Can you get your bee colonies through the Winter season? It’s not how many hives you have that makes you a good beekeeper – its about how many survive Winter. This is one of the first true tests for new beekeepers. The goal is to keep the number of Winter colony losses low. There will be some years that you will loose colonies – even if you avoid common beekeeping mistakes. Some colonies will not survive the months of cold, even with proper planning and preparation. Good Winter beekeeping depends on proper preparation in Fall. Therefore the change in temperature would be vastly different.īecause we keep honey bee colonies in less than natural situations, we have a responsibility to do what we can to help them survive. Most modern hives provide less insulation than a tree cavity.
Unusually, bitter Winters and wild temperate swings interfere with the natural survival mechanisms of the bees.Īlso, we keep bees in man-made hives that are very different from natural bee homes. Honey bees, and other pollinators, face extreme changing weather conditions. One reason is that our environment is not the same as it was even 50 years ago. Honestly, good beehive Winter preparation is probably more important today than in the past. Read my privacy and affiliate disclosure policy for more info. With this bee survival plan in place, why should beekeepers be concerned about preparing their hives for Winter? They have a survival plan that involves storing honey to use as food during the cold months of the year. Bees have lived for millions of years without our intervention.
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