One of the most common questions beginner beekeepers have is how to make sure their bees survive the winter. It is important to know that bees are accustomed to staying alive even during the coldest winter. However, there are some mistakes that beginner beekeepers make in winter which might kill the bees. Even though beekeepers have the best intentions and do not mean to harm the bees, these things unintentionally happen.
Common mistakes beginner beekeepers make in winter
In order to be prepared for the winter, avoid doing the following mistakes:
Mistakes related to the feeding of the bees
a) Liquid Syrup
You may face a situation where your bees do not have enough honey saved for the winter. In this case, you can consider feeding them. However, it is really important to remember that you should not feed them liquid syrup. The main reason for this is that they will not eat it, because bees do not eat liquid syrup on temperatures below 50 degrees. Because of this, a better solution would be to feed them fondant or candy boards.
b) Pollen
Being a beginner in beekeeping, it is only natural to have many questions and be confused about feeding your bees during winter. In order to end your dilemmas, you should know that you should not feed bees pollen over the winter.
You probably know that pollen is good for baby bees because it supplies them with proteins and helps them grow. Therefore, the subsequent question arises: Do we want to have new baby bees during winter? Of course, we do not want that.
Mistakes related to preparing the hive for winter
a) Cover the entrance of the hive
Even though we know that bees stay inside the hive during the winter, there may be some warmer days when bees might go for a flight. You might have left something blocking the entrance, intentionally or not. So, always double-check and make sure that your bees can get out whenever they want to.
b) Opening the hive in the cold
This definitely is one of the ways in which beginner beekeepers can harm their hives. It is understandable that you are worried about the condition of the bees and want to check on them. However, you should have in mind the following thing. Bees work really hard in order to keep the hive warm. If you open the hive, you will release all the warm air that they have created. Your best intentions are not a question, but you should make sure not to open them. As a result of the release of warm air, they will have to work twice as hard to achieve the right temperature again. So, in this sense, the best thing to do – is do nothing.
c) Incorrectly wrapping the hive
One thing that we can do to help our bees in winter is wrapping their hive. However, you need to make sure that you are wrapping the hive correctly. If wrapped incorrectly, the hive can become wet between itself and the wrap. This might result in the creation of mold which will be highly dangerous for the bees.
Read more about the most common mistakes beginner beekeepers make and how to become a successful beekeeper.
Thank you!!!
I put pollen patties in the winter, not because they will eat it and make babies (they are not going to be forced to do that anyway) but to help absorb moisture very effectively. It is also there for protein when and if they DO want it. I use other moisture management, but have found that having a backup stores of carbs and protein and good moisture management are keys to my hives doing exceptionally well during the harsh long winters here in the High Desert in Oregon. (Not NE – sorry, but NW 🙂 ). Love this site. Thank you. Kim
Advice given in a book I have downloaded, which was published in the eighteenth century, includes the advice that your hive entrance should not face south, but south west or west, otherwise the bees may be tempted out before the air is properly warm enough. All these small points need attention, as the total makes a significant difference to the hive.