Yep. There is quite often nectar available during winter, it’s just a question of whether the bees can get out and get it. We’ve been having a couple of hours foraging weather each afternoon recently.
Bees can’t live in a mini hive such as this long term. They will most likely abscond and find somewhere bigger to live. The purpose of these mini hives is solely as a queen mating nuc.
I have some HiveIQ gear already and some other brand polystyrene hives. I really like how the bees do in poly hives. So I am going in that direction. I’m not entirely happy with the hiveIQ gear and it’s pretty expensive so I can’t afford much at the moment. So I’m not buying any of their gear at the moment but I definitely will be buying more poly hives. How about yourself?
@@bennybeekeeper I bought one so far, happy with how it all connects, only issue I have found is if you want to feed your bees, there is no space for fondant. I emailed them and they told me a feeder will be out in July. I agree with you they are expensive, but well made. If you could let me know which brand of poly hive you use, that would great. Thanks again for posting your videos, great viewing.
I have some Paradise Bee Box gear but they’re not much cheaper. I’ve also got some boxes from iWooHoo. The 9 frame gear from all 3 brands is interchangeable.
Nice little winter inspection. I heard you say at 0:20 that 'a few of them dwindled away & didn’t make it'. Can you elaborate on what happened to those pls? Thanks for posting.
Well I went into winter with about 20 of these 6 framers. I’m down to about 15. Of the 5 that have died I think 2 simply got robbed out. The other 3 just dwindled in numbers to a point where they just aren’t a viable size anymore. I suppose they need a certain number of bees to cluster and function normally. I put it down to a poor quality queen or going into winter with too few bees. These little hives really require a certain type of management. I’m learning a lot from them. I honestly haven’t paid them enough attention in the later part of the season. I’m sure they can make it through winter but I’ve definitely dropped the ball with some of them. But with a new season approaching there’s an opportunity to start again and rebuild.
@bennybeekeeper at least it sounds like you're aware of the circumstances that determined the success or failure of those 5 minis that didn't make it. I'm a bit the opposite because I added a frame or two of bees across three of my four minis, plus added a heavy sugar syrup in all four feeders. It's a bit fun checking in on them every few weeks, but my main objective is to bring these fresh 2024 queens through winter & use them to replace older queens in my main hives. Your videos are incredibly helpful. Thanks so much.
