Bee Chronicles

3 Nov. 2020

Warmer than normal for first two weeks of the month. Now 19^th, cool as normal. Can anyone remember a Halloween Eve where it snowed? Yes. Not too long ago.

The bees might be confused. Just remember they are flying at above 55^o and coming home hungry. Mostly that is. There are still asters, white snakeweed, goldenrod, native and decorative mums.

I would guess there is not enough nectar to sustain the foragers. If you have brooding queens, try to keep them laying some eggs by maintaining a food supply coming into the hives. Feed syrup, but, you can rely on the goldenrod pollen for now.

I see yellow and white pollen coming into the hive right now. The bees are consuming the Ultra Bee pollen substitute I put out at a very high rate. We will see if the extra stored pollen helps keep the bee alive at the end this winter. Remember I was talking about this as a way to help the honeybee fill the "fat body" glands to their max.

If you are considering balancing bee populations now you should consider the degradation that will occur to the strong hive you take bees out of. If you have a questionable small hive (or more than one), you might consider combining them to create one strong or a super strong hive. Better to have one hive get through the winter than two medium strong ones die out. Your winter over hives will be ready to split by late spring (April) before nectar flow.

Keep treating for mites