Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Colony Starvation

I am concerned for my colonies.
This cold has hung on a bit and is coming at a bad time.
I know there is brood in the hive this time of year. This cold weather forces the bees to eat more food to keep the brood warm. The food will deplete around the brood. If the cold stays long or the bees are on a frame with not much food, there is a possibility for starvation.
Even if there is frames of honey in the hive, the bees will not leave the brood. With the cold the bees will stay in a tight cluster unable to move to new stores of food.
So it will be necessary to check the hives again to see if they survived this cold snap. A colony that was alive a week ago could be dead by the time the cold passes.