During the spring months, even when winter seems far away, beekeepers should be thinking about helping their bees to prepare for the cold weather it will bring. Even if you’re not thinking about winter in the warmer months, we can assure you that your bees still are! Whether you live in a warm or cold climate, winter brings many risks to our bees through the potential cold temperatures, excess moisture, starvation, and weakened immune systems caused by diseases or varroa mites. Weakened winter bees that are unable to keep warm in their cluster will surely perish without help. If we can keep thinking about ways to keep our bees healthy all year long instead of just before winter arrives, it’ll be much easier for them to face the winter months and survive.
Keeping your colony healthy is a year-round concern for any good beekeeper, but your winter prep tasks will really ramp up toward the end of the summer months. You’ll start by reviewing your colony’s health and assessing its size during inspections. Do you see a healthy brood pattern and have a healthy, productive laying queen? Small or struggling colonies may be too weak to survive the cold and keep their queen alive, but can be combined with stronger colonies. Though combining colonies may seem like a bad thing, it’s quite common for beekeepers to do so as it can help ensure both colonies have a better chance of keeping warm and eating enough food resources to survive and see spring again.
(Find more resources on assessing honeybee health and colony size in the “Read More” section below!)
To survive the winter months, honeybees need to have access to enough stored resources to sustain them until temperatures are warm again. A big part of their winter preparations involves foraging for both pollen and nectar (which is converted to honey & capped before storage) to store it for later, to be consumed only when absolutely necessary for their survival. As a beekeeper, you can help them with this by checking resource stores throughout the season and offering supplemental feed at any time natural resources are not available or stores seem lower than they should be, especially in the fall months.
You can help bees prepare for the cold months by making sure their beehive is protected from the elements, to be sure they can maintain proper conditions inside. If you live in a cold climate, you may consider adding insulation to your hive(s) and, regardless of the climate around your bee yard, make sure bees are safe from winter threats from pests like mice (and even bears!) to keep their stress levels low and avoid damage to the hive itself (or the bees inside).
And finally, even when temperatures have plummeted, you CAN keep a close eye on your hives and colonies year-round with careful beehive monitoring done from the outside. Though you can’t open the hive when it’s too cold, you can listen closely for buzzing, check for signs of damage from pests, remove any excessive snow buildup, and take note of any signs that bees may be suffering from dysentery.
Read More
Preparing Honeybee Colonies for Winter
Assessing Honeybee Colony Size
Pollen and Nectar Stores in the Brood Nest
Bee Hive Insulation for the Winter
Winter Bees & Fall Honeybee Populations
Mite Treatments and Winter Hive Activity
Fat Honeybees And The Winter Cluster *
An Introduction To Overwintering Honeybees *
Preparing for Deep and Long Winters *
* Colony Member-Only Content
Related Products in the PerfectBee Store
10 Frame Foam Board – Insulated
8 Frame Foam Board – Insulated
BeeSmart Inner/Outer Cover Combo
Northern Climates Beekeeping (Book)
Looking for more products that can help keep your colony healthy, no matter the time of year? Check out all our winter hive care & colony health management products in the PerfectBee Store.
