Bee Chronicles

8 January 2019

The bees are trying to relax but the warm weather is pestering them.

20 Dec 2018: this week there were two warm days in a row. The bees were out flying. They consumed a little syrup from their bordman feeders. I refilled the empty jars. I have 3 feeders on each hive. They act as entrance reducers. The jars act as hive warmers. As the sun beats down warming the empty jar it heats up. The expanded warm air is forced into the hive. I don’t think it warms the hive much, but every little bit helps. What I am trying to accomplish is to expand the cluster just a little so there will be new areas of stored honey in front of the somewhat lethargic bees. I may be fooling myself.

The pussy willow catkins are gradually popping out. As they swell, they pop the brown covering. Some of the catkins are now pretty fuzzy “pussy willows. The catkins that are out are about 1” long. They will grow to about 2” before going into full bloom. The cool weather is restricting both the popping out and the length growth. This is good. I don’t want the full bloom before mid January.

The Spice Bush buds are starting to swell. Still very tiny. I don’t want it to bloom until the end of February.

If these buds swell too much and then get frozen, they will not bloom. The bees will loose out on that timely food. These winter bloomers are a good source of pollen to replenish the hive stores that were consumed by late season brooding in November.

The weather has been too cool for me to pop the tops on my hives to see which ones are still alive. If I see a few bees coming and going at a hive entrance it does not mean the hive is alive. The bees could be robbing a dead hive.

All the hives have their entrances reduced, mostly to discourage mice. But also to cut down on cool winds. All the hive bottoms are closed.

To stay busy, I have been scraping excess propolis out of stored hive boxes (hive bodies and honey supers). I do this to collect the propolis for medicine and to clean the rabbets (the ledge) where the ears of the frames rest in the boxes. This makes it easier to remove the frames next year. I also clean the frames, especially the ears.

I don’t need to make up any wood ware, but this is a good time to make new boxes and frames. Don’t put wax foundations in the frames now. Working the foundation when it is cold will cause it to break. Wait until it is warm, just before you need it to put it in the foundation.

It is okay to treat for mites now if you have not done it this side of October. Oxalic fumigation or one of the hanging strips would be appropriate. It is too cold to use one of the jelly type treatments.

Be prepared for emergency feeding. This may be necessary by the end of January. How do you know your bees are starving? They will be shivering. But, you won’t see this because it is too cold for you to open the hive. Use the “tip test” to judge the weight of the hive body. Tip it every week so you can compare the weight as it goes down with the honey consumption.

Which recipe are you going to use? How are you going to serve the food? Fondant is good. It has moisture in it making it more readily available to the bees. You can make your own, or buy some and have it on hand. The homemade stuff is just thick sugar frosting. You can feed old Christmas candy canes. The bees don’t mind red dye no. 2 and peppermint. You can feed granulated or confectioner’s powdered sugar. If you feed dry sugar the bees will need a water source to help them dissolve the sugar before they consume it. Some times the condensation moisture that accumulates on the inner cover is enough. The bees will have to be warm enough to travel to the inner cover to get the water. A light coating of powdered sugar on the bees might keep them alive. They will lick the powdered sugar off each other. Sugar patties made of granulated sugar will help. Make them like a thin hamburger. Press them out between wax paper for ease of making and storage. When you place them in the hive remove the wax paper off the top. Leave the wax paper on the bottom to hold the patty together between the top bars.

January and February are mostly watching months. Be sure to watch and not ignore.

BEWARE the Bears are out!