Hive Starved With Stores

[heaflaw]

I just finished cleaning a dead hive that had obviously starved.  They had 3 and one half frames full of honey.  The cluster was just 2 frames over from the honey.  This happens to one or more of my hives every winter.  How can I prevent this?  I can't realistically go into every hive every week to move frames of honey to the cluster.  Anyone have any suggestions?

[Michael Bush]

I find it best just to leave them alone for the winter.  If you really must interfere, you could check on them and make sure there are combs full of honey touching the cluster, but then you may confuse them more than you help them.

[Brian D. Bray]

I just finished cleaning a dead hive that had obviously starved.  They had 3 and one half frames full of honey.  The cluster was just 2 frames over from the honey.  This happens to one or more of my hives every winter.  How can I prevent this?  I can't realistically go into every hive every week to move frames of honey to the cluster.  Anyone have any suggestions?

That can happen during a prolonged cold snap where it doesn't warm up enough to allow a few bees to leave the cluster to move stores.  Sometimes the cluster moves within the hive but usually the worker bees move the stores from out side the cluster to within the cluster and the cluster remains static.  When a prolonged cold snap occurs the bees can't get free to move more stores when what is within the cluster is used up and they starve with stores just a few frames away.  Also be aware that bees will use the stores closest to the cluster 1st so that as the weather starts to warm in late February the available stores on in the frames farthest from the cluster--a long cold snap then can doom a hive.

[JP]

I just finished cleaning a dead hive that had obviously starved.  They had 3 and one half frames full of honey.  The cluster was just 2 frames over from the honey.  This happens to one or more of my hives every winter.  How can I prevent this?  I can't realistically go into every hive every week to move frames of honey to the cluster.  Anyone have any suggestions?

If this is happening on a regular basis you may want to consider wrapping your hives for added insulation. Here's some more info http://www.beeworks.com/informationcentre/wintering.html

....JP

[CBEE]

JP,
I believe he is in North Carolina. You think he needs to worry about wrapping hives that far south ?

[Cass Cohenour]

I just finished cleaning a dead hive that had obviously starved.  They had 3 and one half frames full of honey.  The cluster was just 2 frames over from the honey.  This happens to one or more of my hives every winter.  How can I prevent this?  I can't realistically go into every hive every week to move frames of honey to the cluster.  Anyone have any suggestions?

How many bees were in the cluster? Usually the ones I've seen that starve to death have small clusters that are not large enough enough to maintain contact with the stores. If you can't realistically move the honey or add more bees so the can maintain contact with the stores then you can realistically expect to have more dead outs. A nice large cluster like this can maintain contact with the stores and pass the food around the cluster and to the center of it.



If you don't want to strengthen your colonies or can't realistically accomplish that either, http://wvbeekeeper.blogspot.com/2008/02/strengthening-weak-colony.html

then you can feed them with granulated sugar over the top bars, at least then maybe the bees can eat some of the sugar and survive. Hopefully this is realistic enough for you to accomplish to keep your bees alive.

http://wvbeekeeper.blogspot.com/2008/01/are-your-bees-alive-do-you-need-to-feed.html

[JP]

JP,
I believe he is in North Carolina. You think he needs to worry about wrapping hives that far south ?

I add bathtowels and even blankets sometimes when a real cold spell hits here. It can only help.

....JP