So we had a day this week that was in the 70s. I made a trip out to the apiary and found that both hives were still alive and did a quick consolidation of the weaker one. My hope is that the less space the easier it will be for them to protect and keep warm. I also spotted the queen in the hive and was able to move some of the resources closer together for them. Thinking that this will get them through a few more weeks until the temperatures are out of the 30s and I can actually get some sugar water for them to make it till the actual nectar starts flowing.
My other hive was going crazy. They had found a pollen source and were bringing in mustard yellow pollen the whole time I was there. My guess is that its from a Maple tree, but still being new at this I am not 100% sure. I started to look into the hive, but just as I was about to start pulling frames the wind picked up and it started to sprinkle. Thinking that the weather wasn't likely to hold out for much longer I decided it was just better to put them back together and leave them alone. So that is what I did making sure that they had some sugar just in case they were low on stores too, thought my gut tells me that they are going to be fine regarding their stores at this point.
My goal next time out is going to be to get into the bigger hive and see if I can pull some of their older frames and put in some new frames. Thinking that I might be able to get them to draw some new comb and get rid of some of the frames that I don't want to use. Worst case I will keep the older frames and just move them to the edge of the hive for them to fill out with honey which I can either have them keep for the winter or just remove at the end of the season. Hoping to split this hive this year as I really like the bees that are in it.
Comments