Very warm winter

[slacker361]

Up here in western PA we have had a very unusual winter, warm and not much snow at all.... warm is relative also so we are in the 30's with some days in the 60's ,...... usually we are in the high for 30's and down around zero other times....


here is my question

since it is so warm will the bees be using more stores than usual or are they still kinda "hibernating "

thanks

[BrentX]

It takes lots of energy ( and food) to fly. 

Here (I am just a little south of you)   brood rearing should have begun already...which also takes food.

I have come to see the time between now and when the nectar arrives as the most likely time for a hive to starve in the course of a year.

[KD4MOJ]

I had orientation flights Saturday on 2 of my hives... I think that we have had the warmest Jan on record.

...DOUG
KD4MOJ

[Billy B]

As a newbee, (no hives yet) I've been a little confused about this ... I've seen a lot of posts from folks worried about the warm weather, which I would have thought was a good thing.    So I guess the issue then is that they warm up to the point of going out to fly but don't find any nectar and so are using up stored honey to re-fuel from the energy spent flying, is that right?     But can't you just feed them sugar or is that just not really enough?

[buzzbee]

Slacker361:
If bees have been flying,check the stores. A lot of people are running short this year.:
http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php/topic,36001.0.html

BillieB:
Warm winter is a two edged sword. Increased activity outside the hive consumes more resources than when bees are quietly clustered. And with milder winters,two things can happen,
1: Less die off of the winter cluster
2: smaller cessation of brood rearing
Both of which will leave a larger population consuming more stored honey.And the more active the cluster is,the more they will consume.

[Billy B]

Thanks BuzzBee ... I hadn't even thought of the reduction in die-off or the cessation of brood rearing ... that makes a lot of sense!

[FRAMEshift]

   But can't you just feed them sugar or is that just not really enough?

You can  feed them dry sugar.  At this time of year it's dangerous to feed sugar syrup.  It increases the moisture in the hive which is not good for the bees.  And it may stimulate brood rearing at a time when they are vulnerable to sudden cold snaps.  Even worse, the bees will not leave the brood to go into cluster.  So if the brood area gets to be larger than the cluster size, nurse bees will be freezing along with the brood.

[T Beek]

If you're getting daytime temps in the 60's and there is no available forage for your flying bees 'I'd' place some syrup in an open feeding bucket at least 100 yards from your beeyard.  They'll find it if they want/need it.

That said, all my remaining colonies (3) are now surviving on little more than dry sugar and the little bit of pollen sub I placed nearby a few days ago.   Our daytime temps are just going into the low 40's right now and my hopes are that they will pull through w/ 6-8 weeks ahead of us before we even see any dandelions.  We've still got about a foot of snow remaining.

If you feed them dry sugar, dampen it slightly w/ water mixed w/ some ACV, just a drop or two to get your bees interested.

thomas

[buzzbee]

Tbeek,
ACV? Juggle my memory here.Newbies probably don't know the acronym either.

[hardwood]

Apple cider vinegar.

Scott

[buzzbee]

I guess i shoulda known that. If we use it in syrup it's usually to prolong it from molding.

[T Beek]

   sorry.

thomas