It is 30 degrees here in Indiana and I have 2 hives of bees. This is my first year of beekeeping, I had an old beekeeper that was helping me learn about beekeeping but he passed away a couple of weeks ago at the age of 87 so now I am pretty much on my own. I am concerned that my one hive will not have enough honey to last them the rest of the winter. Is there any way of putting a feeder on this time of year without harming the bees since it is so cold out? Does anyone know how to tell if they would need some syrup this time of year. I thought about putting an entrance feeder on but I have read that the syrup freezes in the jar. My Friend was supposed to help me with spring feeding but his untimely death changed that so I need help. Also has anyone had any experience using a bee escape to harvest their honey. I appreciate any help that you could give me thank you.

-- Jason Priest (Okie_Doky@hotmail.com), January 28, 2001

Answers

Hi Jason, I had the same problem last year with a hive,, and this year, as I was clearing it off of snow,, I moved the top super,, ebough so some bees came out,, adn loose ALOT of heat. So I moved it into a shed, out of the wind and more snow. Also the temp will rise a little more in there, so if it hits in the 50's, ,Ill feed with an entrance feeder. Do you have a place to move them, ?? a shed, basement, garage, barn? You'll have to move them back out come spring, and the extra few degrees of warmth helps. But if they have enough honey, AND can get to it, they should be ok,, Im just not taking chances with this hive this year. Email me if you have any more question,, we can compare notes

-- Stan (sopal@net-port.com), January 29, 2001.

Jason, I am in the exact situation (and state) you are in and would like to know the answers to your questions, so please, anyone who answers, post them here.

-- R. (thor610@yahoo.com), January 29, 2001.

Do you have a inner cover on your hive? if so get another hive body and stick it on there over the inner cover. And take a plastic jug or container and fill it with sugar water or old honey poke holes in it or a mesh screen to allow the bees to get to it and turn it up side down over the hole in the inner cover and then add your outer cover so the jar is inside the hive. then you can check and refill the jug as needed. With out getting to much cold air around the bees.

-- MikeinKS (Mhonk@oz-online.net), January 29, 2001.

On the next warm day look inside the hive and make sure the bee cluster has plenty of frames with honey directly around it and above it. My bees starved to death in early January although there was some honey in the top super - just couldn't get to it. (I should have been feeding them sugar water as well since there wasn't an overabundance of honey going into the winter.) So don't do as I did. I feel so bad for my dead little bees. I'm getting two more hives in the spring though. This bee business is challenging, but I love a challenge! Good luck with your bees everyone.

-- Barb (rosemontfarm1@aol.com), January 30, 2001.

I'm also in Indiana (greenwood), & have been gathering info on anything that interested me for a farm project. Beekeeping was one of them.

While at the state fair I found someone who was promoting not only beekeeping, but their own farm as well. They said when I wanted to get started to give them a call. I thought they might help you (at least they are in the same state). Here's their address...

Hunter's Honey Farm 3440 Hancock Ridge Martinsville, IN. 46151 PH. # (765)537-9430 www.huntershoneyfarm.com

They sell honey, beeswax, pollin, offer pollination, & if they can help those getting started.

I hope this helps you.

animalfarms

-- animalfarms (jwlewis@indy.net), January 31, 2001.

Judging how much honey the hive has depends on a lot of factors. When did you harvest? How was the weather and honey flow after you harvested? Did you leave two deeps for the hive body?

If you harvested by mid August and the hive had four or more weeks of good pollen gathering and ample space to store honey, they should be okay until late March. You can generally judge how much honey is in the hive by hefting the back of the hive. Pollen and brood are very light compared to honey. If the hive has some weight to it, they probably have honey stores. If it feels light, then you better feed. The problem is that once you start feeding you will have to keep feeding until the honey flow starts in the spring. Feeding will prompt the queen to start laying eggs. As the hive population increases there will be an ever increasing need for food. Don't start feeding unless you are absolutely certain they will starve otherwise. Once you start feeding, keep feeding until there are blossoms in the area.

-- Skip Walton (sundaycreek@gnrac.net), February 04, 2001.

On bee escapes: I have two styles, and neither works well for me. I use a bee brush and just brush the bees off the frames one at a time and them quickly place the frame in a spare box with a close fitting bottom and top. If you do this in the early afternoon on a warm day, most of the bees will be away from the hive. Take a frame out and shake it once over the open hive to remove the majority of the bees and then quickly, but gently brush the rest of the bees off moving away from the hive as you do so. Don't worry if there are one or two stubborn bees left on the frame. They will keep you company while extracting.

-- Skip Walton (sundaycreek@gnrac.net), February 04, 2001.