A Late Winter Check of the Honey Bees
At this time of the year, my beekeeper, Guy Hodges, likes to inspect the hives for activity and to provide the bees with some extra nourishment to prepare them for the busy spring ahead. This supplemental food is called fondant bee candy. Guy's recipe for the fondant is 5 pounds of sugar, 1 pint of water, and 1-1/4 teaspoons of vinegar. The mixture is heated to a boil to dissolve the sugar. It is then poured onto parchment-lined baking sheets, where it is allowed to cool and solidify into a fudge-like consistency.
You may recall that last winter, none of my hives survived and we were all curious as to the health of my colonies. There seemed to be many dead honeybees at the entrance of the hives. Guy explained that this is a normal sight around beehives. Bees have a limited lifespan and the approximately 25,000 active honeybees in the hive will push the deceased bees out to the entrance, keeping the hive clean. The efficiency of honeybees never ceases to amaze me!
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- Guy’s belt buckle – a very serious beekeeper!
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- The beehives with their winter surround of protective hay bales
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- Once the dead bees were removed, the entrance reducer was put back in place where it will stay until warmer temperatures arrive.
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- Guy and Carlos working their way through the snow to the beehives
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- Guy is loading up his smoker with dried pine needles.
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- The smoker has bellows to push the smoke out. The smoke helps to make the bees docile.
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- Guy inspects the middle hive, which wasn’t doing well last autumn. It doesn’t look too active now.
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- Guy is pumping smoke into the left hive before removing the lid.
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- With the lid and cover removed, Guy discovers that there is a generous supply of honey and considerable bee activity.
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- This is Guy’s bucket of fondant bee candy.
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- He lays the fondant over the comb frames, providing nourishment to the colony.
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- Next, Guy uses his hive tool to clean out any dead bees.
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- Next, Guy moves to the hive on the right. This one is very active.
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- You can actually feel the heat rising. The exterior of the cluster is about 55-degrees F. The interior measures approximately 90-degrees F.
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- This group of bees is called a bee cluster. The bees gather together like this to generate heat for the hive with the queen in the center. The cluster moves throughout the hive allowing the queen to lay her eggs.
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- A closer look
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- Being careful not to disturb the cluster, Guy add a layer of bee candy.
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- Apparently, it was a cleansing flight – this is honey bee excrement in the snow. Bees like to keep the hive clean.
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- This honey bee has taken flight.
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- With further inspection, Guy, locates the deceased queen and her workers. Sadly, the hive did not survive. It needs to be cleaned out and repopulated in the spring.
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