JANUARY THAW INSURANCE by beekeeper Fred

Today I went out and added feed to the last two of my hives.  Its now the January thaw.  In these two hives the cluster in Hive J was at the top.  In Hive N the bees were still 2 to 3 inches below the top.  Both hives appeared to have adequate capped honey still available.  But to both hives I added a sugar block and a portion of a winter patty to insure against starvation later in the winter.  I will probably be checking all hives again in mid February.  At this point 85% of the hives are still humming in the apiary.

                                     The bees are right below the inner cover in Hive J.

                                               Hive J with inner cover removed.

                               3 inch spacer added to make room for sugar and winter patty.
               Spacer gets sealed with duck tape since bees won't be able to propolize the crack.

                            Bees in Hive N were still 3 inches down in upper brood chamber.