Bee Tidings is a cooperative publication of the University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension and the Nebraska Beekeepers Association. The newsletter announces events of interest to beekeepers, provides timely advice, and summarizes current research that beekeepers can use.
The winter of 2000-2001 provided prolonged discomfort for bees and beekeepers in the great plains states. Bitter cold and piercing winds caught many beekeepers unprepared. The previous two winters were exceptionally mild and most colonies survived with or without preparation. Beekeepers were able to feed throughout the winter and apiaries were easy to access. This winter was radically different, and many beekeepers are making unplanned purchases of replacement bees.
Beekeepers who enjoyed a good honey crop experienced some of the greatest winter losses due to the short window of time between harvest and winter for colony preparation. Successful wintering on a consistent basis is possible, but it requires timely attention to details. When looking for good advice on wintering bees, I like to look to our Northern neighbors. If a winter management plan works in Canada, it should be more than adequate for the Great Plains. One of my favorite wintering references is Beekeeping in Western Canada, edited by John Gruzska (ISBN: 0-7732-6139-7). In addition to informative text, the book has outstanding pictures and illustrations. Furgala and McCutcheon also provide an excellent review of the fundamentals of successful wintering in chapter 20 of The Hive and the Honey Bee (ISBN: 0-915698-09-9).
Why would a honeybee leave a nice (relatively) warm, safe environment--to die in the snow? Snow-covered apiaries always bring interesting questions. A white blanket surrounding the apiary makes some aspects of the bee's annual life cycle more apparent to the observer. When apiaries are surrounded by grass, leaves and twigs, dead bees and bee feces are not easily observed.
It is not unusual for a colony to loose 2/3 of its population from late summer to the following pring when brood rearing begins in earnest and populations begin to grow. This means that individual colonies can have 30,000 or more bees perish in winter as part of their normal colony life cycle. Without snow, the dead bees are scattered among grass and leaves. When snow is present, the deceased are readily apparent, and beekeepers who are unfamiliar with this aspect of colony life assume that a catastrophic event has befallen their colonies. Likewise, as with dead bees, bee feces are not apparent on grass and leaves, but they are readily observed on snow. Bees accumulate waste in their hindgut during cold weather. When temperatures rise enough to permit flight, large numbers of bees take to the air to relieve themselves. Nosema and high moisture honey can exacerbate the need to defecate. Both can cause an abnormal amount of feces to be deposited around the hive entrance and abnormal winter mortality.
Why do bees leave their colony to die in the snow? There is not one answer to this question.
Bees need occasional flights in winter to void their waste. If they become chilled on their
"cleansing flight," some otherwise healthy bees may not return. Bee's thoracic muscle temperature
must be greater than 90 degrees F. to sustain flight. On sunny days they can raise their
thoracic temperature by basking in the sun. In cool weather bees rely on the collective
metabolic heat of their nest mates and shivering to raise their thoracic temperature. Bees
stressed by diseases, parasites or dysentery are less likely to complete the round trip. Like
any other organism, bees have a limited life expectancy. In the summer bees live 5-6 weeks.
However, fall bees build up their fat bodies and live longer than their summer-born compatriots
(in insects, fat bodies are a good thing!). Diseases and parasites can increase the rate of
winter mortality. Nosema, tracheal mites and varroa mites are frequently implicated in abnormal
winter mortality. Many of the dead bees observed in snow died in the hive and were carried out
by their nestmates.
Recent emphasis on the need to control parasitic mites has reduced the attention normally paid to the time-tested fundamentals of successful wintering in beekeeping publications. While the pain of winter loss lingers, consider the following observations on wintering bees from John Jesup. They were given to me in 1977 on a cold night in central Iowa. I had spent a long day digging bees out of snow drifts and called my friend John to see if he needed any help digging out his bees. After enjoying a hearty laugh, John invited me to meet him for coffee and gave this southern-born beekeeper some useful advice on wintering bees in cold climates. He began by telling me that I had wasted my day digging my bees out of their protective winter blanket of snow. I am still learning, but John's advice is timeless and insightful.
Food reserves: A honey bee colony should have at least 55-60 pounds of honey reserves at the beginning of winter (mid-November). Honey bees generate heat by consuming honey and shivering their muscles. In addition to its role as a food source, combs of honey buffer extreme changes in temperature. They absorb heat during the day and release it at night. Food consumption is low in winter until colonies begin to rear brood. Colonies can survive until early spring on less than 60 lbs. of honey, but they must consume more honey to maintain tolerable nest temperatures. Increased food consumption leads to an increase in the need for cleansing flights and stress. When feeding to add weight, it is better to feed in the fall to allow the combs of honey to serve as solar collectors.
Some floral sources of honey are excellent for winter feed, but others will result in dysentery if used for winter feed. Honeys that crystallizes rapidly such as sunflower and canola, make poor winter feed. Sweet clover and smartweed honey are slow to crystalize, and are good sources for winter feed. Sugar syrup also makes an excellent winter feed.
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Entrance reducers: Reducing entrances in the fall reduces the risks of robbing, keeps mice from entering hives, and it allows bees to arrange their nest optimally for winter. Robbing behavior should be discouraged in apiaries at all times. It can spread bee diseases and parasites, it makes bees more inclined to sting, and it is easier to prevent than to stop. When mice enter hives they damage combs. They also cause the bees to be more active in winter, and colonies with mice exhibit dysentery and other signs of stress. When temperatures drop below 55 degrees F, bees form a cluster, and mice can enter entrances that have not been reduced.
It is best to place entrance reducers on colonies early in September to encourage bees to arrange their nest optimally for winter. The optimal winter nest will have honey on the sides and above the cluster. Colonies without entrance reducers frequently keep their brood nest in the second hive body and pack less fall honey into the brood nest. Entrance reducers make it easier for bees to regulate nest conditions in the bottom hive body, and early placement helps the bees prepare their nest for winter. On hot days in September, you may observe bees hanging out on the front of their hive when entrance reducers are in place. I have not found any evidence that this is harmful to colonies, and the improvement in nest organization is a clear advantage.
Winter Entrances: In addition to a reduced bottom entrance, colonies need an entrance near the top of the hive during winter. Bees consume honey to generate heat. The by products that result from burning honey (or any other fuel) are carbon dioxide gas and water vapor. Carbon dioxide is heavier than air and it settles to the bottom of the hive and flows out the bottom entrance. Water vapor rises from the cluster. In hives that do not have a top entrance, the water vapor hits the cool surface of the lid, condenses and drips on the cluster. Top entrances allow water vapor to escape. In addition, bottom entrances can be shut off with dead bees. Top entrances allow bees to take cleansing flights when bottom entrances are blocked. Colonies typically lose 2/3 of their population during winter. In mild winters, dead bees are removed from the colony. In severe winters, they accumulate on the bottom board and can block the entrance.
Winter Wraps: Winter wraps pay for themselves every year in reduced honey consumption. There are many ways to wrap colonies. John preferred paraffin-impregnated cardboard cartons with a dead air space between the carton and the hive. He put his cartons on in mid to late November, and he left them in place until mid April. After cartons were in place, John did not visit his apiaries until mid March the following year. In mid March he checked all his colonies to be sure they had adequate food reserves to last until mid April and to treat them with Terramycin. He would feed when needed and return the winter cartons to the colonies until his next visit in mid April.
John found that most colony starvation occurred between March 15 and April 15, because the demands of brood rearing during the early spring required more honey than the combined three previous months of winter. He also observed that colonies with brood could starve in the spring with honey nearby during unseasonably cold weather, since the bees will not abandon brood to move to honey stores. John left his winter wraps in place until mid April to reduce the risk of losses due to spring cold fronts.
Young Queens Selected for Winter Hardiness: Colonies headed by young queens enter winter with a good population, and they are not as likely to supersede their queen or swarm the following spring. Fall is a great time to requeen if you have the time and patience. You can also raise exceptionally good queens in the fall. Drones are abundant for mating in the fall, and weather conditions are optimal for mating. Some stocks of bees have been selected for brood and bee production and are not well-adapted for wintering in cold climates. They are great for package bee producers and pollinators, but they are not easy to winter. They require much feeding, and they may starve if the have brood present during severe cold periods. Broodless bees move freely to honey stores, but bees with brood will not abandon their young.
I hope you find my notes from a cold winter night in 1977 useful today. While they are not a comprehensive guide to wintering bees, I enjoyed reviewing them, because John stressed important points that are frequently not discussed in recommendations for wintering bees. As with most endeavors, keeping a journal of what you learn and reviewing it occasionally will help improve your beekeeping success. It will also let you enjoy memories of good friends and the times you shared with them. If you do not currently keep a journal of what you observe and learn in beekeeping, I highly recommend that you start.
If you have friends like me who keep journals, be careful of what you tell them. You may read it 24 years later in a beekeeping newsletter.
The Nebraska Beekeepers Association recognized the outstanding contributions of several of their members at their annual meeting in November, 2000. If you have occasion to visit with any of the award recipients, please congratulate them and let them know that their efforts are appreciated. Award recipients were:
| Education Award - Ken Chelton | |
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This award was presented to Ken Chelton in appreciation for his extraordinary service in educating youth and adults about bees and beekeeping at the Nebraska State Fair. Ken operates the live bee display and gives 25-50 beekeeping demonstrations each day to delighted crowds of fair attendees. Ken skillfully shares facts about bees and beekeeping by opening hives and demonstrating how beekeepers handle and examine colonies. |
| Distinguished Service Award - Charles Simonds | |
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Charles Simonds was presented a Distinguished Service Award in appreciation for his 16 years of dedication and service to Nebraska beekeeping industry as state apiary inspector for the Nebraska Department of Agriculture. Charlie's visits will be missed by beekeepers around the state. He will continue to operate his bee supply business in Lincoln. |
| Extra Mile Award - Warren and Jane Nelson | |
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Warren and Jane Nelson have led the Nebraska Beekeepers Association's growth in promoting and selling bee products at the Nebraska State Fair for the past five years. They have put in incredibly long days without ever losing their smile and love of being at the fair. This award included a well- deserved pair of season tickets to the 2001 Husker's football games, the only thing Warren enjoys more than the State Fair. |
| Builders Award - Dennis and Michelle Stenner | |
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Dennis and Michelle Stenner have served the Nebraska Beekeepers Association as newsletter editor, treasurer, annual meeting hosts, State Fair educational exhibit coordinators, and they have put in countless hours promoting beekeeping and bee products at the State Fair, River City Roundup, and Fall Festival of Color. In addition, they have spoken to many school groups, and they have contributed many great ideas for association programs and activities. This award included lifetime memberships in the Eastern Apiculture Society for both Dennis and Michelle. |
| Pioneer Award - Floyd Opfer | |
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Floyd Opfer was recognized for his tireless and selfless contributions to beekeeping and the life of the Nebraska Beekeepers Association in the 20th century and beyond. Floyd loves his bees, and he loves sharing that joy with others. He has helped many new beekeepers get started, and he is always the first to raise his hand when the association needs a volunteer. Floyd has no equal as a gentleman and compassionate human being, and bees and beekeepers could not ask for a better spokesperson. |
| Youth Beekeeping Award - Leilani Stenner | |
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The Nebraska Beekeepers Association works hard to introduce youth to the world of bees and beekeeping. Leilani Stenner was recognized for her growth in knowledge about bees and beekeeping and her eagerness to share what she has learned with others. Leilani has been the leading salesperson at the State Fair's honey ice cream booth since she was big enough to see over the counter. She has won many awards for her state fair entries, and she enjoys asking extension entomology specialists difficult questions about bees that they can't answer. |
Bee Tidings is published jointly by University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension and the Nebraska Beekeepers Association four times a year. Your membership in the Nebraska Beekeepers Association for $12 per year includes a subscription to Bee Tidings.
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| Your comments and suggestions about the newsletter are always welcome! | |