WINTER MANAGMENT JIM FRASER EAS Certified Master Beekeeper

WINTER MANAGMENT JIM FRASER EAS Certified Master Beekeeper MCBA Inc. New Beekeeper Short Course Fall 2019

HAPPY WINTER

POPULATION

THREE THINGS • TO SURVIVE THE WINTER – BEES MUST HAVE THE FOLLOWING • SUFFICIENT STORES OF FOOD • SUFFICIENT VENTILATION • LOW MITE COUNTS

MITES – Fewer mites = Healthier bees – Healthier bees = Fat Bees – Fat Bees = Larger Fat Bodies – Larger Fat Bodies = More Protein Storage – More Protein Storage = Longer Life – Longer Life = More Bees in Spring – Treat For Mites Over the Winter Months • Vaporization

JANUARY to MID-FEBRUARY Hive Inspections – Occasionally / Quickly – Clean Entrance / Upper Entrance – Peek Under the Lid • Check for Moisture • Emergency Feed if Needed – Fondant – Dry Sugar

OTHER THINGS • Order New Bees • Bee Equipment Maintenance – Boxes, Frames, etc. • • Go to Bee Meetings, Classes, etc. Read a Good Bee Book Think About What Worked Or Didn’t Fantasize About the 2020 Harvest

MID-FEBRUARY - MARCH • Brood Rearing Starts Is the Colony Queen Right? Is she laying? Inspection

LATE WINTER FEEDING • Time to Start Feeding (Valentines Day) – Stimulates Egg Laying / Brood Rearing • 1: 1 Sugar Syrup – Jars or Pail Feeder • Pollen Substitute – Patty –DON’T STOP

MARCH • Mid-March – Cleansing Flights – Hive Inspection • Watch the Entrance • Food Stores – Lift the Hive – Feed More 1: 1 and Pollen – Clean the Entrance • First Day of Spring: March 19, 2020

APRIL • First Real Inspection – Food Stores – Amount of Brood (Healthy? ) – Condition of Equipment – Space • Stimulated Colonies Expand Rapidly • Continue Feeding – 1: 1 Sugar Syrup – Maybe Pollen Substitute

HAPPY TIMES • Maple Trees in Bloom • First Early Source – Pollen – Nectar • Dandelions – Mostly Nectar

LOVE / HATE

HIGH GEAR • Foraging – Natural Nectar and Pollen • Bee Bread • Population Grows Quickly – Building Up For Nectar Flow

DOWNSIDE • Deadouts – Why Did My Bees Die? • • Starvation Mites Moisture Queen Failure

Starvation

WHAT YOU WANT

GREAT HIVE

BEE HAPPY • THANK YOU Jim Fraser marylandhoneycompany 2011@gmail. com 301 -518 -9678