Hi everyone. It is already Thursday. And we've had sun all week which has been fabulous. Even if it's been on the chilly side, having the sun rather than grey clouds or snow lifts my spirits. ❤
The other bit of good news, at least so far, is that my bees are still alive. I haven't opened the hive (it's too cold), but they have been cleaning and pushing out the dead bees from inside the hive. That is a sure sign of life.
Here's the "hut" my husband and I constructed around the bees to keep out the snow and wind. The darker grey tarp is the front (on the left side of the photo), and you might just be able to see the wire I have it tied down with. Right now I have the tarp down, although there is a small gap along the front which is hard to see in this photo. That gap does let in some fresh air. When we start getting consistently warmer weather I can roll it up. And then when the weather is even nicer, the whole hut will be deconstructed and taken down as it is just 3 sides screwed together (with the tarp hanging down over the front.)
My goal this year is to get the bees through the winter. The variety of bees I have don't really do well in the cold temperatures, but they are very easy to handle and not easily "stirred" up. That's why we have the hut around them. We're trying to help them keep the warmth produced in the hive. I'm hoping they can make it through the next 2 months. I've ordered some winter tough bees to arrive this spring. Last year the winter tough bees I ordered didn't make it through the shipping process. I hope this year's order are more successful.
Right now we are still having cold nights. It was 11 degrees F (-11 degrees C) the other night.
And in these next 2 photos you can see the dead ones that have been pushed out of the hive when the bees did some cleaning.
I'm sure there is a whole wall of them pushed up against the entrance which is one way the bees help insulate their hive.
I'm waiting for a really warm spell to hit so I can take a peak into the hive and add some more food if they are getting low. It would be a shame to get them this far through the winter and then have them run out of food. Hopefully by then they will still be managing their numbers. And hopefully that warm spell will come along sooner rather than later.
That's all for me today.
11 comments:
I am delighted to have an update on your bees, Erika, and to learn that they appear to be doing well. Since we are now well into February the cold weather is perhaps mostly behind us. The mere thought of a wildflower meadow with bees buzzing around makes me giddy with excitement. It will come! All the best - David
...I see plenty of hives here and they appear to have no added protection. Let's hope that yours are healthy this spring.
Good to know that your bees are doing well so far!
That is good news. I hope we have warm weather sooner than later, too. The sun has been so nice and a little bit of a warm-up predicted this weekend.
So glad some have survived. We are having a really mild winter in Toronto not typical. -Christine cmlk79.blogspot.com
This seems to be good news, I hope they keep going over the next couple of months and come buzzing out to meet you. That's a very clever contraption you built around the hive. Have a great day, hugs, Valerie
You know how much I enjoy reading about your bees. I learn something everytime you write about them. Thank you for sharing bee land with us today. Have a great day and stay warm over there.
I was thinking about your bees the other day-glad it sounds like they are surving winter. hugs
It is always so interesting to read about your bees, Erika. I didn't know that they would pile up the dead bees to insulate their hive - I sure am glad that they are still alive and I hope you will get them through the winter. I know next to nothing about bee keeping, so I wonder what you feed them? Sweet greetings, Carola
Oh Erika, that's the best news about the bees. I hope the whole lot make it. Sending all good wishes for getting through this upcoming noreaster. I hope it's shortlived and not as bad as they say!
Fascinating to know that they are working hard inside the hive to keep their home clean and tidy. I just imagined they would all be asleep all through the winter but activity abounds and you must be overjoyed to know that there is still life inside.
Thanks for sharing.
`Hugs, Neet xx
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