warm weather and winter feeding

[petersanz]

Hi All,
At the Solstice Drew started a thread about feeding candy and the danger of too much food = early swarming and too little = starving bees.

On the same topic I fed candy to three hives in Forest Grove back in December and then again this month (January) after seeing much/most had been eaten. Now with these frequent warm days the bees are ACTIVE and bringing back lots of pollen and presumably ramping up fast (?). Not sure what else to do at this point but keep monitoring them and feed again if needed, which might be likely if they are in fact increasing in numbers.

Anyone have thoughts on the balance between winter feeding and getting the bees geared up too early - particularly in the presence of all these warm weather days when bees are out and presumably the hive is getting active (i.e., building up) regardless of whether feeding or not.

What is a beekeep to do in these times of warm winters and how might this affect hive management getting through the rest of winter and into the spring? Can I assume that all that pollen they are bringing in these days is enough or should I consider adding a pollen patty to keep them going - which also has the potential to encourage more brood rearing -?

Any thoughts appreciated.

Best,
Peter

[HarryVanderpool]

Peter, I am seeing the same things that you are.
Make no mistake about it; bees are going to build up fast and swarming is going to be early and a problem for those without a plan.
My plan is to encourage as explosive build-up as possible and make early divides.
Not only is hazelnut pollen pouring in, but I have been setting out cardboard boxes with Beepro pollen sub powder that they have been tearing through.
Over 50 lbs in the last couple of days.
Back to you:
Bees hauling in early pollen can run out of honey stores in the blink of an eye.
If you don't monitor their stores carefully, they will build up a huge amount of brood and then starve.
Its a long way till the next nectar flow. (maple)
So not feeding syrup or candy won't slow anything down.
What to do if your bees build up too fast?
If you don't want to expand there is someone in your area that does.
Sell bees. Sell brood. Make up a nuc and sell it.
There are lots of options to choose from, but "starving them back" isn't going to work this year due to the incredible pollen flow that is on right now.

[toddbalsiger]

All my bees are south in almonds now except for one house hive (FG too). Any light hives were feed. Some lids were replaced. Some hives received frames of honey or entire supers of honey on top. Some hives got lids of fondant. Some hives had division boards filled with dry sugar. A few hives had mice which were expelled. A few hives were combined in part because a small cluster will freeze in our next cold snap. A nuc was dropped into one. Most hives were heavy but there were some light ones too.

What can you do?

1st: Check hive weight. Feather light? If you cannot discern stores from hefting then open the hive up. Look and see how much capped honey is available adjacent and especially above the brood nest. There is a good chance that any light hives at this time if left alone will starve. I strongly suspect that starvation is still the number one reason for death now and going well into spring until dandelions, etc. become available.

With this warm weather it is very easy to feed -- frames of honey, fondant, or even just dry sugar in division board feeders.

2nd: Maybe you are the type who doesn't treat for varroa much. If so, great time to add Apivar strips now.

3rd: Check for water leaks. Inside of hive mostly dry? Maybe you should replace the lid.

4th: if you do not place mouse guards, check to make sure no uninvited guest are taking up room, eating, and slowly destroying your hive.

[Eric Walls]

My few hives have been very active the last week, and I haven't been in there but I have a feeling 1 of them is really building up. I've been feeding dry sugar and fondant since late December.

If I were to do an early spilt where would I get a queen? When would be the earliest I could split?

[golddust]

Yup, swarm season will be early here on the coast....lots of pollen going into the hives. Plum trees in bloom where I am...and saw my first capped drones...oh boy here we go.....

[petersanz]

Hi All,
Thanks for the responses. I will continue to feed as needed and prepare for the spring swarms. As part of my hive management I'll consider splits for those hives that survive. If needed I'll look to pass on any new hives that I can't care for.

Best,
Peter

[toddbalsiger]

I visited Randy Oliver's Scientific Beekeeping site again after a long absence.

That guy is amazing. His research makes for interesting reading.

I suggest visiting his site and reading up on pollen substitute trial runs with different brands.

His study really underscores the importance of pollen substitute at certain times of the year especially for feedlot type beekeeping (situations where the carrying capacity is being vastly exceeded).

Also points out that once natural pollen is available, no need to provide pollen substitute. This becomes the case for at least some of his apiaries in January when alder pollen becomes available. Alder pollen is GOOD. Even though it is a wind born pollen.

He also talks about bees collecting rust spores in the fall and how poor (or even bad) it is nutritiously. I saw honeybees collecting rust spores in spades last fall when I did work near Sacramento in hybrid popular plantations. The trees were humming.

[Deleted]

In Seattle, I'm seeing some very large colonies already, any suggestions on keeping them from the trees before the first queens arrive?

Attachments:

[drew]

checker board them with foundation, in the second box.
depending on how many frames of brood, pull some of the brood for the new foundation.
Also beg and plead with them.