Winter Prep Nearly Done ? .

[Millet]

I was going to pop this in (What did you Do in the Apiary) but it may get ignored .

Anyway i weighed them all today and checked the inspection tray's which have been in for seven days, the White Queens tray was in a week later as she missed the first vape so was vaped one week later.

Yellow Queen hive 115 lb in weight, she is on a poly brood box with one ceder super below and one for a Eke above for the feeder.

9 varroa dropped over seven day's .

Blue Queen 110lb on poly double brood bottom box just incase they need room for early spring, ceder super for a eke for above.

11 varoa dropped over seven days.

White Queen on ceder brood + half with a super for a eke for feeding 105 lb
100 varroa dropped but the tray was in from the last vape 7 days ago.

I'm not sure of the weight of poly bits but do these weights sound good for winter, i fed them 4lt each once more today and that will be the last this year..
Yellow and orange pollen piling in also.

 

[Hivemaker.]

Weights sound fine, Steve. For this area we feed wooden standard national deep single broods to about 65lb, doubles to about 90 lb, single deep + super to 75lb...all weights minus the roof.

 

[Millet]

Weights sound fine, Steve. For this area we feed wooden standard national deep single broods to about 65lb, doubles to about 90 lb, single deep + super to 75lb...all weights minus the roof.

That will do for me... thank you P.. i was Half confident but unsure, a bad mix i suppose .. lol .

 

[Michael Palmer]

Weights sound fine, Steve. For this area we feed wooden standard national doubles to about 90 lb, single deep + super to 75lb...all weights minus the roof.

That would be way light here. Mine would be more like 140 lb. amazing difference.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Crikey!
60 lb ish is enough for my poly 14x12 with a wooden super

 

[B+.]

That would be way light here. Mine would be more like 140 lb. amazing difference.

Thank heavens we don't have your winters. Ours have been long and wet for quite a few years now. Itś been a while since we had snow.

 

[B+.]

Crikey!
60 lb ish is enough for my poly 14x12 with a wooden super

I give mine 30 kg or so. They find some themselves so they can still be quite full in the spring

 

[madasafish]

30- 38KG here..Some left in spring.

 

[Millet]

It can be a bit cold in winter on the North East coast especially when the North easterlies start blowing, my older angry colony done ok through winter with a total weight of 97lb that was ceder brood + half with a cosy on.

 

[Michael Palmer]

Well perhaps I really should buy a boat and take my bees to Devon for
the winter. I'd save tons of honey, enough to pay for the boat, and get to visit with ya'll.
Life is good, eh?

 

[Show me the honey]

Well perhaps I really should buy a boat and take my bees to Devon for
the winter. I'd save tons of honey, enough to pay for the boat, and get to visit with ya'll.
Life is good, eh?

Might be good in Devon but better in Cornwall!!

 

[Beefriendly]

As and aside... how are people weighing their hives? I know some are lifting from the side with luggage/fishing scales, but I'm puzzled how this is equated to total weight?
I usually just have a quick peek and check top brood frames are full of stores.

 

[Millet]

As and aside... how are people weighing their hives? I know some are lifting from the side with luggage/fishing scales, but I'm puzzled how this is equated to total weight?
I usually just have a quick peek and check top brood frames are full of stores.

I'm a bit possessive of all the new Queens i have so i dare not open up anymore this time of the year in case i get unlucky and manage to kill a Queen. I have not killed one yet but with my luck at the beginning of the year god knows what could happen.
My hives are on separate stands so it makes it easy to weight them, i have a bit of ratchet strap with a hook on it that fits under the side of the stand, i weigh left and right sides and then combine the two weights.
I have weighed a full hive empty of bees and stores so i know how much to deduct from a full colony i have weighed, however i have not weighed the poly boxes yet so i do not have weights for them.

 

[Beefriendly]

Makes sense, thanks. Was thinking you had to lift whole hive onto a set of scales....some of mine are beyond me...which I usually take as meaning they have enough!
One or two are a bit light...me thinks this years Buckfast crossed lines had a bit more Italian influence than I'm used to...

 

[Swarm]

I pop a crown board here and there, usually the smaller colonies and look for capped stores. No frame lifting, Steve, just look into the seams, you can see the cappings.
The usual saying, it should feel nailed down. All I will add is to free the floor from the stand before hefting as floors can become stuck to the stand.
Don't know what it's like for you up there this year but I had a colony that I thought I didn't need to feed because they had a full super last week. Yesterday I nadired it, they had practically cleared it and not the heaviest brood box either.
A strange year.

 

[Millet]

I pop a crown board here and there, usually the smaller colonies and look for capped stores. No frame lifting, Steve, just look into the seams, you can see the cappings.
The usual saying, it should feel nailed down. All I will add is to free the floor from the stand before hefting as floors can become stuck to the stand.
Don't know what it's like for you up there this year but I had a colony that I thought I didn't need to feed because they had a full super last week. Yesterday I nadired it, they had practically cleared it and not the heaviest brood box either.
A strange year.

Thank you... i hopefully think i am on the ball with this feeding lark and hopefully(again) they have enough for winter, i will not be feeding them any more unless it is required which i doubt, good luck for this winter..

 

[Levitt53]

I put more syrup in Tuesday of last week and it’s still there so I think mine are full. I can’t lift the hives from the back with one hand so that’s my measure. I will give them some fondant as a little Xmas present too.

 

[peterbees]

See my website notes for info on Preparing the bees for winter https://tinyurl.com/yc5yrdrq
Hope it helps.