Arcticdude
Top Poster
The wife is getting ready to place her order some more bees for Spring delivery. We've talked with a couple local bee keepers and got some good ideas on how to keep the hornets and yellow jackets out of the hives.
I have a local mentor and buy from him. He has classes in the spring. I believe what happened is, if you remember, no one in this area had much honey harvest because our spring and summer were so wet the bees ate their stores when they were rained in. Therefore, we are having to feed them sugar this winter because they don't have any reserves. I guess they arent really digging the sugar. He said it was happening a lot here. Next spring I will monitor the weather more and make sure I don't let them eat all of their honey and have some left for winter.AD, Robin,
Talk around to local beekeepers. Find someone LOCAL who has lines that are at least 5 years old treatment free. Buy a few nucs from them. Follow THEIR advise on how to manage the colonies. Visit them as they inspect their bee yards. Stop playing the expensive Beexit game, leave that for Britain!
They don't have much stored because I didn't get my nucs until June so we missed the flow. Therefore, I am feeding them sugar all Winter.That's good news. Did you heft the hives gently to check their stores? How do you prep them for the winter?
Thank you. The one year I wrapped my boxes, too much moisture was inside and they died. So moist they couldn't flap their little wings and they died. TN has very few really cold days, so it is best to leave them alone except to feed.I'm sure you know this. Moisture is one of the major causes of colony loss during the winter. So make sure you are feeding them sugar or fondant. Also, using a moisture box / blanket over the winter is a really good idea. I keep around 20 hives and I have noticed a major increase in hives making it through the winter using a moisture box. If you need some help, ill be more than glad to impart some knowledge.
She has a couple hives but a couple years ago hornets and yellow jackets killed both hives. She has some ideas on how to reduce the entrance openings to keep the wasps out.Give the moisture blankets / boxes a shot. Having just a couple hives is a good chance to experiment to see what works. Essentially, the moisture boxes are just an additional box that you can easily make or buy from Dadant. It has a mesh bottom and vent holes on the sides. You fill it with wood shavings. I use animal aspen bedding. The moisture drips from the top cover into the wood shavings and never makes it to the bees. The vent holes in the sides helps to keep air movement in the hive to help further combat excess condensation. You would think the air movement would be counter productive however, I have cold nights in the winter down to -15°f and the bees don't bat an eye at it.
Arcticdude - Glad to hear your wife is getting into the hobby. Is she starting with just one hive?
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