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#Post#: 51--------------------------------------------------
Fall Management
DIR By: Steve Vogel
Date: August 10, 2019, 1:17 pm
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Fall Management is primarily concerned with preparing honey
bee colonies for winter. Successful
wintering depends largely on the condition of the colonies in
the fall. Winter losses can be reduced if colonies are well
managed.
The success of the colonies in the coming year (next Spring)
will depend largely on how well they were managed in Fall.
Typical Fall management consists of checking colonies for the
proper arrangement of hive equipment, proper hive ventilation,
adequate food stores, and adequate colony strength once or twice
during the fall. Successful wintering largely depends on these
factors coupled with the management of mites and diseases. I’m
not going to get into mite and diseases here. (Let’s wait until
I know what I’m talking about.)
First we want to remove all surplus honey and any honey supers
that are empty or only partly filled from colonies during the
summer, or at the end of the fall nectar flow. The Fall nectar
flow hasn’t happened yet. Usually it takes place around the end
of Aug and early to late Sept.
If you use Queen excluders remove them before winter to
prevent the queen from becoming trapped below the excluder when
the cluster moves upward during winter. Consolidate the brood in
the lower hive body as much as possible.
Never winter colonies on foundation or on partially drawn
frames; these do not allow proper cluster formation and will
cause bees to freeze. Use frames with drawn comb even if the
comb is empty. Drawn comb is better for insulation than
foundation.
Mice can be a cold-weather pest of bee hives. During fall and
winter when bees are clustered, field
mice and deer mice commonly enter hives to take advantage of the
warm, dry hive for nesting purposes. They usually do not
disturb the bee cluster. However, mice will chew large holes in
four to five adjacent combs to make a space for their nests.
Hardware cloth (three-mesh to the inch)
or an entrance reducer with a vertical opening of less than 1/2
inch placed in the main hive
entrance in early fall will help to keep mice out of hives. I
use an entrance reducer so that the entrance is about 3-4 inches
wide and about 1/2 inch tall. The reducer will also help keep
the wind out and conserve the heat generated in the colony.
Providing colonies with both upper and lower entrances can
increase winter survival.
A top entrance is particularly important for providing
additional ventilation, which facilitates removal of excess
moisture from the hive. Top entrances help to keep the hive
dry, the bees healthier, and the combs free from mold, while
protecting the bees from suffocating if the lower entrance
becomes clogged with dead bees or other debris.
The top entrance may be a 5/8-inch hole bored through the front
of the top hive body. Some people use a stick, a stone or even a
carpet tack inserted under the front edge of the inner cover.
The outer cover fits over this entrance, but you must push it
forward to create a gap between the two covers that will allow
the bees to come and go freely once the weather is warm enough
for them to fly. Be sure to place both top and bottom entrances
in the front of the hive so as not to create a steady draft. In
addition, you may want to elevate the rear of the hive slightly
higher than the front to
prevent rain and condensation from pooling on the bottom board.
I use screened bottoms so I don't do this.
Colonies need sufficient room for cluster formation and winter
honey stores. Normally, two to three hive bodies (or the
equivalent in supers) are required with colonies having at least
50 pounds of honey for winter food by late fall. The brood nest
area should also contain several frames of stored pollen, which
is essential for early spring brood rearing and buildup. Two
deep hive bodies (or the equivalent in supers), of bees, and
sufficient stores for winter should weigh about 115 pounds
If your colonies don't have sufficient stores for the Winter,
feeding syrup in the fall can help to improve or correct this
situation. Distributing food stores in the hive is also very
important for successful wintering. Most of the honey should be
located above the cluster because the bees will move upward
during the winter as they consume their stores. Even if a colony
is starving, the bees will not move down to reach honey that is
located below the cluster. The uppermost hive body or super
should contain a minimum of 30–40 pounds of honey. A small
portion of empty
comb is helpful for proper cluster formation and heat
conservation; bees cannot cluster on capped honey. If the
uppermost hive body is totally honey-bound, then one or two
frames in the center should be exchanged with partially filled
ones from the lower hive body; the filled frame can be put on
either side of the lower box or used to feed weaker colonies. If
stores are not sufficient, feed the bees concentrated (heavy)
sugar syrup during September and October until they have at
least the equivalent of nine full-depth frames of honey (in
addition to
pollen stores). 7 frames if you use an 8 frame hive. Prepare
this syrup by mixing white granulated sugar with hot water at a
ratio of 2:1 (two parts sugar to one part water) by volume or
weight. If necessary, heat but do not boil the water to dissolve
all the sugar. Allow the syrup to cool before giving it to the
bees. Each gallon of syrup fed to bees increases their reserves
by about 7 pounds.
Only strong colonies should be overwintered. Weak colonies
(five or fewer frames of bees and brood) should be united with
strong colonies or combined with other weak colonies during late
summer or early fall (Sept. or Oct.) to allow the bees time to
rearrange their brood nest and stores before winter. Weak
colonies that manage to survive the winter will build up slowly
in the spring and will probably remain weak throughout the
spring flow. A large population of young bees that will live
5–6 months is vital to successful wintering. Strong colonies
with young queens are a must; young queens lay more brood in
general, lay later into the fall, and begin laying earlier in
the spring than older queens. Extra brood in the fall and early
spring is important in helping colonies survive tracheal mite
infestations. It is recommend that you periodically re-queen
colonies, preferably every other year. Fall re-queening should
be done in August or early September so that the colony has time
to build up and organize its nest before winter.
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