Comments on: The Care and Feeding of Your Bees

By: mack

mack — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 22:10:36 +0000

hi,
although my bees are at the bottom of the hive, ihave opened the super and have found that the honey i left them at the end of summer about four to five kg have been all taken either down to the hive or eaten by the bees. all the waxis is still intackt but not asingle drop of honey. what do you think has happened, do you think think they will have sufficient supply of honey.

By: indigomontoya

indigomontoya — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 21:36:58 +0000

Also, if you do move your boxes around be careful to not break up the brood into two different areas or they might not receive the attention/warmth they need. Obviously don’t try anything while you still have cold nights.

By: indigomontoya

indigomontoya — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 21:33:32 +0000

Hi!
In response to an earlier post about transitioning your bees from one hive type to another…

Bees tend to move UP in the hive during the winter as they consume their stores of honey and have a tendency to NOT move down in the hive come spring. This can cause congestion. I’ve never changed hive types but from what i understand it would be better to try to have them move up into it by rotating your winter hive box where the main cluster was at the end of the winter to the bottom of the stack. Obviously if your bees didn’t move up during winter than you can just leave it as is. My general understanding though is that the bees work their way up through a hive and not down.

By: Nick

Nick — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 23:51:29 +0000

Hi Mack, closing your bees up like that usually creates more problems than it helps. Bees can only carry about half their weight in fecal matter before they’ll “go” inside the hive and will use warmer day’s to relieve themselves. You should try leaving the hives next year and wrap or insulate them (there’s lots of information online if you Google for it). I say put them out as soon as you can, when you hit 10°C day’s or better. Maybe someone who has more experience with this will come along and offer more help…

By: mack

mack — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 22:34:36 +0000

i lost my bees in winter in 2010 proberably to cold,as there was still honey in the bee box. this year i have put my bees in a container with ventilation where they are safe from frost and cold but i would like to know is when to bring them out again in late febuary or march. please advise as it is only my hobby. thanks

By: Eve Vaterlaus

Eve Vaterlaus — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 19:52:08 +0000

When I feed in the spring and fall, I make sugar syrup, but I first steep herbs which bees like in the water- sage, thyme, melissa, chamomile, use what you have and what they like, one or a few mixed. This is healthy for them, and makes me feel it is a bit better than sugar water. (I strain out the herbs before I add the sugar-)
I also add a dash of salt to avoid spoilage.

By: Nick

Nick — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 15:56:18 +0000

Hi Maggie, that sounds like a great way to convert your hive. If we were heading into winter I would wait but since spring is here and the weather is getting warmer, this is the best time to do it. I would add the new hive bodies to the bottom, as you mentioned the natural tendency of the bee is to build down. Your bees are pro’s at maintaining the temperature inside the hive and will make any adjustments they need to to keep the brood from chilling.

Good Luck!

By: Maggie Sullivan

Maggie Sullivan — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 13:14:14 +0000

13.

This is a question, not a reply
I have 2 national hives and I want to change them over to Warre. I have made the hives, waxed the top bars and am creating the solid ground to position them. I have a sturdy plywood square that has the outer dimensions of a national and have cut out a squre from the middle that is the same as a warre.

Now do I put the Warre underneath or on top?

I had planned to put it underneath – because it’s the natural way to work down and the bees would have to go through the new area to get in and out but a friend suggestedthat the brood would get chilled-any advice please?

By: Nicki Penaluna

Nicki Penaluna — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 19:25:15 +0000

Just had a quick peek into the top box on my hive today as the bees were flying and very occupied with a little treat of their honey from last Summer.
The super I left for them in the Autumn was still full of capped honey and the bees were moving about over it oblivious to my interruption. All looks well with my bees