Cleansing flights, frosty moisture, survival in January oh my!
WHAT ARE THE BEES DOING IN JANUARY?
It is the middle of January and a huge snow storm is on the way. Climate change is playing out as predicted with heavy, wet storms and warmer than average temps. For the sake of the bees, I am glad that we have not seen too many days sub zero days in a row. On those warmer days, I have seen bees at all my yards out taking cleaning flights. This is good! Hives that have a lot of brown in the snow in front are a bit concerning but it does not necessarily mean death so don’t freak out. Same goes for the amount of altruistic soldiers that fly out and don’t come back. It is a good survival mechanism for them to not infect their sisters. So some dead bees peppering the snowscape is oddly a sign of life. If you see a big pile, more bees than snow, that could indicate the whole hive was on a kamikaze mission to exit the hive because of virus overload. I know I sound a bit like a broken record, but what concerns me the most this time of year are the vast temperature swings. Since we are past the winter solstice, the queen has started her first round of offspring. They will emerge in roughly 3 weeks, depending on when she started laying. This is a crucial time for the bees as the old bees die off and new ones are born. And the bees must be able to have enough bees and food to maintain temperature and the regeneration of spring bees.
WHAT IS THE BEEKEEPER DOING IN JANUARY?
Since I last wrote, I have been to most of my yards to check for signs of life. On colder days, if you see a frosty ring of moisture In the upper entrance, it is a sign of life. The moisture produced from heating the cluster hits cold air on the way out. Hooray! I have several hives that I did not add a top entrance at all, which goes against all the things I taught you but as you probably know by now, ideas and theories about how we should manage bees change frequently. Dr. Tom Seeley has been talking a lot lately about how bees that live in trees need some moisture in the hive and that the bees never have an entrance at the top. My hives without top entrances are still buzzing…I will keep you posted on how they turn out. I should note that the hives I tried this on where smaller units like nucs, singles or a single and a super. I have also been checking food stores simply by gently tilting them forward.
In my recent checks, I have discovered 5 of 120 hives dead. I feel pretty good about this number but don’t want to get over confident. 3 of the 5 were not surprises. They were hives that could have used a little more TLC in the fall. One was definitely a result of virus. I have been hearing about a lot of losses by beekeepers in my network already and fully realize I am not out of the woods yet. Although making it past New Years is a good sign, many of my hives that died last year did so in the 1st week of Feb after we had a crazy subzero cold spell. Remember that all beekeepers lose hives. It is a hard thing to go through but we must learn and move forward. At least that is what we tell each other, especially during the harsh, dark winter. We are only 64 days away from spring when we get to try all over again.
For now, I am organizing, assembling and prepping equipment. Remember, DO NOT WAIT TILL THE LAST MIUNTE to have your equipment ready. Let me know if you need anything special. We are stocking the store with goodies in the coming weeks. I am also making new presentations, reading and planning beekeeping classes.
