Lessons I think I may have gotten from the death of my hive

[tillie]

OK, I keep trying to learn how to be a better beekeeper and in that effort, here are thoughts that I would like perspective on:

Lessons I think come from my hive dying:

1.  I left a partially filled super on this hive for stupid reasons like my freezer died and I didn't have anywhere to freeze the frames, but I think this created the decision making problem for the bees (http://www.bushfarms.com/beesdecisions.htm) that caused them to make their cluster in the super rather than in the medium where the main stores were located.  I should have forced the hive down into two boxes for the winter....or even one.  And sprung for a new freezer.

2.  I was afraid to open the hive in the cold for fear of making the bees too cold.  It would have been better to open the hive to check on stores than to let them starve.  And there is the added problem of how to feed bees in the winter without an explosion of SHB.  Patties won't work for that reason and my bee club is negative about deep frame feeders because bees drown, so I guess I don't know what to do.  I had a 2:1 sugar water jar with holes in the lid upside down on top of the frames of the medium, but it leaked on the ground below the hive.  So what is the best way to feed through the winter?

3.  I think the hive was queenless for quite some time.  How could I have determined this in the winter?  And would it have made a difference because I couldn't introduce a new queen during the winter, could I?

4.  I need to get really regular about checking the weight of the hive, if nothing else during the winter.  I did do that several times, but obviously not enough.  It's hard because I go to work M - F as the sun is coming up and come home after dark in the winter and there's not time except on the weekends to check on bees and then it seemed like it was always raining, but that's because I didn't have a regular schedule for this....so I'd say I'll check next weekend and then not do it.  Excuses, excuses.

Well, so far that's what I've come up with - I'm sure others who have lost hives have their own list of resolutions going forward.

Linda T, trying to learn hard lessons in Atlanta

[Michael Bush]

>3.  I think the hive was queenless for quite some time.  How could I have determined this in the winter?

There would be no easy way to and being queenless pretty much doomed them from the start.  I've seldom seen a queenless hive make it through the winter.

>  And would it have made a difference because I couldn't introduce a new queen during the winter, could I?

It's doubtful you could BUY a queen during the winter, let alone introduce one.

[tillie]

Granted I wouldn't have been able to get a queen in the winter, but I'm trying to learn more for next winter....so
if by some means I had realized the hive had no queen, is there any approach to take during the winter -

1.  They have some stores - hope they make good decisions and cope through the winter?

2.  Feed them and hope they stay alive until March or April when I COULD requeen?

3.  Throw up your hands and say  Forget about it?

And is there a way to determine that there isn't a queen during the winter when we are supposedly only opening the hives to add food?

I read in Walt Wright's article about "little momma" that sometimes the queen dies because the hive is not tilted, (and she falls in icy water and can't get out) but with a SBB on all winter, no water should accumulate at the bottom of the hive, should it?

Linda T - trying to learn to be a beekeeper not a beehaver

[Jerrymac]

If you only have one hive with no queen, no way to get a queen, then throw up you hands. If you have two hives then you can combine the hives.

[Michael Bush]

Winterizing check list for each hive:
o  Are all the queen excluders off? (you could lose the queen if they aren’t)
o  Are all of the empty boxes off? (unless you’re hoping they will get filled with stores or there is still a late flow)
o  Is your SBB (Screened Bottom Board) open?  Do you want it open?  I close mine.
o  Are the entrances mouseproof?  (1/4” hardware cloth over the entrances or mouse guards)
o  Is the entrance reduced enough for the hive to defend it if robbing breaks out.
o  Is the hive queenright (sometimes hard to tell if brood rearing has stopped, but a queenless hive usually doesn’t make it)
o  Is the hive heavy enough on stores.  (hefting from the back can give you a pretty good idea of the stores.  You should have (in my climate) between 100-150 pounds or so preferably closer to 150.  If not, then feed as much as you can to try to get there.
o  Is the hive strong enough?  If not, combine it with another marginal hive to try to get the size up to enough to get through the winter.  Preferably two deep boxes (or in my case three medium boxes) pretty much full of bees.  If you want to experiment with getting a nuc or one box hive through the winter, go ahead, but don't expect perfect results.  A weak hive usually doesn't make it.
o  Is there some kind of top entrance?  A notch in the inner cover, a hole in the top super, a Imirie shim or something.
o  Insulation and wrapping are not required, but if you want to do it you might want to collect the materials and put them on as soon as you get a freeze.

[tillie]

Thank you , Michael, for this and all my other questions you have answered as well as for all the information on your website - which I consult regularly.

From what you said, being queenless probably doomed my hive, and I think I failed both of my hives in having enough stores.  I lifted them up but had a hard time separating the hive from the SBB and slatted rack and didn't have good judgment about weight.  Think I'll go to the pet store or feed store and lift several of those dog food bags that weigh 50 lbs to get a better sense of weight.

*I didn't use queen excluders,
*my empty boxes were off until I put sugar water in and surrounded it with an empty box...
*in Georgia it's warm enough in winter that most beekeepers I know who use SBBs leave them open all winter (it's unusual for us to even get one snowfall - we've had none the last two years -- and some people think there's no problem with global warming!!!!). 
*My entrances were reduced and mouseproofed. 

But I failed on the last items -

*the one hive became queenless at some point,
*I don't think they were heavy enough, and
*I probably would have combined the two hives if I had realized the queenless situation. 
*Although I propped it all summer, I didn't keep my top propped for the winter and don't have a notch in the inner cover but I'll bet even I with my minimal construction skills can make one.

It's funny - I read all of this stuff before getting my bees but it all means more and stays in my brain better with these experiences...especially with the mistakes I've made and keep making.

Linda T klutzing along in my beekeeping efforts!