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Hives and Winter

Overview

Based on the weather in your area, you may need to help your bees keep from loosing valuable heat. Some ideas to consider are outlined below.

Reduce the Impact of Wind

Consider breaking up the wind's flow. Some ideas are

• Place hay bales on the leeward side of the hives
• Add fencing on the leeward side of the hives. If you do this, it is best to emplace fencing which is not solid. Solid fences simply push the wind up and when it has passed the fence, it drops back down again, dropping all the snow on the other side of the fence.

Either way, you dramatically decrease the effect of the wind whisking the heat away from your hives.

Reduce the Loss of Heat, and Ensure the Hive is Configured for Winter

Some ideas here include:

• Insert an entrance reducer.
  • One beekeeper advocates putting the opening up instead of down. His reasoning is that this helps keep melting snow and other water from getting into the brood chamber (even if only on the bottom board). Other beekeepers say a small amount of water on the bottom board gives the bees a source of water where they don't have to fly out of the hive.
  • Ensure the opening in the entrance reducer has 3/8" hardware cloth over the opening in the entrance reducer. This will prevent mice from settling in for the winter in the hive.
  Hardware cloth can be found from many on-line sources. One source is McMaster-Carr, p/n 9217T22. They sell it with 0.304" openings.
• Ensure the telescoping cover is securely down against the inner cover, and
• A solid bottom board is recommended. If using a screened bottom board, be sure the closing sheet is inserted.
• Consider using a slatted rack
• Consider using a quilt box. This provide insulation and absorbs moisture from the hive.
• Reduce the area the colony will need to heat. Remove all the honey supers and the queen excluder. Also consider removing any brood boxes which are not used (empty comb does not help the colony get thru the winter).
• Ensure the hive is strapped down to the hive stand. If wildlife or wind blows the hive over, you will not have time to restore the hive before too much heat is lost, killing the colony.
• Consider wrapping the hive with insulation. Whilst many pooh-pooh this, the HiveIQ fellas in Australia are moving to a high density polystyrene foam (think of compressed foam coolers) for their hives. They advocate that using this material in lieu of wood:
  • Results in better winter survival for the colony
  • Gets the hive started earlier in the Spring
  • Improves hygiene and reduces hive pests, resulting in healthier hives

Ensure the Colony has is Ready for Winter

Some ideas here include:

• Ensure the varroa mite load is low. If necessary, treat the hive.
• Ensure the colony has adequate food stores for the Winter. The amount needed varies by area, but the brood box needs to have adequate food stores for the colony.

Ensure the Colony has Food

As the year progresses, the colony will move from the bottom of the hive to the top, consuming food as they go. A thermal camera is a useful tool here. If the hive has moved to the top too soon, that means they are consuming the food stores fast and will probably run out.

Be ready to add food which is high in carbohydrates. Winter patties are a commonly supplied food source, and they are often made with a mix of sugar, water, and a very small amount of pollen.

Note, winter patties are not pollen patties. Pollen patties are used in the spring to help the colony build up their protein stores and encourage brood rearing. This encourages the queen to start laying eggs for the workers needed in the spring.

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Some Other Recommendations

If a hive is weak, consider merging the weak colony with a strong one. Get them thru the winter, and then split the colony next Spring.

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Additional pictures of this

More Information

Books and Papers

• “Beekeeping in Northern Climates”, from the University of Minnesota, by Katie Lee, Gary S. Reuter, Marla Spivak, & Anne Turnham

Web Sites

• How To Winterize A Beehive + 10-Point Checklist, from BeeProfessor
• Winter Patties For Bees (What, Why, and How!), from Beekeeping Insider
• Wintering by Bush Bees

Presentations

• Ten Rules for Modern Beekeeping (YouTube video), by Kim Flottum.