Hi Everyone.
I've only been keeping bees for about 4 yrs, with only slight success in keeping them through the winter. This site has helped me not panic, stay calm, and let the bees do what they want. But I can't this time, I'm worried. What can I do for a observation hive with a laying queen this time of year?
At the end of September, a friend called me with a bee hive in a freshly cut down oak tree. When I went to see what I could do, the hive was very small, only about 5 small (12 x 6 inch) pieces of comb, without any brood or eggs, and only about a 50 cent size of honey stored up. Definitely not enough honey to make it through our winter. I took the section of log home, with no idea if I had the queen, put a super on top with a feeder of sugar water. I kept checking, but they didn't seem to be storing any additional supplies. On November 3, I ordered a 4 frame observation hive, with the approval of my dear wife, and upon its arrival (Nov 7), moved the bees to it, along with 3 frames of honey from my remaining hive, and a small portion of their own comb. I have looked for the queen several different times with no luck. I've been leaving it along as much as I can, but tonight I saw eggs and freshly capped brood, and even saw the queen. It's 9 degrees outside, and their cluster wasn't much bigger than a tennis ball. What do I do to convince her its winter time? It's about 60 degrees where the OH is being kept. Do I need to put them someplace cooler for a few days?
Thanks for any advice...
She's probably laying to bring the population up to a healthy wintering size. You'll probably need to keep feeding them also maybe throw in a pollen pattie for the brood.
I fully agree with GSF, get them some pollen if you can. The broodless period you experienced left them wintering with old bees. The chances of them making it aren't strong but they must get some young bees if they're to have a chance. When I've needed to get protein to my OB hive I added pollen to syrup (making the thin soup) and used the feeder port if I couldn't open it up. It's up to them to take it from that point on.
You're doing a good job. Leave them alone otherwise. The more you mess with them especially during the winter them more stress you put on them. The queen will stop laying when she deems it so. Relax and watch. Even if they don't make it there's plenty to learn from the experience.
I'm with Don and Gary. They need the young to make it through the winter. Hopefully not a lot of eggs. Since they are inside you do have a chance of them surviving. I have done it with my OH with a small cluster. Do not feed them 1 to 1. You will confuse the queen to think it is spring. Make it thick like they are feeding her honey. Not sure if you want to feed them mixed pollen and sugar water at this time of year. I did that in January one year with a small cluster, January is our build up time, and the queen produced the brood so fast that she filled 2 deeps in about 60 days and then they swarmed with 6 empty frames above the brood. Feeding them pollen will make them sick if they cannot go out for cleansing flights.
Jim