Promote, Protect and Preserve The Winter Nest

a Canadian Beekeeper’s Blog

[timefly]

when everything is a ~~nail~~ hive, everything looks like a ~~hammer~~ hive tool

[DuckRiverHoney]

You’ve been talking about refrigeration for years. Glad you’re able to invest in it. Hope it’ll make life a little easier.

[ThatBeeMan]

That refrigeration is exciting. That will bring a whole new dimension of flexibility to your wintering operation.

[chamber_elga.apiaries]

100% makes sense, when they keep brooding at this time of the year, they are consuming the resources that already accumulated that is suppose to be winter feed. By the time the brood emerged, they are having empty cells that suppose to be filled with syrup need to give them fed at that point. I experienced that before and I am seeing that a few of my colonies right now.

While the brood is still present, it provides place for mites in the brood like crazy.

Before we apply OA vap, I had high mites in broodless colonies. But now I am seeing higher mites in colonies that still brooding compared to a broodless ones.
Temperature start dropping, I'm decided to keep applying oa vap 3rd time next week even 4rth time after that in 5 days interval.
This is the hardest time foe me to control mites in my 10 ten years experience here.

BTW your colonies are looking excellent!

[dcsblessedbees]

All most Bed Time for the Bees.
Full climate control with refrigeration instead of relying on the out side temp should make a huge difference. Thanks for sharing, Blessed Days Ian...

[danielweston]

I think the system you use is a wonderful adaptation. Beekeeping is so different depending on where you are. Here the Bees brood year around and keeping them active and warm is what is needed to have early strong population to provide early pollination.

[DeanGoedel]

Great explanation and theory... good luck on the wintering this year!

[gaborgergojuhasz]

This is the advantage of wintering on one deep. Some plus work, but i hope it’ll pay off in the spring for me and you too. (I’m testing this method from this year)
All the best from Hungary.

[PoisonBreaker]

Now that you will have more climate control I would think spring may go a bit smoother too. Looking forward to following along and see how this winter goes.

[DraganDjordjevic]

You like "Api-therapy", we get it! 😂 Every day few stings, and you're healthy. 👍

[cluelessbeekeeping]

I love your channel.
I learn so much from you!
Thanks!

[sidelinerbeekeeper]

Complete different ball game out there. On the east here, my doubles have 6 to 8 frames of pollen capped with syrup/honey. I'm just starting to feed now. I still have a few frames of brood, and I expect this fed to start more brood rearing with all that stored pollen. Cleansing flights every winter month except maybe February. The colonies will be bigger in March on first inspection than there are now.

[birddawg]

Ian, has the family considered starting a channel that follows the daily challenges of the farm in general? Would love to follow the day to day life on the farm.

Thx for what you do!

[graemediesel]

I hope we’ll get to see a video of the refrigeration going in

[driesh]

What about isolation? Is there like PU foam on it? I don’t think in europe my bees will live after winter. What do you guys think? ( wintering outside)😊

[lomavistabeeco]

That VSH hive was STOUT!!! There’s something to be said about those queens and their offspring and how well they take care of the mite issue.

Please tell me you turned off the fence before stepping over it! That could be dangerous if you know what I mean 😃⚡️😮

[MinnesotaBeekeeper]

Ian apologies for never getting back to you last spring regarding the refrigeration system and costs. The installation costs were, stiff. Hopefully you found something more in line with the budget.

[curtislesann]

Question to anyone who can answer: I had about 8, 500ml mason jars filled with crystallized honey from last year. So I decided to feed it back to them so they would use that to fill the comb rather than mixing sugar water. But what I have found is that they aren’t storing any of it. They aren’t backfilling the broodnest but they’re hammering through it. Just don’t know where it’s going. Anyone have thoughts? In Alberta and weather has been on average 13C for the last couple weeks. Random +20 days In there.

[josephrawls]

It just blows my mind you can bust those hives open with no smoke and the bees just sit there.

[researcherAmateur]

You will become boring with a freezer unit.. there will be nothing to fuss about.
I get the not brooding stuff. Do they still have a frame or two of brood now ? Or did you manage to fill it all ?