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Chronological Thread  
  • From: Randall Austin <ra41717 AT gmail.com>
  • To: ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [ocba] (no subject)
  • Date: Sat, 18 Dec 2010 12:27:27 -0500

It isn't the cold per se that kills bees. There are a few beekeepers in Alaska that successfully overwinter bees. In fact from a resource-consumption standpoint, it is much better for bees to have a long, very cold winter rather than one where it is warm enough for them to be active in the hive but not warm enough to forage.

There are many reasons bees can die during winter that aren't directly related to the temperature.

One common problem is that a hive may have honey but it is scattered around. When it gets cold, bees form a tight cluster. When the honey under that cluster is exhausted, they squiggle over to adjoining honey. But if the honey stores aren't contiguous (for example, there is honey on the far right and the far left frames, but none in the middle), the tight cluster can't "jump" over the empty space. So your bees can starve even though there is plenty of food just inches away.

Another problem is that bees can go into winter in bad shape to begin with (nosema? varroa stress?), and the added stress of winter is simply the last straw. The best thing to do in this case is figure out if there was something different you can do next year to make a difference (during the year, not waiting until winter). If you decide that you did everything that is reasonable to do and the bees still died, then just say "good riddance" to those weak bees which weren't genetically equipped enough to get through a wimpy cold snap.

There are a million other things that can cause bees to die too. When you think about the hive & how it all works & all the delicate interactions that must occur, it is a wonder that any bees EVER survive. The best way to increase your chances of having a couple of good hives in the spring in to end the fall with four or five good hives.

As far as Alicia's question, "how warm does it need to be to open up the hive to check on things", you can check on the amount of honey without opening the hive. Simply take hold of the back of the hive and tilt it up an inch or so. If it feels heavy, the bees have honey. If it feels light, you may need to feed.

Don't open up the hive in cold weather "just to check on things". I never pull frames out of a hive unless the temperature is pleasant enough to be outside in shirt-sleeves, say around mid-/upper 60s. Exposing adult bees to cold won't kill them but it will kill brood in cells. BUT --- if you have to feed and you have to remove the cover to do so, then go ahead and do that regardless of the temperature, as long as it isn't raining or snowing. The bees can handle a short cold blast better than they can handle starvation.

This is just the way I look at it... there's no right or wrong approach, just what works or doesn't work for you.

Randall

On 12/18/2010 6:51 AM, Alicia Reenders wrote:
AANLkTikBL_Z8AKT63Ns7nCGwhfFDRcKR5gUCmW061TjE AT mail.gmail.com" type="cite">So sad! I'm also wondering, how warm does it need to be to open up the hive to check on things? Or to add feed?

On Fri, Dec 17, 2010 at 10:11 PM, Mary Lou Bethune <marylou909 AT bellsouth.net> wrote:

 

 

WE lost our bees during the deeply cold week we had.  There was honey in the top super and we thought that would keep them going.  Was it just  too cold?
Mary Lou Bethune


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