Emergency Feed – Sugar Slurry
June Beekeeping Tasks
It’s February….Keep an eye on your hives!
It’s Feb. 1, 2023, here in WV & we’re far from out of the woods yet!
We’ve had a warmer winter so far with increased bee activity. This is good & bad. Good because they can have more cleansing flights which helps with any potential Nosema and/or nutritional concerns, however, bad because more activity means they are going through their honey stores quicker.
Lift on the back of your hives to see if they are light. This is a good indicator to estimate if they are light or depleted of honey stores & if they are, winter supplements (fondant, sugar bricks, dry sugar, etc.) will need to be added ASAP.
March will be here before you know it & this is the scariest time for bees due to most hives absolutely being depleted of their honey stores. Winter supplements are crucial this time of year. Emergency feed such as sugar slurry is an excellent feed if days 50+ degrees are available to pull frames and smear feed into empty combs.
Bees should be slowly gearing up for spring & brood production should be happening. Maples and other plant sources are available for pollen and small amounts of nectar. But the temps have to be warm enough for them to forage. Pollen patties will help supplement their protein for brood rearing.
As always, be vigilant about mites. With brood production comes mite production. Now is a good time for mild mite treatments such as oxalic acid vaporization or Hopguard 3.
We’ve had a warmer winter so far with increased bee activity. This is good & bad. Good because they can have more cleansing flights which helps with any potential Nosema and/or nutritional concerns, however, bad because more activity means they are going through their honey stores quicker.
Lift on the back of your hives to see if they are light. This is a good indicator to estimate if they are light or depleted of honey stores & if they are, winter supplements (fondant, sugar bricks, dry sugar, etc.) will need to be added ASAP.
March will be here before you know it & this is the scariest time for bees due to most hives absolutely being depleted of their honey stores. Winter supplements are crucial this time of year. Emergency feed such as sugar slurry is an excellent feed if days 50+ degrees are available to pull frames and smear feed into empty combs.
Bees should be slowly gearing up for spring & brood production should be happening. Maples and other plant sources are available for pollen and small amounts of nectar. But the temps have to be warm enough for them to forage. Pollen patties will help supplement their protein for brood rearing.
As always, be vigilant about mites. With brood production comes mite production. Now is a good time for mild mite treatments such as oxalic acid vaporization or Hopguard 3.
