A Late Winter Check of the Honeybees
I am very happy to report that each of my three beehives has survived the winter! Granted, we’ve had a very mild winter here in the Northeast, but still, any number of things can go wrong within a hive, from the destructive Varroa mite to the mysterious Colony Collapse Disorder. With the early blooming witch hazel trees and a few flowers, such as snowdrops and crocuses, the honeybees have been venturing out of their hives in search of nourishment. However, this is a tricky period for beekeepers, as the majority of pollen and nectar sources really don’t begin to bloom until the middle of April. That means the bees will need to have their diets supplemented to keep them strong and productive. D.J. Haverkamp, of Bedford Bee Honeybee Service, stopped by the other day to help Carlos check and feed the hives.
1 With spring approaching and with some flowers blooming, the honeybees have been venturing out of their hives collecting pollen, which is vital to the developing larvae back in the hives.
2 D.J. Haverkamp of Bedford Bee Honeybee Service has been helping Carlos with my hives.
3 Late February is time to check the hives to see how they fared over the winter.
4 If all has gone well, the Queen has begun to lay about 10 to 20 eggs per day, since around the second week of February. She ceased laying at the end of November and with no brood to feed, the hives have been very quiet.
5 On nice days, the bees will emerge from the hive to get rid of wastes.
6 Having had such a mild winter, I have noticed quite a bit of bee activity.
7 Moving the hives last autumn, to this sheltered and sunny area near the stable was a very good idea.
8 With very little flower nectar available for the bees, Carlos was going to feed them sugar water, so he brought out the hive top-feeders.
9 D.J. explained that feeding sugar water to bees at this time of year can cause bee dysentery, and ultimately, death to the hive.
10 So, the top feeders were lifted up...
11 And removed from the hive.
12 Rather than a liquid diet, which causes the bees to leave the hive much too often for elimination purposes, D.J. made a large tray of bee fondant, a type of hard candy for the bees to eat.
13 The fondant is made with 5-parts of white sugar to 1-part of water and heated to 238º to the soft ball stage.
14 D.J. stirs in 1 cup of rye flour, which turns the fondant a brownish color and provides nutritious protein for the developing larvae.
15 He also adds about 10 drops of essential lemon grass oil, which lends a citrusy scent to entice the bees.
16 D.J. wanted to check one hive to see how it was faring.
17 This box is called the honey super and the frames contain last autumn's goldenrod honey which the bees have been consuming all winter.
18 The fact that there are so many bees on the tops of the frames, may indicate that the frames are nearly empty of honey.
19 D.J. then lifted the honey super, revealing the bee winter cluster in the brood box. This is where the Queen lays her eggs in empty cells starting in late winter.
20 The bees cluster like this to keep themselves warm. At the center is the Queen, where the temperature stays around 80º. The outer edge of the cluster is about 46º.
21 Heat is created when the worker bees shiver. By continuously moving back and forth between the inner part of the cluster and the outer part, very few bees actually freeze to death.
22 Peeking into the hives like this during late winter is something a beekeeper does only when it's calm and around 50º, so as not to disturb the clustering bees too much.
23 D.J. now knows for certain that the honey supply in the hives is low and the bees will benefit greatly from a supplemental diet of bee fondant.
24 A piece this big should be added to each hive.
25 Having just made the fondant that morning, it hadn't had enough time to fully harden.
26 Carlos lifted while D.J. placed the fondant in the hive on top of the frames.
27 The fondant should be checked every few days to see when more should be added.
28 The bees should continue this fondant diet until the middle of April when the willow trees begin to bloom.
29 With this fondant diet, each hive can increase its population by 10,000 bees. That, of course translates to each hive producing 15 to 20 pounds more honey! A real plus for any beekeeper!
30 D.J. wanted Carlos to show him all of our beekeeping supplies. He was checking to see if we needed more foundation for the honey frames. We do!
31 He also wanted to see our bee hive parts, which are kept on a loft in a storage barn. I would like to increase my hives from 3 to 6 and an inventory was made.
32 There are plenty of bottom boards for building the new hives upon.
33 And plenty of inner covers for the supers
34 And extra top feeders when they are called for
35 These are called spacer boards - one side is flat, while the other side has a raised edge to make room for that fondant placed inside the hives. Carlos needs to add these to the three existing hives.
Bee keeping is so fascinating...wonderful that they have survived the winter and are ready to spring into the honey making mode.
Martha, you have probably already read the book by Sue Monk called The Secret Life of Bees. It is a sweet story and a fitting tribute to bees and their keepers.
Posted by: Sandra McCurry Chitty | March 2nd, 2012 at 4:26 am
Happy that all your hives made it through another season and love these photos. Winds farms in North Dakota may be detrimental to our honey production but the processing plant just a few doors down the road continues connection with almond growers in California. Endless prairie, CRP and conservation programs enable bees to feed here for months unlike short almond flowering season. Seems as if every period is tricky in nature but somehow bees continue cycle producing honey. Carlos still looks good and spring always comes.
Posted by: ann | March 2nd, 2012 at 6:23 am
I really did not know much about bee's but after reading this I feel a little more educated
I don't think I have what it takes to be a bee keeper(still scared of them)
Thanks Martha for the pictures and info.
Posted by: LorrLaVeck | March 2nd, 2012 at 7:45 am
Yeah,the bees survived!! I love reading your bee posts, Martha. I learn so much.
Posted by: Julie | March 2nd, 2012 at 8:18 am
Hi Martha, that is wonderful that they survived the cold weather. Have a wonderful weekend.
Best wishes xo
Posted by: Rowaida Flayhan | March 2nd, 2012 at 8:53 am
Glad to see the bees survived the winter! Thank you for this blog Martha, I've learned so much. Have a great weekend!
Posted by: Cindy F | March 2nd, 2012 at 8:59 am
Thank you for this very informative post, Martha. My daughter and I took an introductory course in beekeeping this past Fall. We plan to have hives by next year after we complete a more advanced class. I'm sure we will review your beekeeping posts to help us along!
Posted by: Evelyn | March 2nd, 2012 at 9:32 am
I love it when you teach! Took notes and will be studying more on bees as I will start beekeeping this year.
Even little insignificant things aren't insignificant. Learned so much from this post.
Heat is created when the worker bees shiver. By continuously moving back and forth between the inner part of the cluster and the outer part, very few bees actually freeze to death.
Posted by: Julie | March 2nd, 2012 at 9:57 am
Dear Martha - another interesting post! I really appreciate the information on beekeeping, as that is something that I would like to do someday as well. Thanks again for your wonderful teachings. You and F and S's blogs are the first thing from the internet that I read each morning! You are the best!
Posted by: Cindy | March 2nd, 2012 at 10:08 am
what a fun post, learned alot about bees. What do you do with all those honey? Any fun recipes?
Posted by: Patty | March 2nd, 2012 at 10:32 am
Hi Martha, Thank God your bees are doing so well even now in the late winter time! Carlos is learning so much from D.J. and the bees look really good in these photos! The weather there at your farm looks so great and hope it stays nice for a long time! It's so wet here in the Puget Sound area that we have moss all over our cement blocks and the walkways and patios and driveway, etc. When the rain stops, it takes days for our area to dry off. Sure can't wait for the sunshine to appear more often! Love that delicious looking bee fondant that D.J. made for the bees-bet they loved it! For the bees to possibly produce 15 to 20 more pounds of honey in each hive is fabulous and if you added 3 more hives, WOW! This was a fascinating blog post and seeing D.J.'s website was terrific! Hope you have a great day and wonderful weekend! Off to see Franny and Sharkey in their Sporty Spring Fashions! Jan
Posted by: Jan Erickson | March 2nd, 2012 at 10:52 am
I love the bees...........
Posted by: Sharon | March 2nd, 2012 at 10:53 am
Hi Martha,
I didn’t know a darn thing about bee hives until I started reading your blog. It is all so interesting. I’m not really afraid of bees but I think if I woke up one morning and discovered a hive with 10,000 bees in it, I might go into panic mode. I’ve read that they can just suddenly appear – night travelers I guess. I would definitely call a professional to come and get the hive which I’m sure they would be happy to have if they are beekeepers. My sister would be happy too since she is highly allergic if she were to get stung. I can’t wait to see if your bees ate the fondant, which they most likely will. I’m also glad you called D.J. before Carlos fed them sugar water at this time of year. Wow, so much to learn and remember but it appears you and Carlos are handling things perfectly, like you do everything else I might add. Thanks for the update and now I’m off to finish watching the cute Dr. Seuss show. Trish
Posted by: Trish | March 2nd, 2012 at 11:20 am
Martha,
Thanks for sharing this blog.
Posted by: KLBrown | March 2nd, 2012 at 2:14 pm
I loved this piece on your Honey bees. Bees have always fascinated me and I have taken care to plant my garden for their pleasure and well being. I hope you will continue to post updates on your hives, as I will have to get my beekeeping adventures vicariously !!
Posted by: Laura M. Eppig | March 2nd, 2012 at 2:22 pm
Dear Martha, Read with interest about your bees would love to hear more in the future. I work in Scranton Pa at a hospital and could not bee lieve it when someone said they spotted you visiting if true sorry I missed it since I'm a long time fan.
Posted by: Dianne Ballino | March 2nd, 2012 at 9:29 pm
So happy you have honeybees martha and so happy that i have always known you are a wonderful and careing person! You inspire me to be all that i can bee.
Posted by: peggy evans | March 2nd, 2012 at 10:28 pm
I hope you will come out with some luggage items most of the stuff on the market is drab..
Posted by: Elizabeth Poklinkowski | March 3rd, 2012 at 8:21 am
Glad to hear your bees have survived this winter. Unfortunately we lost both our hives last Fall due to CCD. But, we don't give up. We'll start new ones this Spring. Can't wait to taste our own honey again!
Posted by: B. Smith | March 3rd, 2012 at 10:02 am
I found this blog extremely fascinating and informative. I love honey and loved seeing how the bees live! Thanks!
Posted by: Gwen Bouras | March 3rd, 2012 at 8:57 pm
We love you, Martha!! and so do the honeybees!!!
Posted by: Carolyn Boyce | March 4th, 2012 at 11:09 am
Martha and Carlos,
I appreciate the knowledge you share regarding the bees. We are seeing bees out and about. We do have a bee colony near us and the owners are very good at caring for the bees. I am sure they are getting spring fever like the rest of us. We are pushing the edges of the envelope looking for ways to make things bloom outside. I am sure after the bees have scoured the countryside they are relieved to find food and water at home.
Thanks again.
Posted by: margie | March 4th, 2012 at 12:24 pm
So interesting. Is goldenrod honey good-tasting to people? What about willow honey? You grow so many different flowers and fruit and vegetable plants as well as pasture and woodland plants. How does one control the "flavor" of the honey their bees produce? Does it depend on the time of year the honey is collected?
Posted by: jw | March 4th, 2012 at 6:41 pm
A spring training matchup between the Giants and Diamondbacks takes an extremely odd turn past week, lengthy delay due to bees swarming. I have also had a swarm try to make hive in dead branches on old sprude tree here.
Posted by: ANN | March 5th, 2012 at 6:24 am
have you ever thought about doing a show about re-purposing ? i have a few ideas that can save money and save the environment.
Posted by: bernicesedlmayer | March 5th, 2012 at 12:29 pm
Please have frequent updates on the bees.
It's fascinating, and it would be so good
if more people were inspired to keep bees.
This latest was so informative!
many thanks
Carol Gilbert
Posted by: Carol Gilbert | March 8th, 2012 at 2:02 pm