Crazy weather ...

little john · December 24, 2015, 06:28:40 AM

I thought it was just the UK - but I've just read on the BBC site that some parts of the US are also having record warm, but very wet and windy weather.

Warm weather may be good for our heating bills, but the problem which UK beekeepers have faced on several occasions in the recent past is that stores - which would normally be sufficient for the whole winter - can become well depleted by January/February. Then, if the bees decide to brood-up and, as has happened in the past, a cold snap should occur, then starvation becomes a very real possibility. And indeed, many beekeepers have been caught out by exactly this scenario in the past. The best solution - for any newcomers to the craft - is to supply your colonies with fondant.

I'll be placing small quantities of fondant on top of all my valuable hives (those with breeder-quality queens) during the first week in January, as an early precaution. If it's not taken it can always be recycled.

Festive Greetings to all on the forum.

LJ

BeeMaster2 · December 24, 2015, 07:18:44 AM

LJ,
Our warm wet weather is being controlled by elnino. Not shore if that affects you. It is in the Pacific Ocean.
If this continues one problem we will have is a very early build up. The good thing is that the maple trees will support this buildup. Like you said though we could have a long cold snap that with large amounts of brood, they will go through a lot of food fast.
Jim

Acebird · December 24, 2015, 11:27:49 AM

Quote from: little john on December 24, 2015, 06:28:40 AM

I thought it was just the UK - but I've just read on the BBC site that some parts of the US are also having record warm, but very wet and windy weather.

67 F when we got up this morning! All time record high for this day is 48. Crazy thing is hardly any bees flying. They have had lots of chances this week to take a poop. Went back to the garden and the onions are up.

divemaster1963 · December 24, 2015, 12:24:50 PM

I have seen that the way my uncle kept his hives now makes sense. He always havested his honey early in the season then left late season flow alone till the spring of the nexr year. I never realy under stood why till the crazy weather we have had . it started to make sense. I left full deeps on my hives. The bees are still forging here in middle ga.i have seen some pollen but dont no what its from. Have seen dadiloins blooming big time and milk weed.

John

Lancej · December 24, 2015, 07:30:48 PM

Here in Victoria, Australia, the east in some parts have had huge storms with lots of rain, the west is dry and cooking in the heat. We are having above 40 C at the start of summer, very low rain fall. The elnino is having a large impact here as well. Lance

GSF · December 24, 2015, 08:16:09 PM

John, we have henbit, dandelions, and wild turnip blooming right now.

Southeast Alabama had some places get over 10 inches of rain today.

LKBruns · December 25, 2015, 10:20:24 AM

Here in Texas it has been in the low 80's. Next week it will cool down considerably (or so they say).

My hives are 1st year packages - all medium, 8 frame hives. Each hive had either 3 or 4 medium boxes with at least one full medium of capped honey (or nearly full). I talked to a local beekeeper and he indicated that this would probably be plenty of stores for the winter.

I noticed last week some of the hives are bringing in pollen - Do I need to be concerned at this point of them using thier stores and starving because it has been so warm? Up to this point I have been able to find clear information on most aspects of beekeeping; however as I approached fall and began researching winter preperations I found it is strictly regional - unfortuantely I do not have easy access to a beekeeper in my area. It seems to be that beekeeping is less popular in south texas that other parts of the country.

Do I need to be concerned about them starving? I plan on lifting them next week to see how heavy they are but since I am still learning I am afraid its not going to tell me much. I have been thinking about putting a feeder spacer on and put dry sugar or fondant on them just in case.

LB

GSF · December 25, 2015, 08:29:23 PM

LB, The answer to your question is yes, you need to be concerned about them starving out. The ol saying; In the north they freeze out in the south they starve out. I feed with a jar through a hole in it inner cover. I'll put a jar on there and if it's about sucked down at the end of the day I'll feed them a few more. I then wait a spell and repeat. The reason I wait is because I don't want them to think the flow is on.

Beewildered61 · December 27, 2015, 09:46:30 AM

We have definitely been hit by El Nino, rain, rain go away! creeks, rivers and lakes are flooding and the temps staying in the 70's! I have been seeing my bees bringing in some pollen, saw one with bright orange, most have a light grey looking pollen. I have been putting out a feeder with sugar syrup, just sitting it out in the open.... I have been seeing some almost solid dark bees, no stripes at all, and they aren't coming from my hives. I don't know of anyone else close to me with bees, so am figuring they are "wild" ones...

GSF · December 27, 2015, 09:30:54 PM

My bees have gotten retarded with this weather. I put out some bird feed and they're all over it. I open the oil tray on a couple of hives and found where some millet seed had fell through.

We've got some flooding going on around the Montgomery area. Flooding as in folks having to leave their houses because the Alabama river over flowed it's banks.

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house

the a/c was running because we live in the south.

little john · December 28, 2015, 07:05:24 AM

Quote from: GSF on December 27, 2015, 09:30:54 PM
My bees have gotten retarded with this weather. I put out some bird feed and they're all over it. I open the oil tray on a couple of hives and found where some millet seed had fell through.

We've got some flooding going on around the Montgomery area. Flooding as in folks having to leave their houses because the Alabama river over flowed it's banks.

Interesting about them collecting millet - never heard that one before ...

Flooding - yep, the influence of El Nino has travelled around the globe. Some folks here in the UK have been flooded out four times (if you count Xmas day & Boxing Day) in a month. The army has been called in, and there are now the usual political squabbles about "who didn't do what, and when".

QuoteTimeline: December flooding

5 December: Storm Desmond brings more than a month's rain to parts of Cumbria, leading to flooding in Carlisle and other areas

12 December: River levels remain high and more than 70 flood warnings are issued amid more heavy rain

22 December: Communities in Cumbria flood again - some for the third time in less than a month

25 December: More than 100 flood alerts and warnings are issued across England and Wales as Storm Eva brings torrential rain

26 December: Residents in West Yorkshire and Lancashire are evacuated from their homes and flooding hits Leeds, Greater Manchester and York

27 December: Police in York advise hundreds of people to evacuate their homes as severe flood warnings remain in place in northern England

... and elsewhere across the country they are still granting planning applications to build houses on flood plains.

Getting back on topic - I have the same problem that Acebird wrote about earlier: it's warm enough to keep them very active (and scoffing grub), but they're just not flying. There may well be some early pollen out there to be had - but it's not much use when the soldiers are confined to barracks by wind and rain.
LJ

GSF · December 28, 2015, 02:36:38 PM

We've been collecting bags of leaves to put on our garden site enhancing the soil. I was out there yesterday and saw where some buck wheat had started coming up from last summer. go figure.

Colobee · December 30, 2015, 05:03:23 PM

We've had more snow than most years, and fewer days warm enough for cleansing flights. Fortunately the cold hasn't lasted much over two weeks so far. We should be "out of the woods" on the likelihood of prolonged cold in just a bit over a month. Early February 70's are not uncommon, and we frequently see Maple pollen before the month is out.

There have been remnant patches of snow on the ground since our early November dump, and the dogs have packed the backyard into a near total snowfield. 'Looks like we've ( out west) been sucking all the winter out of the eastern half of the country. "Goliath" slipped south of us - we (finally) got nothing out of that one ( for a change).