The hives are bundled up in groups of four. The wraps are made of household insulation inside black plastic sheeting.
Although January may seem like a non-event month for beekeepers, a lot is going on in the hive. The queen begins to slowly increase the rate of eggs laid each day as the days become longer. Each egg, destined to be a worker, take 21 days to hatch. As the eggs hatch, this places a demand on the bees for more food sources.
As February approaches, the bees may be running out of food. Their honey supply may become exhausted and unfortunately many colonies that are light on stores die of starvation during this time.
This is a critical time for the beekeeper. On a windless day and hopefully when temperatures are somewhat warmer (above freezing) the beekeeper can carefully open the top lid to access the situation. Be brief. The lid should only be off for just a few minutes.
If the bees are clustered under the lid and all over the top bars this means that the cluster has moved to the top of the hive and may have eaten all of their winter stores. Do not pull or remove any frames. This could chill the bees and brood.
Gently place blocks of sugar or fondant immediately adjacent to the cluster. This works well if you have a shim or sugar board on top so there is space to do this. You can also place a newspaper over the cluster and pour granulated sugar on top. This is is referred to as the Mountain Camp method. Close the lid and repack the top of the lid with your winter insulation. Be sure you still have a top entrance for moisture to escape. The bees will also use this top entrance on warm days.
Weather permitting, check back in a couple of weeks to see if the bees need more food. At this point in time all feed should be in solid form. No syrup should be used.
As February approaches, the bees may be running out of food. Their honey supply may become exhausted and unfortunately many colonies that are light on stores die of starvation during this time.
This is a critical time for the beekeeper. On a windless day and hopefully when temperatures are somewhat warmer (above freezing) the beekeeper can carefully open the top lid to access the situation. Be brief. The lid should only be off for just a few minutes.
If the bees are clustered under the lid and all over the top bars this means that the cluster has moved to the top of the hive and may have eaten all of their winter stores. Do not pull or remove any frames. This could chill the bees and brood.
Gently place blocks of sugar or fondant immediately adjacent to the cluster. This works well if you have a shim or sugar board on top so there is space to do this. You can also place a newspaper over the cluster and pour granulated sugar on top. This is is referred to as the Mountain Camp method. Close the lid and repack the top of the lid with your winter insulation. Be sure you still have a top entrance for moisture to escape. The bees will also use this top entrance on warm days.
Weather permitting, check back in a couple of weeks to see if the bees need more food. At this point in time all feed should be in solid form. No syrup should be used.
