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It is time to prepare your bees for overwintering.
What? Is that what I wanted to say? The tulips are just blooming (in southern Michigan). The redbud is finished and the brambles are on the way. Autumn olive is just starting. The birds are singing and the flowers are blooming and the weather is warming. The bees are at their best. It’s spring. Why think about overwintering?
That is precisely the point. Though winter seems far away and thinking of overwintering in May seem untimely, it is not.
Let me explain.
We humans, especially in 21st century North America, are pretty short range in our thinking and planning. Not so with bees. Bee’s health is a long range matter and overwintering is all about health. But the bees in 21st century North America are being impacted by the life and habits of short range oriented humans and its not turning out so well for them during the winter. If we keepers are going to get “connected” with our bees, we are going to have to start thinking long range—in May, about their survival this winter. The bees aren’t going to change their habits to accommodate ours.
At least three factors contribute to the long-range well being of our bees. And all three are in force today in May.
The presence of a few mites in your colony in May will have a huge, negative effect on the bees this coming winter. Because mite reproduction is integrally tied to honey bee reproduction, the increase becomes exponential as the season progresses. As the numbers increase, the physical and pathological harm is also increased exponentially. In beekeeping lingo we say that the colony health is compromised so that what looks like a healthy colony now and might still look healthy in September, is really a dead colony in the making. Keeper, get connected with your bees and deal with those mites—early.
True, as long as flowers are blooming the keeper doesn’t need to feed. But flowers aren’t always blooming, nectar flowers do not always yield nectar, and not all flowers that bloom are bee flowers. So, sometimes the keeper must get connected with the bees and feed—sooner rather than later. Why? Because it takes nectar/sugar water stimulation to keep a colony brooding well. And no brood, no bees. You want the colony to enter winter with lots of young bees and the chain of production that makes that happen, begins now in May.
It stands to reason that natural nectar and pollen are the best nutrition for a colony. However, mites, pesticides, mono-culture crops, and disease are compromising our bees and what used to be the best is no longer sufficient. And so, like most livestock feeding in today’s environment, we need to supplement. Honey-B-Healthy in the syrup. SuperDFM on the top bars once a month. Pollen substitute at strategic times. A little attention to nutritional aspects early can go a long way.
Here’s the background principle: The brood of the bees that you want to survive the winter will be fed by the bees that will be fed by the bees that will be fed by the bees that will be fed by the bees right up to May.
It’s time to prepare your bees for overwintering. Yes, that is what I wanted to say.
I’ll flesh all this out in future posts. In the meantime, Keeper, stay connected with your bees.
