Is it too late?

[Mklangelo]

Hello to all!  It's been awhile since I've posted since I've taken a new job as an over the road truck driver. 


Winter is just around the corner and my ladies checked out just fine in early Sept with a negligible mite count.  The entrance reducers are in place.  I do have one colony that could use a bit more stores.  Is it true that a gallon of syrup will provide about 7 pounds of stores?  I'm thinking that the one colony could use about 15 pounds.

What can be done at this stage.  We're hitting the mid to upper 30's Farenhiet at night here in the Milwaukee area.  Is it too late for syrup?  We can still expect some days of 40's and 50's here.

Or as an easier alternative to syrup, how about some powdered sugar on top of the inner cover on some parchment paper to avoid the mess, sprayed with a bit of water?  I have plenty laying around the house and it sounds allot easier than making syrup.  How much do you think would be required to provide the stores I think they need? 


Thanks and I hope all is well with everyone!


 :-D

[buzzbee]

You may wish to read this post!
http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php?topic=11879.0
Finsky lives where it there is a much shorter season than here!

[Mklangelo]

thanks buzz!  That's a great post.  It sounds like Finsky's weather is just about like mine right now, maybe a bit worse.  As a matter of fact in Helsinki, it's just a few degrees cooler than where I'm at.


I only have entrance feeders so it sounds like I'll have to go another route and it sounds like MB seems to think the feeding of sugar is a decent way to go.  I'll see what comes up in this thread and go from there.  Top feeders arent' in the budget at the moment...  :-)

[Finsky]

http://www.wunderground.com/US/WI/Milwaukee.html

I do not recommend to feed your hive right away. To feed too late that bees cannot cap the food, it may cause death.

You have now quite a cold weather. More important is when bees can come out and let feces out.
I have now the weather that bees do not come out for 5 month.

How much you really have capped food in the hive. You may open it an look, how it seems.

* You can save 30% food if you insulate the hive well - if you have simple inch walls.
* Take extra empty space off, if you have it.

Eletrict heater into hive save food.

All kinds of sugar in the hive make bees lip it and they get thirsty if they cannot come out to get drinking water.

Tell how much you have capped frames and occupied frames by bees.

[Mklangelo]

http://www.wunderground.com/US/WI/Milwaukee.html

I do not recommend to feed your hive right away. To feed too late that bees cannot cap the food, it may cause death.

You have now quite a cold weather. More important is when bees can come out and let feces out.
I have now the weather that bees do not come out for 5 month.

How much you really have capped food in the hive. You may open it an look, how it seems.

* You can save 30% food if you insulate the hive well - if you have simple inch walls.
* Take extra empty space off, if you have it.

Eletrict heater into hive save food.

All kinds of sugar in the hive make bees lip it and they get thirsty if they cannot come out to get drinking water.

Tell how much you have capped frames and occupied frames by bees.

Thanks for the reply Finsky.

I will go and do a good inspection later today.  I have three colonies and on September 4th  Number 2 had 3 empty frames in the bottom box.  I have good hopes on this hive since we have had plenty of very warm days since then.  We had some very nice temps in September and October.
This is the hive that had a suppersession and had the new queen laying no later than on June 7th.  By June 16th, the queen was doing great but that still put it about 4-6 weeks behind the other two colonies.  I'll go and have a look later.

I do plan on wrapping the hives in a week or so.  I might put a few layers of newspaper over the inner cover also.  The supers have been off for two months.

[Hopeful]

I am facing a similar situation here in OK, but have a bit more time. I am going out today to syrup feed, but next week I am making up candy boards. Around here, it is said that a single candy board will get the bees through the winter. When I bought my bees two weeks ago the man I bought them from removed all the supers, leaving them with nothing. I have been feeding them, but as a newbee I did not know about giving them supers in which to store. Thus, the candy boards will have to work. I am also hoping for a mild winter, by God's grace, for my bees.

[Mklangelo]

With Oklahoma City in the mid 70's all week as it is forcasted, you are in good shape to do whatever you may need to!

How many hive bodies do you have and how many frames are empty?  How is your brood situation?

[randydrivesabus]

i think the weather is going to moderate and be a bit warmer...
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/
while that is not 100% accurate it is a pretty good indicator. this little cold snap will not last for the rest of the winter.

[CBEE]

Hopefull... You mean this guy sold you bees 2 weeks ago and left you with nothing for winter?  :shock: I am assuming then you have them in a single deep ?

[Hopeful]

>>>>>Hopefull... You mean this guy sold you bees 2 weeks ago and left you with nothing for winter?   I am assuming then you have them in a single deep ?<<<<<

Yes, this is how he does it every year, he say. But I have been told one must start much earlier if he is going to do it this way. I got the honey and extracted it, so it was ot out of selfish interest that he did it, he just had his routine and I did not know enough to say no. I went up last night adcounted 8 single deeps out of 13 hives. The others are either "story and a half" with a single deep and one medium super and a couple of hives made up of three shallow supers.


>>>>>With Oklahoma City in the mid 70's all week as it is forcasted, you are in good shape to do whatever you may need to!

How many hive bodies do you have and how many frames are empty?  How is your brood situation? <<<<<

Yes, the weather is supposed to be nice this week. It could be another very dry and warm winter like two years ago when we had all the brush fires. We'll see. The problem is not brood,there is lots of that. Strong, aggressive bees, and plenty of them. The problem is a place to make and store honey. I am putting the supers on today in hopes that they can do someting in the next week or so with the syrup. But anyway, candy boards were what was recommended to me to keep them from starving to death. Just getting them hrough the winter will be the key, I m not too worried about next spring yet, but my mentor thinks I am getting behind because of all this and will make spring more difficult, possibly with less honey crop. Next year, we are keeping some honey for the girls.

[Finsky]

When you give syrup, you must give so much that cells are full. Without it bees do not cap food. And when you have done this, you need not any candy.

It is better use one method and not mix them "for sure". It is not needed.

And important, it is usefull to look, what bees allready has in the hive. If they have enough, no reason to gIve more.

Remember my sauna trip with bees. Some one recommended to me it.

USE HOWEVER YOUR OWN BRAINS, WHAT EVER HAPPENS.