When its springtime in Alaska its forty below

[Vance G]

I am not in Alaska and it is not forty below but it might fight to fifty above today.  We have sixties forecast a week out and last night I saw a mourning dove taking up residence in a blue spruce I can see out my south window.  That thin feathered little bird carries more weight than anything I can think of in foretelling springs arrival.  They don't show up until warm weather is here or real close.  Now if that ground in the shade would just thaw out!  Going out to the bees when it warms up to see if I am needed. 

[Spear]

Spring came real early here this year and I'm so happy! I've supered most of my hives already! I don't have any drawen comb so I guess that if I supered too early it is ok it will give the bees time to draw out the foundation before the big flow starts!

[Bush_84]

Early maybe for you!  It is still snowing here in minnesota.

[Flygirl]

I am in Alaska & it's been beautiful, sunny, & in the 40's.  80 degrees in the greenhouse so I've got my seeds planted.  My bees arrive on the 16th so I'm hoping the temperature continues to rise.  Happy spring everyone! 

[Joe D]

I feel for all you folks up north, at 07:00 this morning it was 68 with high near 80.




Joe

[GSF]

I've had to turn my ac on twice already this week.

[Vance G]

I've had to turn my ac on twice already this week.

NOW was that kind of abuse really necessary?

Got thru my frostbitten remnants today as it was pushing fifty when I started but a snow squall came as I finished.  No sign of any pollen being gathered yet.  I wasn't planning on pulling any frames, just looking for pollen patties or sugar bricks that might need replenishment.  The weakest half of my remaining colonies are definitely dwindling a bit. 

One of the better ones that has been chowing down on pollen patties has turned into a drone layer  When I moved the wax paper that had covered an eaten pattie, I spied the tall cells of drones being raised in small cell foundation.   Nothing to lose so I tore it down to see if there was good brood.  I just saw drones being built and couldn't find the queen so I shook out the colony.  I tried to aim the refugees toward the weaker colonies and moved one into the place where the shaken one had stood. 

This colony was one of my perpetual experimentation and was wintering in three ten frame mediums.  After shaking and clearing 33 frames to take home instead of the 22 that would have been in two deeps, I about decided I am still man enough to handle deep brood boxes.  Just took too much time. 

At any rate my winter losses are getting really really bad!  I thought I had this part of the game nailed but the poor queens I received last spring and my management failings have lain me pretty low.  Sure glad that my success or lack of does not result in starving children!  16 of 23 left and still counting down I am afraid

[BeeMaster2]

Vance,
Where did your queens come from? If the answer is GA or FL or worse yet, HA, that is probably the problem.  Your queens are not synchronized to your weather conditions. The best thing you can do is make up a bunch of traps and catch feral bees that made it through the winter on there own or buy from a local beek whose bees made it with out any treatments.
Jim

[Vance G]

Very Very Few feral bees here.  Bees would not be here without people.  Huge influx of commercial bees coming off the almonds or packages coming off the almonds arrive every spring.  Some are already here.  Pretty well negates any local population. 

In the best of all worlds I would get northern queens but they are not available in the spring when needed.  We have a short season here and a fall frost comes early September and fruit and dandelions don't come til mid to late April.  That is seven to eight months of nothing in a row.  So until I raise all I need, I am pretty well dependent on spring queens from the south.  Hopefully conditions will support my being able to take good nucs into winter to maintain my numbers.  The last two dry years did not.

[Bush_84]

I agree with Vance.  I am in a similar situation but my losses the last two years have been worse.  Last year was 100%.  This year I had one nuc and four production hives die.  One nuc and one production hive still going.

[BeeMaster2]

Bush and Vance,
Your best bet to get a hive through the winter is to catch a feral hive. The problem with southern bees in northern climates is is 2 fold. When the bees are supposed to bee raising winter bees, with extra fat, they are raising summer bees. When the bees should be cutting back egg production and back filling the brood box with honey, they are in full brood production. By January/February they are out of food and bees. Instead of having honey in the brood box you are feeding them sugar water late in the season and sugar water does not make honey. It has a higher pH and does not contain the antibiotics in it to protect the spring brood.
I tell new beeks here the same thing even though I sell hives when I can. All of my hives are now from feral bees.
Good luck.
Jim

[Bush_84]

There are no feral bees. 

[Michael Bush]

When it's springtime in Nebraska it 22 above... right now.

[Vance G]

Sawdustmaker, There are a an insignificant few colonies not under management, but when we have literally hundreds of thousands of bees come here off the almonds every year, My ongoing efforts to breed from survivors is largely pointless because the drone pool is flooded with southern and California genetics annually. 

When I get queens, they almost have to come from the warm country if I want them in an economically useful time frame.  I have southern queens survive very well when I get good southern queens.  Or good California queens.  Someone living in the 12 month warm country probably can't grasp almost seven  months with nothing blooming at all, IN A ROW!  Doesn't leave a lot of time or resources for the many possibilities of the southland.  Then there is the little side issue of only 12 inches of rain a year.  I need queens from somewhere else most of the time. 

[BeeMaster2]

Sawdustmaker, There are a an insignificant few colonies not under management, but when we have literally hundreds of thousands of bees come here off the almonds every year, My ongoing efforts to breed from survivors is largely pointless because the drone pool is flooded with southern and California genetics annually. 

When I get queens, they almost have to come from the warm country if I want them in an economically useful time frame.  I have southern queens survive very well when I get good southern queens.  Or good California queens.  Someone living in the 12 month warm country probably can't grasp almost seven  months with nothing blooming at all, IN A ROW!  Doesn't leave a lot of time or resources for the many possibilities of the southland.  Then there is the little side issue of only 12 inches of rain a year.  I need queens from somewhere else most of the time. 

Yea, that does make it very hard to get locally adjusted bees.
Jim