Winter cluster

[Finski]

Maybe I shouldn't mention to Finski that I see drones in December  :-D

Your hive is queenless then.

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[T Beek]

Haven't seen a 'live' drone for nearly a month.

[Finski]

Haven't seen a 'live' drone for nearly a month.

You just remember to report to forum every drone what you see.

...and non seen drones too....

[S.M.N.Bee]

I saw a drone yesterday. Real late here for drones but temperatures next week are forecast to be in the lower fifties for highs. Bet the girls will kick
any remaining boys out!!

John 

[BlueBee]

Maybe I shouldn't mention to Finski that I see drones in December  :-D

Your hive is queenless then.

Nope!

Are you telling me in your 50 some years of bee keeping you've never even seen a snow drone :?

[Finski]

Are you telling me in your 50 some years of bee keeping you've never even seen a snow drone :?

Oh dear. May God bless American beekeeping!

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[RHBee]

definitely a different set of problems.  how are things in the carolinas ray?

Sorry Rob, didn't see your post. Where I'm at goldenrod is blooming everywhere. My colonies are working their fannies off. I'm wanting to winter in a single deep or two mediums. I got to make sure they have enough room to store the nectar, goldenrod, that they are pulling in. Down here, does it hurt to go into winter nectar bound? Let them eat their way to empty comb to lay winter brood?

[T Beek]

Each brood cycle gets smaller and smaller as the hives cool off. 

That is not possible..... It mesns that winter cluster goes too smaller and smaller.

Do you realize that brood cycle is 3 weeks.

In my hives brood cyckle it at its top at the end of July, then after 3-4 weeks it is zero.
If hives are on woods pastures, brood rearing goes from top to zero in 2 weeks when fireweed stops blooming.


It is better to stay of from this forum. I cannot stand these new inventors.

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Hive has allways the same temperature for brood, and then one day bees decice that they pull down the heat and carry last brood out.

Bees know the cooling weathers and that is why they kill drones first.

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Huh?  I find Finski's posts confusing, often condescending and mostly offensive to anyone who has even slightly different methods..............and then he has the nerve to tell others to stay off this forum?  Please get a grip  ;)

Carry last brood out to....where?  What the ............? is he talking about??????

Clusters do in fact get smaller due to die off and a slowed down queen as winter takes hold, never seen one that didn't.  The Fin has magic bees 8-)

C/mon now, does anyone really believe Finski has bees?  Really? ......for 50 years?......really?........... :-D  Finland isn't the center of the universe and Finski isn't always on track. 

Someones  :-\ Mama and Daddy forgot that lesson.  ......................Sorry.......ahead of the onslaught  :laugh:  Just a joke, son........take it easy............

[10framer]

definitely a different set of problems.  how are things in the carolinas ray?

Sorry Rob, didn't see your post. Where I'm at goldenrod is blooming everywhere. My colonies are working their fannies off. I'm wanting to winter in a single deep or two mediums. I got to make sure they have enough room to store the nectar, goldenrod, that they are pulling in. Down here, does it hurt to go into winter nectar bound? Let them eat their way to empty comb to lay winter brood?

ray,
i've never seen bees work goldenrod like this. if i had added drawn comb i could have taken a surplus.  a month ago i was feeding and worried most of my hives would starve.  
i went through most of my hives saturday and a few of them are pretty much bound.  i've got lows in the upper 40's in the 10 day forecast so i guess we'll see.  i'm not changing anything at this point.  all of my hives are stronger than what i got through winter last year and now they've all got enough stores to get them through december i think.
i've more or less made my plans for next years expansion now that i know when the flows fall around here.  now i just need the weather to cooperate.

rob

[Finski]

Huh?  I find Finski's posts confusing, often condescending and mostly offensive to anyone who has even slightly different methods..............and then he has the nerve to tell others to stay off this forum?  Please get a grip  ;)

Carry last brood out to....where?  What the ............? is he talking about??????

Clusters do in fact get smaller due to die off and a slowed down queen as winter takes hold, never seen one that didn't.  The Fin has magic bees 8-)

C/mon now, does anyone really believe Finski has bees?  Really? ......for 50 years?......really?........... :-D  Finland isn't the center of the universe and Finski isn't always on track.  

Someones  :-\ Mama and Daddy forgot that lesson.  ......................Sorry.......ahead of the onslaught  :laugh:  Just a joke, son........take it easy............

You are right!

[Finski]

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Guys. I do not know anything about bees or English terms how to bee wise in this forum.

I am satiefied when I get 200 lb honey per hive and I have never asked any advice from this forum.

My mom and dad have been long time in grave, and even they cannot help me in this huge job.

Things just go as they go.

[T Beek]

 X:X X:X   BRAVO!  Even A little humility goes a long way.

"Love and Happiness"...........A. Green

[Finski]

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Humility has never been one of my virtues.

[Finski]

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When to go to winter cluster


And remember, my country is at same altitude as Alaska. I am just at same latitude as Anchorage.
Me no USA, me mites.


I just opened 5 hives and I moved couple of capped food frames to the nuc, which had no feeding.

Hives were in cluster. Hives had propably some  brood in one or two frames after feeding.

Bees were stiff like in sleep. They were clearly in wintering mode. When I moved one frame with bees to the nuc,
bees were not able even to walk.

Our weathers have been here during day +7 to 10 C and at night about +2C. Last night was first real frost night -5C.

So bees are clearly in food saving mode. Clusters were in front of entrance . Most of the hive room did not have  bees. They are silent together.


To me this is a clear winter cluster. If the colony was in two boxes, bees made a 2-store tower against the front wall. That is usual.

One hive had 3 frames brood, but it had started to pull off capped brood. Part of capping were more or less broken and white brood were half eaten.
Bees do not waste protein of brood. They eat them.


One hive was restless. Bees walked actively. I took a queen to another hive 2 weeks ago. It has not reared a new queen.
I joined it to another nuc.
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It was difficult to draw capped frames from the hive, because bees do not moved and some was clearly squeezed between frames.


Post Scriptum: Honey bee is a southern animal. It has never been wild in Finnish nature. Honeybee make a saving mode cluster of course in warm climate because it must save stores to next season.  It makes winter cluster even if there are no hard frost weathers or snow outside.

The original place, where honeybees have developed, are  Mediterranean countries.
But there are high mountains too on area and cold weathers. Honey bees is flexible animal.
But there are much bee strains and races in Europe, which do not survive in our climate.

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[Jim134]

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When to go to winter cluster


And remember, my country is at same altitude as Alaska. I am just at same latitude as Anchorage.
Me no USA, me mites.

IMHO
So isn't Fairbanks, Alaska the same altitude by a whole different world from Anchorage you get a lot of mild weather along the coast with the Japanese trade winds.  


      BEE HAPPY Jim 134 :)

[Finski]

>At what tempature do they go head first in the cell to stay warm?

In theory about 50 F.  In reality, it's a bit more of a continuum starting at about 50 F and getting tighter as the temperature goes down.

What  Michael said at the beginning, that works right now in my hives.

North Finland got its first snow now. And most of tree leaves have dropped down in south Finland.