I walked outside today expecting cold frosty air- and instead got blasted by warm muggy air and a bee buzzing by my head.
Hmm.
So I went over to the hives like any good be charmer would and check in on the properties I manage there.
One hive was HIGHLY active. The other- not.
Good and bad news.
The Buckfast were non active.
I gave the hive a kick with my foot (which I would highly suggest against any other time of the year) and still no buzz, no bee coming out, nothing.
I was prepared for a hive failure. We did have some cold weather last week and I knew that these gals did not have enough of themselves to keep warm- even if insulated. So I opened the hive to see the damage.
It was kinda a sad sight. The queen laid fallen, and the "cluster," of bee's were spread out in two different combs. The bee's had failed to uniform themselves and the queen was alone. I did see evidence that she had laid some eggs within the past week and a half, but the amount I could count on one hand. They had really not touched any of the fondant, and I was amazed to see vast amounts of untouched pollen. Hmmm. The most discouraging part of the whole scenario was the mold that had come into some of the combs. It wasn't a devastating amount but it was enough to make some combs look ugly. Mold=dysentery for bees.
As for the other hive (The Carniolans) I was happy to see that not only were they buzzing as I opened their hive- but their cluster had grown in size. It gives me reason to believe that the queen is still going strong and laying her winter brood to keep the hive doing what it should be doing. The hive smelled good and the bee's were on the fondant. I took the leftover pollen from the other hive and scraped it off the comb. I know that any other bee keeper reading this would yell at me for destroying "some" of the drawn out comb, but I figured it was better than risking putting in a moldy foundation into a healthy looking hive. I left the Buckfast's foundation out on the ground as we are getting snow tonight. This will help freeze the comb and hopefully destroy any growing mold spores. I wanted to take their unused pollen and put it into the Carniolans hive. They will eat it- store it- use it for the babies. Why waste what is gold to them. Hopefully this little boost sacrificed from the Buckfast will help boost the Carniolans for the rest of winter.
Here are some pics of what I did-
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| Here is the pollen that I scraped out. I smooshed it together to make a patty out of it and easier to lay across the top of the Carni's foundation. The white that you see in it is comb wax. It smelled slightly like bread. |
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| Mold on the comb. Boo. |
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| Putting the patty of pollen into Carniolans hive- their buzzing interest. |
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| Less than ten minutes later- the numnums going on. |
Note to self- When randomly going into a high don't wear all black. Also when you stick a hand into the hive that is covered in pollen and expect the bee's not to notice- you are an idiot.
No bee's, or bee charmers were harmed in the making of this blog.
The bee charmer almost was though........
not so charming.
Good morning. I'm sorry to hear you lost a hive but it sounds like your second one is going strong. It is not unusual that no pollen was eaten in your failing hive because pollen is used to feed brood. If there were no brood to feed, they would keep the pollen in storage.
ReplyDeleteAlso moldy combs are normal and not a health concern. Mold appears when not enough bees are in the hive to keep it cleaned up. It does not cause dysentery; in fact some molds are known to control the spread of American foulbrood. Give moldy combs to a strong hive in spring and they will be cleaned up in no time.
Honey bee dysentery is caused by too many solids in the honey bee diet, especially when there is a long spell of cold weather. Unlike human dysentery, honey bee dysentery is not caused by a pathogen.
Noseme apis can cause dysentery-like symptoms, but it is not dysentery; it is a microsporidian disease of the gut. In any cause, moldy frames don't cause either one.
Thank you SO much for all this info! I must admit the day we talked about bee diseases in class I zoned out being totally disheartened and rather wanting to look at bee keeping thru honey colored glasses:P I have had it in my mind that mold=bad for the bee's in the same way its bad for us humans. I'm happy to go into second year beekeeping with some drawn comb- now learning that THAT is gold to new hives- I got a solid amount too about fourty frames worth. I appreciate the help, and am finding that I learn more not from the books but from the charmers who have been charming longer than a year:) Much luck to you this spring and warm well wishes to your bees for the rest of winter!
ReplyDeleteWhen checking for stores, instead of opening up, lift them from the front bottom board to gain an idea of the weight. Do this several times a year when they have the two brood boxes. Learn from this. Then when it comes to times like this, instead of opening you can lift and gage the weight. I would try and lift with one arm. Once you get into practice, you will learn when they need feed and when they do not. A simple and practical solution.
ReplyDeleteWhen you open them in the winter, even though the days are nice, the seal of propolis gets broken and it allows the cold air to come in. Eventually it will get cold again.
Fondant is a good thing later on. Like pollen patties though, it dries out and does so quickly. When it does, it becomes useless to the bees.
Winter feeding is best left to the fall. Give them what they need in the fall when they can dry it down and seal it. I live in Canada. In the fall (september) we feed 5-7 gallons of feed per hive. They take it in fast and store it. This works out to 1 very full heavy top deep and stores in the bottom box. This should and usually lasts them until March.
Good to know! Thank you SO much for the feedback, it is very much appreciate! I'm sure it will take me a bit of practice gaging the weight of the boxes- I look forward to it though:) When I opened yesterday I only peeked in thru the inner cover. I did not remove frames, nor did I remove the inner cover. The pics are taken by my camera phone and my hand stuck into the hive- (covered in pollen was not too bright of me!) The hive also has insulation wrapped around it. (we've been getting some colder nights despite the warmer days- a practice suggested by a bee keeping mentor) The picture of the frame on the ground is of the failed hive. When you say fondant is good for later on- do you mean late winter when days are a bit longer? What ratio of syrup do you use in fall? I get conflicting views on a 2:1 to 1:1 for fall time. I fed the girls 2:1 most of the season.
ReplyDeleteIn the fall, feed 2:1. In the spring, early still 2:1. When the temps warm slightly, 1:1. 1:1 is used to stimulate brood production. It best simulates the nectar flow where as 2:1 being drier will be easier on moisture problems in the hive, taking less energy to dry it down.
ReplyDeleteThe fondant should be used as an emergency feed only. If as beekeepers we prep our hives in fall properly, there should be no need to add extra sugar or fondant until spring is near to the door step. The idea in the fall is feed feed feed, then wait, wait, wait. Then come late January or mid February or in my case, late Feb early March, if the hives are light, then add the fondant in smaller amounts. This saves on it drying out and becomeing useless to the bees.