Winter Beekeeping Archives - Backyard Beekeeping

Can I Feed Frames of Honey Back to My Colony?

September 23, 2021 · Rusty Burlew · Ask The Expert

I live in the NC Piedmont. I prepared my hives for winter last Sunday by removing the top supers and adding a quilt frame and a candy board. These are two first-year hives. The honey was not capped last month. This month it’s all capped including eight full frames in the supers and four that are about half full.

How Do I Combine Two Double-Deep Hives?

September 18, 2021 · Rusty Burlew · Ask The Expert, Beekeeping 101

Before you begin to combine the two double-deep hives, try to consolidate the brood nests in each hive. For example, If one hive has five frames of brood in one box, and two in the other box, try to put all seven of them in one box. Repeat this process in the other hive.

How Do Honey Bees Survive the Winter Without Fresh Pollen?

September 8, 2021 · Rusty Burlew · Health & Pests

All during the foraging season, honey bees collect pollen and nectar. They use nectar for energy to keep going from day to day. Any extra nectar is turned into honey and stored in combs.

How Do I Save a Late-Season Swarm?

August 6, 2021 · Rusty Burlew · Ask The Expert, Health & Pests

Deciding how to handle a late swarm can be difficult, even for an experienced beekeeper. Although late swarms have a very low survival rate, they can be helped along with additional resources.

Is Moisture Killing My Bees?

March 23, 2021 · Rusty Burlew · Ask The Expert, Health & Pests

As long as they are dry, honey bees are wizards at staying warm. But a moist hive can be a death sentence because evaporation is a cooling process that steals the heat from a bee’s body. Living in a damp hive is like standing in a cold room while dripping wet from a shower.

Moisture Control in The Hives: A Four-Season Approach

February 20, 2021 · Bridget Mendel · Hives & Equipment

We work with the seasons and the bees’ own incredible ability to self-regulate to keep heat, cold, and moisture in check. While it is useful to look at how bees live “in the wild” to understand their natural preferences, it’s good to remember that honey bees are adaptable and live all over the world, in all climates.

Movements of the Winter Bee Cluster

February 4, 2021 · Rusty Burlew · Health & Pests

Add to Favorites The honey bee cluster moves up in winter and down in summer. The downward movement is easiest to see in a feral colony built into a tree …

What Bugs Your Bees in Winter? Know the Lineup of Beekeeping Pests.

January 12, 2021 · Rusty Burlew · Health & Pests

Even before we open our first beehive, we are warned about pests that may live within. Small hive beetles, wax moths, and varroa mites are things we dread, so early in our training we learn how to deal with them.

I Found a Dead Queen on My Landing Board. Now What?

November 29, 2020 · Rusty Burlew · Ask The Expert, Health & Pests, Hives & Equipment

I live just outside of Seattle. Yesterday I found a queen dead on the landing board of my top bar hive. She was with two worker bees that were alive. I am not sure what they were doing. Pushing her off of the ledge?

Is Fondant Actually Detrimental to Bees?

November 29, 2020 · Rusty Burlew · Ask The Expert, Health & Pests, Hives & Equipment

When you cook sugar or add an acid such as vinegar or cream of tartar, you break the molecular bonds that hold sucrose together and end up with the two simple sugars. It’s the fructose portion that causes the problem. When fructose is heated it produces hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), which is toxic to bees.