Question on opening up hive

[Boom Buzz]

My Bees did not fly today - too cold - highs in the fifties, and windy.  But we will still have some good days ahead before winter fully settles in.  Which leads me to this question. 

Is it reasonable to open up the hive pretty much any day the bees are flying?  Or, Is there a point in the season that you just don't open them up anymore (even if it is a nice warm day and the bees are flying) until spring arrives?  Ie., the bees have sealed it up nice and tight for the winter with propolis so leave it alone until spring.  And what is that point in the season? 

Thanks for any insights!

John

[JP]

My guess is your bees weren't flying because it was too windy, not too cold. Lots of bees still fly when temps dip below the fifties, some even fly in the forties and some on here have reported bees even flying in the upper thirties, like Brian Bray.

Opening a hive for a quick look may not be a big deal, but it might be, all depends on the highs and lows in that time period.

If you're in a warm up trend, you may be able to get away with a quick look, once they've clustered, but remember, when you open that hive, you have heat escape, which could be very detrimental to a hive, so be careful in winter and give just a quick look, if needed.

Most in the dead of winter keep their hives closed and may weigh them or lift them to get a feel for food adequacy, but in cold temps you are putting a hive in cluster at extreme risk by allowing heat to escape even for a look in cold temps. If you have to, do so at the hottest point of the day.

Others will chime in, who actually live and keep bees in very cold temps, beekeepers who actually have "winters" and can give you specifics. I'm in the deep south, our winters may consist of a few days here or there where temps go below freezing, and even then, on those same days, it may warm into the 70's.


...JP

[Kathyp]

i have usually done my last check and walked away by now, but we have had some surprisingly warm weather and night temps are still moderate. 

when i have done my last check at this time of the year, i don't open them all the way again until very late winter or early spring.  sometimes we get a few warmish days in February and i'll take a quick look then to check stores.  even then, i don't pull them apart.  most of the time i can see what i need to see with a flashlight and looking between the frames.

  i do pop the outer cover once every two weeks or so, on days above freezing, to make sure they still have plenty  of dry sugar on the inner cover.  other than that, why check?  what are you going to be able to fix in the middle of winter?

[luvin honey]

Can anyone in zone 4 comment? I haven't gotten into mine for months now and want to do one last check. I suppose if my 2 apparently weak hives are queenless, I could try to do a combine quick before winter with the strong one. Does anybody have any comments on the OP question for zone 4? Thanks :)

[Mason]

most of the time i can see what i need to see with a flashlight and looking between the frames.

I suppose you seasoned guys may know this but I learned it the hard way.  Don't open your hive at night and shine a flashlight on them.  I did that one evening this year to show some interested friends and the bees went into full on attack mode.  Unfortunately my friends lost interest  very quickly.

[Kathyp]

they will still do that during the day.  all i'm doing is quick scan of the frames top cells to see if they still contain stores.  i always suit up  :-D

[sc-bee]

They hate the white light ---- use a RED lens --- right JP :-D!