How To Strengthen A Weak Hive for Winter Part 2: Caucasian Queen and Feeding! 

Thanks for letting me know! I appreciate the time you took to tell me.

@@honeybeehoney6132 i was told that caucasian bees have many cons such as; poor overwintering, poor honey producers, poor comb builders. Please twll me what your experience has been.

@@guardiandogoargentinos1385 They are slow to build up in the spring, but once they do put it in high gear, it happens quickly. They are the best bees to overwinter in cold climates, they produce a lot of honey and make absolutely beautiful comb. Their only drawback is their use of propolis, which is on the very heavy side as opposed to the other types of honey bees. It isn't apparent in these videos, but they love propolis and they are very clean which is why their comb is so pretty. Propolis is used by all honey bees to disinfect the hive and to seal it up. They are naturally hygienic, which is why they are being used to combat Varroa Destructor. They are not common in the US however, as many beekeepers don't like the propolis use. They are probably the most gentle of all the main types of honey bees.

Thanks! I appreciate that! I'm glad you like them and hope you're getting something out of them!

Thanks for saying so, I appreciate it very much!

Sounds great...lots of swarming means very healthy bees. Thanks for commenting!

That is really cool! Thanks for commenting, great to hear from someone from Caucasus!

@@honeybeehoney6132 Where do you get your Caucasian honey bees?

I do agree, thanks for the comment!

Thank You!

I like the questions! It is important for beekeepers to know when their hives are being robbed by other bees, which is why I show it when it is happening. Once you get your hives you'll see that it isn't hard to remember which frames went where. The frames, while mostly interchangeable, also kind of go together like a jigsaw puzzle with burr comb between two frames on the top bars or on the face of the comb. But, it's a good idea to mark them especially in the beginning until you have at least a year or so with the hive. I can show how much syrup is in the can, though I use a quart can and they usually take it all down by the time I replace it again. Sometimes they don't and I'll try and give you an idea next time!

Thank you very much. I very much appreciate your time and thoughtful responses :) I think I need to be keeping notes before I get the hive!

The thicker the syrup the better if they are using it for winter. I use 5:1 sugar to water in winter and 2:1 in the spring.

@@honeybeehoney6132 Thanks for your reply! Wow I wonder how you can make 5:1 syrup! I tried only 4:1 and my result was very milky and lots of sugar crystalized when the mixture cools down. I boiled water and slowly added sugar. I kept the liquid gently boiling while stirring more, making sure it won't caramelize, as you suggested in your video. However it was hard to get even 4:1.

Thanks for the comments. You might consider closing them down to a very small entrance (1") until they build up if you haven't done so already. Also, if you have a robber screen, use that as well. I have a video on Robbing Behavior and mitigation if you haven't watched that yet also. Thanks again!

This is normal behavior, instead of giving them liquid syrup just give them fondant.

I use about 4:1 sugar:water this time of year. This puts less water into the hive and gives them a stronger concentration, but is more expensive to make. With regard to them not taking it, there are a number of different factors. If they have plenty around their brood nest, they will only take the syrup when it is warm enough to move around the hive. Also, if they have plenty around the brood nest they will take it slower because they don't have to. As they build up their stores (and this is relative to the size of their cluster, i.e. the smaller the cluster the slower they will take it because they need less than a larger hive) they will take it slower. If they were out of food when you started feeding they will cluster under the can and take it all day long, once they have had enough to eat they will start storing it in the comb. When they slow down the rate they are taking the syrup...it's a good sign. It means they have enough for the moment anyway. Fondant is fine to feed, but they can't cluster around it and is a poor source for emergency feeding. They also don't move fondant around the hive as easy. If they are taking the syrup at all...leave it on. If they are not taking it at all, and it is on top of the inner cover where they have access to it at all times, it's safe to give them fondant if you are still worried they don't have enough to make it until spring.

Honey Bee Honey Live in Denver, so not too far away from where you are at I think. Really like your videos, so thanks for putting in the effort. Do you ever insulate your boxes for winter? I have only had about 50% survivability through the winter. Lost my most productive hive by January last year. They had plenty of honey, but could have been Varroa. Was hesitant to treat previously, but over that now. Using oxalyic vaporizer. In years past I haven't done any supplemental feeding, but that may have been a mistake as well. Thanks for the responses, very helpful.

Ziad Natsheh Thanks for the reply.

Hi. Yep, I'm about 80 miles from Denver and I go up there pretty often. I used to insulate my hives, but never saw any obvious changes and then a few years ago I saw an article in ABJ that used thermometers placed in hives that were both insulated and not. Results showed that about 2" away from the cluster there was no difference and the temperature was the same as the outside temperature. I don't remember if the hives tested had any insulation placed over the cover or not. But, if I did insulate I would use something to insulate the telescoping cover, like a 2" piece of foam board or something similar. As far as you hive loss...I've never really seen anything in writing, but I find it is very common to lose very productive hives if treatment for mites is withheld. The past few years especially I've noticed elevated mite levels in large hives which makes sense because the extreme growth of a hive would also correspond to an increase in growth of Varroa. Now would be a good time to make a single treatment effective with the Oxalic Vaporizer because there is little brood and its going to be cold for the next few days! Thanks for commenting!

They are still doing fine last I was able to see them. The weather has been awful here lately, but I think tomorrow the 11th of January may shape up to be a day where I can film an update...I hope!

great ... looking forward to watching it thanks a lot

It's getting too cold at night now, down to around 20 degrees, sometimes less. If they have more capped brood than they can cover it will freeze, which is the case with this hive. I could possibly take a strong hive and make a mild split, say three frames with brood and unite them with this hive. If I had a hive suddenly become queenless, I could unite the rest of the hive with this hive as well, but I'm really trying to see how well this hive does and if they can recover. I have a third video, just need to upload it, probably in the next four-five days...hope you enjoy it!

I saw your post a few days ago but haven't been able to respond. You are right that I could use a smaller patty, but putting it directly over the cluster would make the can of syrup unavailable, which is the most important part. However, after thinking about it, it wouldn't be too hard to cut a hole out of the center of the patty so that it could be used right under the can. I think I will give that a try this spring! Thanks.

Honey Bee Honey I put mine a little off center so the top feeder isn't covered. It's definitely more work putting in the smaller patties more frequently, but I found that anything outside of the cluster is ignored unless the Temps get up high enough that they can really break the cluster and even still may. Also, putting on more than they can eat completely in abput a weeks time, either the patty gets dry or hive beetles lay in them bad around here in GA. I also pull the wax paper off the top and use a 1/2 inch spacer so that the patty doesn't smash between the top bars and lid, your inner covers probably work just as well. The wax paper will peel off easy if you sit the patties in the sun a few minutes. I'm still learning all the time so don't take my comments as being a know it all, just trying to pass along what worked for me!

Hi Brad. Caucasians are basically grey on black, whereas Carniolans are more of a brown on black. They are probably the most gentle of the bees, they build up slow in the spring because they are used to late cold snaps from the Caucasis mountain in eastern Europe, and they love to propolize everything. In my climate, or any cold winter climate, the slow build up helps prevent the bees from starving during a cold snap, because, e.g. Italians are stimulated to build up on first sign of nectar. Here in Colorado, they will put all of their resources into rearing brood, including what is coming in and if there is a cold snap where they can't leave the hive for four to five days, they start to starve, whereas Caucasians will not. The extra propolis that Caucasians use is very sticky and can be hard to deal with. I used to get my Caucasians from Winters Apiaries, but it appears they have stopped producing Caucasians. Tate's Honey Farm appears to be producing Caucasians. I think people just aren't very interested in Caucasians, though they are hygienic, gentle, tend to swarm less and are great honey producers. It is just a case of the unknown when purchasing a strain of honeybee people aren't familiar with, i think.

Honey Bee Honey thank you for all that great information. Grateful.

@@honeybeehoney6132 I would like to try them next year and see if I like them. I live in NYC where we have an early spring late April, yet we do get spikes and drops in the weather as soon as May so they could start around april anyway. Who knows. Let me ask you a couple more question if I may. When you had them, or if you still have them now, did you find their propolis build up to be unmanageable? Because If I could at least manage it, and work in the hive, I would most definitely try them. Grateful.

@@bradgoliphant Hi Brad. I do still have a few Caucasian hives and the propolis use isn't to the extent the hive becomes unworkeable, just very sticky on the hands. Also, any screened vent openings will get plugged with propolis, though this happens to some extent with all strains.

@@honeybeehoney6132 This is very helpful because I am thinking about getting a queen next year. For the majority, beekeepers are telling me to stay away from them, yet there is something interesting about them that I like. Couple more question and thats all from it if you don't mind. Do they produce as much honey as the Italians? I realize they start later with foraging yet I'm head they will go out in colder and damper climates when Italians won't. Do you have some other videos showing the amounts of propolis? I'm super grateful.

I have started a video on top bar hives, but haven't finished it yet. I have no real experience with top bar hives themselves but I know bee behavior and therefore can extrapolate that behavior into pros and cons for top bar hives. However, if you are new to beekeeping I would recommend you go with a Langstroth hive in the beginning. It is much easier to get a handle on what the hive needs, status, etc. What are your winters like in Virginia?

Yeah, by November it is pretty barren. There is still pollen coming in from some asters and Rabbit Brush but zero nectar. Pollen will drop off by next week and then nothing until early February when the trees will start producing pollen (Junipers and Pinon Pine). Around mid-April nectar starts coming in from fruit trees and then wildflowers around May 1st. Then we have a lot of production in a good wet year until mid-October.

Caucasians especially will start to plug that up, but all honey bees will do it at some point. When sugar syrup is on the hive you want to make sure they have adequate ventilation because the syrup has a lot of it. If you don't the moisture will build up in the hive. Once I wait a few days to a week, they will not use the rear vent as their main entrance, but they will guard it. At that point there is no advantage to having it on.

@@honeybeehoney6132 Screen will not cut down the air flow much! But it will stop bees from coming in. But air can move!

@@donaldsmith3048 That's true, until the start to propolize it shut. They are especially prone to doing this with smaller entrances that are screened, or not, such as the vent on an inner cover (not the bee escape). Of course, I am only saying that it is a good idea to remove the screen after the robbing threat is past, but with a small hole like the vent, it is usually only a couple of days.

you can use formic acid, oxalic acid, or natrual oils like wintergreen could do the job.

You can't completely kill the Varroa mites, period. You can manage their growth and population, but that is all. If you re-queen, or purchase bees that are VHS or Hygienic, in many cases the bees will manage them for you, but always monitor the population. As the bees population increases so do the mites, but if you treat right before an expected growth spurt in honey bee population, you will significantly drop the population of mites and hamper their growth. There are a number of products on the market to treat mites...stick to those. There are too many unknowns about home grown treatments such as natural oils (it depends on concentration and delivery method and they are untested). I would recommend against any hard chemicals also (i.e. Coumaphos, Fluvalinate, etc.). Go with the soft chemicals that are naturally occurring in nature, i.e. Formic Acid and Oxalic Acid.

I understand, thank you.

If moisture in a hive is a problem when feeding syrup then there is inadequate ventilation in the hive. When feeding dry feeds the bees cannot use that feed unless they go out of the hive and get water to liquefy it. There are always down sides to every type of feeding but providing adequate ventilation in a hive solves the problem of adding moisture to the hive via syrup. Also, you should reconsider feeding stations. They are the fastest way to spread disease, not only from one of your hives to another, but from a neighbor's hive to yours.

that is true. I rather have the hives dry inside. No leaking cans ect. Oh they have plenty of ventilation, that's a must to have. I clean the stations every day. I think i'am the only one in my area that has bees. The oil fields are making them move, to fine a new place. From there bee trees. THERE so much info to pass on about honey bees, and no one know every thing there is about em Every BK dose it different . Its what works for you! It may not work for some one else I got rid of the solid bottom boards, and went SHB oil traps, that I invented, and can service the traps easy. Now i'am worry free of shb, wax moths and mites and there larva. Just ants my biggest problems, Cause ants fly too

You appear to be in an area of high desert conditions. Moisture problems may be very different in a region receiving 36" or more rain a year and high humidity even in the winter.