weigh them?

On scales. The disadvantage is that I can't do that on my own. This year i am going to build another one.
Like this

 

[Erichalfbee]

Heavens. That’s a lot of work. I wonder if any other commercial units ( apart from Curly’s) weigh all their hives in the U.K. ( you are in Belgium are you not, Jos? )

 

[pargyle]

Really. That’s some feat. You’ve never mentioned that before

Hope it wasn't the same colony that went from nuc to 150Kg of honey between May and August ? Lots of pale coloured honey if it was !