It is still officially winter here, yet we have had a few warm, as in upper 40's and lower 50's degree days. The bees are hungry and the few late winter blooms are busy diners for the bees. The Hellebores, crocuses and some of the tree blooms are feeding my bees. Before the sun sets though the temperatures are back in the lower 30's and get as low as the upper 20's, so you know winter is still here.
I feed my bees sugar water to tide them over until spring is in full bloom.
Here are old hive boxes that were perched near our woods prior to me cleaning them out and storing them. They were too tempting for bees looking for a home and the boxes on the left are filled with bees that swarmed in the end of last summer. I moved the old hive boxes on the right and the hive is still thriving. They get fed sugar water too. You can see the woods are still showing the barrenness of winter . "
Once or twice in the depths of winter, when the temperature goes above 46-50 degrees and the watery rays of sunlight delude them into thinking spring is just around the corner , the bees come out to do their business. Soon the queen resumes her laying programme in readiness for the busy days of early spring when the nectar begins to flow. The bee-keeper's year starts in earnest." fr. 'Honey, From Hive to Honeypot' by Sue Style
It is still officially winter here, yet we have had a few warm, as in upper 40's and lower 50's degree days. The bees are hungry and the few late winter blooms are busy diners for the bees. The Hellebores, crocuses and some of the tree blooms are feeding my bees. Before the sun sets though the temperatures are back in the lower 30's and get as low as the upper 20's, so you know winter is still here.
I feed my bees sugar water to tide them over until spring is in full bloom.
Here are old hive boxes that were perched near our woods prior to me cleaning them out and storing them. They were too tempting for bees looking for a home and the boxes on the left are filled with bees that swarmed in the end of last summer. I moved the old hive boxes on the right and the hive is still thriving. They get fed sugar water too. You can see the woods are still showing the barrenness of winter . "Once or twice in the depths of winter, when the temperature goes above 46-50 degrees and the watery rays of sunlight delude them into thinking spring is just around the corner , the bees come out to do their business. Soon the queen resumes her laying programme in readiness for the busy days of early spring when the nectar begins to flow. The bee-keeper's year starts in earnest." fr. 'Honey, From Hive to Honeypot' by Sue Style
Wow! Very interesting. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteandrea
Guess we aren't the only ones eager for Spring! Fascinating hobby that I enjoy learning more about.
ReplyDeletePoor gals are in for a shock when they come out of the hive - " where the heck are the flowers?? " I heard geese honking very loudly overhead last night like they were saying " Which one of you thought it was spring? I'm freezing!" It'll be fun to get our own hives this year - I'm sure we'll be calling with lots of questions.
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