Wintering hives

I sit on the border of zones 6a and 6b. Do my hives need to be covered over the winter?

I wouldn't worry too much about covering them. Just be sure the top covers are secure so they don't blow off.
If they are in an exposed location, perhaps set up some kind of wind block for them, if possible (ie: haybales or cord wood piles).

From my experience, most of my colony winter die-offs have been due to damp/wet/moldy hives (poor air circulation = condensation).  
Keep an eye open for moisture build-up on underside of top cover. Maybe look into making or getting a "quilt box" for the top if you start to notice any condensation.
Another method is to lay a few popsicle sticks between the inner cover and top cover to add a bit of air flow.

A local bee keeper also recommended treating bees for varroa in the Fall to increase their odds getting through winter.
I've used Apivar for this before, it's good for when the honey supers are off and the bees no longer have capped brood.
I personally prefer not to use chemical treatments if I can get by without them, but I also figure a little preventative care is better than a dead hive.

Pete nailed it. Good answer.

Hi Pete,

I live next to three of the areas biggest farmers.  I am kidding myself if I think my honey is organic.

Thanks for the advice. The bees sit in a small orchard that is surrounded by woods.  Wind is not a concern.  A concrete block  is on top of the hive.  

I raised bees before, but that was in northern MN.  There the temps dropped to 50 below and 40 below was common. Here I saw 18 below maybe once and  0, or a tad below, is common.  So, the winter needs are different.  I will probably make a box to temporarily drop over the hive if the temp spikes low.

Hi John,
Great question and answers. So you get an apple.

This is our first winter with bees. We live in western NC, growing zone of 6b.

We wrapped our bees in insulation. We have not put on a vivaldi board. I think it's short of like the quilt box.

Would love to know what others are doing.

Here's our bees bundled up. Hope it's enough b

Here's the link about winterizing. http://www.beeandbloom.com/blog/winter-is-coming-prepare-bees-for-cold-months

We were so late. Summer and fall were very busy for us, unfortunately the bees didn't get any fall care.

Hope this helps 🌻

Sena, that video is now unavailable. Any chance you could edit your post with another similar one? It's almost winter & time for beekeepers to get prepared.

Hi there, how do I just delete this post? I looked around, clicked some buttons and links. Maybe I am tired but I don't see how to edit or delete a post....

My winterization project last year, likley killed my bees. I do not recommend wrapping hives with insulation. Condensation was trapped in the hive. I am bummed. Doing nothing would have been a better choice. Let's how we learn, by doing.

I got a new hive 6 months ago. The only thing I am doing is an entrance reducer. If honey stores are low, then I'll feed with sugar.

Insulating bees is a dark art, and bee health issues are frequently misidentified - especially when people are looking at a box of dead bees months after the event when spring finally comes around.

Bees are not humans. Don't heat a large drafty house. The image you want to have in mind is more like that of penguins on the antarctic ice. They huddle together for warmth. The middle ones are snug while the outer ones get cold.

When they are cold they consume honey stores and vibrate their flight muscles to generate warmth. When very cold they go into a condition called "torpor" where they appear lifeless but revive when the weather warms.

Overly warming the colony in the middle of winter can be actively harmful - they wake from torpor, consume more stores and will attempt cleansing flights. If the external air temperature is too cold the bees may get chilled and be unable to return.

Moisture can kill - but frequently this is misdiagnosed, and misdiagnosis leads to poor decision making. Water condensing on the internal surface of the roof drips down onto the colony, chilling and killing bees. Insulating the roof is THE most important step to protecting colonies from winter cold kill due to moisture.

Condensation on external walls is less of a problem - the bees will not come into physical contact with it, and in fact are known to drink droplets of condensation through the winter to aid their digestion of honey.

Large entrances allow lots of air exchange, which can reduce condensation issues, but the trade off is it makes it harder for the bees to limit and control air flow through the hive.

Personally I have chosen to side step these issues by only using polystyrene hives. It is a compromise - using synthetic materials - but one I think gives conditions much more favourable to the bees. I find that the highly insulating hives very very rarely have moisture issues (woodpecker damage once allowed water in), and the bees use less stores and build up faster in the spring.

After 6 years of keeping bees without any treatments, varroa still remains my most common source of colony loss.

I like Michael Palmer's method of overwintering bees. This book has a lot of good info too. The author was from an extremely cold climate.



https://permies.com/wiki/140839/Keeping-Bees-Smile-Fedor-Lazutin