Good to see you Lisa. This is likely something I should do since we have long cold winters on the 56th latitude. Well, we used to have consistenly long cold winters but now we have these spring- in- winter sessions 1-2 times a year. Just entered one and noticed a tooney sized puddle of water at the entrance. Good we propped the back of the hive up 1.5 inches so it all runs to the front, at least that's what I understand condensation does. Our hive weighted 110 lbs in October and was told that's a good weight. But being a newbie I am worried, so tried something. I rolled a piece of pollen pattie into a 1" ball and put it at the entrance to see if they would feed from it, they are not even going near it so I take that as a sign they are still eating from their smogasborg in the hive:) Poor things tho, in this warm weather they fly out and get cold then spin around in the snow.... Off topic...do you know any way to stop them from leaving their hive, this is so sad.... Back on topic, I will put a layer of candy on their inner cover to help me stop being a worry wart net season. Thanks for the informative video and Merry Christmas to you, Mike and Rascal;)
Propping the cover is a great way to make sure the bees don’t get wet! 110 pounds sounds like a good weight to me too, but the amount of stores needed greatly depends on the region. I wish I could tell you happy news about how to keep your bees in the hive where they’re nice and warm, but I don’t. Sorry! It’s just nature’s way of making room and ensuring the rest of the colony stays safe. Depending on the weather, the bees will go out for foraging flights when it’s warmer outside, but won’t make it all the way back to the hive before the temperature drops. Sometimes if you find bees outside, if you hold them in your hand a bit, it will warm them enough for them to start flying again. We like to add the candy boards for the same reason! We make sure to leave enough for the bees, but it’s nice to have that little bit of insurance.
@@RascalApiary Propping the cover in warm weather, hadn't thought of that! I can see it would allow a lot of moisture to vent so will do that tomorrow as the weather will be staying warm for a week, they will need it. My dog leads me to bees still alive and spinning in the snow, I then push them into the hive through the entrance, its the least I can do. Yes, I am really liking that little bit of insurance and will definitely do that next fall. And forgot to mention, Lisa, you are looking especially radiant today! Take and & cheers from northern BC.
Have you guys ever experimented with not feeding them during the winter and leaving more honey when you do your last honey harvest? I was watching dr Leo and he was saying bees become fat and lazy basically when you supplement them food and will produce more honey over time when you do this
Yes! In fact we only harvest once a year from each hive and we take about half of the super. We'll checkerboard the super afterwards so they draw the wax out straight. The candy board is a reserve. Most springs we take the board off and the bees have only had 1/3 to 1/2 of the board or less. The hives we have that started in fall are the only ones that ever eat the entire board and those are nucleus hives.
I’ve been following a few RU-vid channels trying to get an idea of how to bee keep because I’m starting this spring. Sometimes I’m like, ok I’ve got this. Other times it seems the knowledge you need to know it’s never ending! I guess that would make sense to do a candy board especially for nucs
It can be for sure! I remember our first beekeeping conference we went to. Afterwards, I was telling Lisa that we have to be meteorologists, virologists, beekeepers, entomologist, wood workers, etc. It's a little overwhelming then in year three you have a routine. Once you have that going you just have to adapt to whatever the crisis is that year. This last season it was small hive beetles, the year before was yellow jackets, and before that was swarming.
Hello Lisa, watching the video again, in order to avoid the bees eating the styrofoam could I simply pour the candy onto the board and put the insulation on the outside?
If you use a rigid foam insulation that is “faced” (it has a coating on the outside), the bees can’t eat through it. It’s like they’re eating off of a plate! That being said, I don’t see why you couldn’t do it that way. A lot of what we practice has been from trial and error for simply what works for us. If it’s easier for you to do it that way and the bees are cool with it, then I’d call it a win!
@@RascalApiary Good to know about the "plate," thanks so much:) I was given some old covers and the bees had actually eaten the styrofoam, but now I know about the plate, its all good. Here's to a win win, cheers!
Agree, however in our area we don't get too much snow. Today is mid December and our bees are flying. However, this is for reserves. Our hives have enough capped honey to last them all winter and never eat this hard candy. But if they need to it's there.
