bees doing cleansing flights |
This blog is for beekeepers in Northern climates. I will be describing what I am doing with my bees on a monthly schedule. Copying any text or photos is forbidden except with written authorization of the author.
Sunday, December 27, 2015
Checked hives today
I checked some hives today. I wanted to see a few things. I wintered my colonies with Bee Cozy winter covers. It was a sunny day, around 20 degrees. I wanted to see how warm the center strip of the winter cover would be. Touching the strip with my hand, I could feel the whole center strip was very warm to the touch. It would be very easy for the bees to fly out of their top box hole.
A couple hives were short on stores. When I looked under the inner cover there were bees all over the top box. Seeing this in late December is a clue that the hive is short of stores. I did add some winter patties to hopefully get them to February.