Author Topic: Preparation for Oerwintering  (Read 2946 times)

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Offline PappyRick

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Preparation for Oerwintering
« on: August 19, 2019, 03:48:40 pm »
I know this is probably a little early to be prepping for winter - since the temps are in the 90s, but I have a situation with one of my hives that I need some advice on.  I split a hive earlier this year (May 1) using queen cells.  Had a LOT of trouble with queens this summer in all of my hives.  Ended up purchasing 2 queens for 2 of my 4 hives in June and July.  In mid-June, I finally had a new queen emerge in the split, and she began laying in earnest by July 4.  I added a second deep to this hive on July 8, but may have been a little early since the bottom deep had only about 6 frames built out.

Fast forward to today.  Inspection revealed a ton of capped brood, with some nectar being stored in the bottom deep.  I estimate only 7 frames are built out in the bottom deep, and little to no wax being built in the top deep.  I will see a large bee population increase in a week or so, and, as such, I'm expecting more wax to be built out at that time.  The goldenrod flow should start soon in my area of mid-south Illinois, so I'm thinking there should be enough time to build comb and gather adequate stores for winter. Wishful thinking perhaps.

I'm thinking I may need to start feeding 2:1 soon to give them the boost they need to be in the right position when things start to get serious around here.  My other 3 hives are very strong, and currently still have supers on (which I plan to pull in the next week or so), so I'm concerned that if I try to combine with another hive, I'll just create an overcrowding condition.  What would you guys think I need to be doing here?  Thanks for your feedback.   

Offline iddee

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Re: Preparation for Oerwintering
« Reply #1 on: August 19, 2019, 05:05:52 pm »
First thing, do a mite count on all hives. Treat if more than 3% mite count.

Aug. is when the winter bees eggs are laid. They need to be as mite free as possible to survive the winter. Then post again after treating those that need it. At that time, 1 to 15 Sept., we can help much better.
“Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me... Anything can happen, child. Anything can be.”
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Offline tecumseh

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Re: Preparation for Oerwintering
« Reply #2 on: August 19, 2019, 06:38:17 pm »
what iddee said + some feeding at a constant and low level might be helpful..  personally I would start with 1 to 1 and then given your location shift to 2 to 1.  As you go forward in time getting some idea of an individual hives weight is useful information < this may encourage you to feed more or less. 

Offline PappyRick

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Re: Preparation for Oerwintering
« Reply #3 on: August 19, 2019, 10:52:40 pm »
So, after I treat...probably will use ApiGuard for 4 weeks, is my goal, after feeding, to have two deeps with built out comb and stores. or can/should I go with only one deep if they haven't build out the second deep?

Offline iddee

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Re: Preparation for Oerwintering
« Reply #4 on: August 20, 2019, 06:06:06 am »
I would go into winter with only the frames the bees cover, plus capped honey. Any open space is a detrimental.
“Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me... Anything can happen, child. Anything can be.”
― Shel Silverstein