Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: lee on October 31, 2005, 11:17:05 pm
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how much honey do you leve for the the bees to eat over the winter
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how much honey do you leve for the the bees to eat over the winter
About 5-10 kg. Not more. I give 20 g sugar as solution for winter for 2 box hive. All pollen, what I find, I give in the hive. Sugar is feeded during one week at the begining of September.
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how much honey do you leve for the the bees to eat over the winter
" lee " When I kept bees in mich [ lower] I figured to leave about 100 lbs on them for winter. I used 2 Deeps as brood chambers and if the top chamber was packed full of honey and the bottom chamber 2/3 full that was enough.
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The hard thing about this question is that it depends.
First it depends on your climate.
Second it depends on the size of the cluster.
Third it depends on the race of bee.
Fourth it depends on that particular hive.
If you live in a cold climate with a large cluster of Italians, it's typical to leave them between 100 and 150 pounds of stores. This is usually too much, but there is also the issue on that particular hive. Some hives start brood rearing early. A frame of honey will last a dormant cluster a couple of months. A frame of honey will get burned up rearing a frame of brood in about a week and a half. A hive that decides to rear a lot of brood will go through stores like crazy. That same hive (if it doesn't starve) may make a bumper crop of honey because of the nice population going into the flow (depending on when your flow is). Trying to be too frugal on leaving stores can not only lose that hive, but also that really good crop.
So we usually try to err on the side of being too generous.
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If you live in a cold climate with a large cluster of Italians, it's typical to leave them between 100 and 150 pounds of stores.
10 kg = 22 lbs
That cannot be true. Canadian aid says: "The total weight of two supers, lid, bottom, honey, pollen and bees should be at feast 125 pounds."http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/agdex3946?opendocument
http://entomology.unl.edu/beekpg/tidings/btid2001/btdapr01.htm#Article1
Canada great plains: "Food consumption is low in winter until colonies begin to rear brood. Colonies can survive until early spring on less than 60 lbs."
In Finland if we get that much of honey it is a good yield. If we leave it into hive, what is the idea, and we even have not. In really cold climate honey yield is about 50-70 lbs.
I think that we have cold climate and long winter. 45 lbs sugar is enough for September to the end of May.
If you have uninsulated hives, consumption is 50% bigger = 68 lbs.
We are at the front of beekeeping. I suppose, it is cold here.
I have italians and they manage very well here. In my area temperature is normally over -4F.
If you have cold climate you need not much honey but
* insulated hives
* 1 or 2 deep for winter. No extra room.
* sugar instead of honey
* proper ventilation (no jars upp, or empty boxes or exluders)
* a bee stock that is able to over winter in that climate.
* not windy place
If you have really cold climate where temperature is for long period lower than -30F, we use some kind of shelter.
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what is some of the equipment that you can buy to ventilate your hive during the winter? because i dont have any equipment to ventilate it , i just have entrance hole and thats it...
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what is some of the equipment that you can buy to ventilate your hive during the winter? because i dont have any equipment to ventilate it , i just have entrance hole and thats it...
Sorry if I use words badly. My Language is Finnish and have not known that ventilation is something else that air flows. Same in Finnish.
Pyydän anteeksi että käytän sanoja kehnosti. Kieleni on suomi enkä ole tiennyt että ventilation on jotain mutta kuin ilman virtaamista. - and thats it. :cry:
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what is some of the equipment that you can buy to ventilate your hive during the winter? because i dont have any equipment to ventilate it , i just have entrance hole and thats it...
Sorry if I use words badly. My Language is Finnish and have not known that ventilation is something else that air flows. Same in Finnish.
Pyydän anteeksi että käytän sanoja kehnosti. Kieleni on suomi enkä ole tiennyt että ventilation on jotain mutta kuin ilman virtaamista. - and thats it. :cry:
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what? lol
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what? lol
No eipä tältä ettäisyyveltä toinna alakoo käsiisä huitoo ko ei se mittää kuiteskaa aata. lololota mittee sie lysteet mut ei se tänne asti näy.
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As for ventilation I drill a 3/4 inch hole just blow the handholds of any box above the bottom one, including supers. You can also jam a few pop-sicle sticks on the rim of the inner cover to previde a space just large enough for the moisture to escape. The last option I've heard about is to slide the upper box back making a 1/8 inch crack between the hive bodies. This supposedly alows moist air to escape but, I've never tried it.
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thats good i have 2 deeps on them. so that should bee good for them. will put some sugar water on for them to. to make sure. thanks
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As for ventilation I drill a 3/4 inch hole just blow the handholds of any box above the bottom one, .
This upper hole is essential at winter. Otherwise bees get easily nosema.
If hives are under snow, nosema is worse than if snow is below lower entrance.
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As for ventilation I drill a 3/4 inch hole just blow the handholds of any box above the bottom one, .
This upper hole is essential at winter. Otherwise bees get easily nosema.
If hives are under snow, nosema is worse than if snow is below lower entrance.
what about the robbers? intruders entering through that hole?...
do you ever need to cover those 4 holes since you are doing them from all 4 sides? correct?
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I only use one hole just below the hand hold and as for needing holes to prevent nosema. I think the greater risk is for disentary, nosema is only infects honeybees that drink in nosema infested water. Down here, upper entrences are more of a preference than a need. All 40 hives in the local assosiation don't have upper entrences. I just use them because I feel that they help ventilation as in the evaporation of nectar, and previde some exaust on hot days.
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what about the robbers? intruders entering through that hole?...
do you ever need to cover those 4 holes since you are doing them from all 4 sides? correct?
Colony kills robbers.
Only one holes per box.
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nosema is only infects honeybees that drink in nosema infested water. Down here, upper entrences are more of a preference than a need. .
In our climate nosema attach when bees are as winterball. They do not come out for 5 months. One month to that picture.
(http://www.shuttercenter.com/malmqvis/lumiaura_4-0072.jpg)
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That picture could pass for PA.
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NO NO That picture could pass MI.
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Hmmmm, not enough snow to be Northern New York. :D
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Must be flatlanders. Looks like just a skif from here. bahahahahahahah