WINTER SOLSTICE

The winter solstice has come and gone.  The amount of daylight is now getting longer every day.  Three months to the start of spring! 

However, this coming week will be the first real test for bees in central Wisconsin.  Temperatures as low as -10F are predicted right after Christmas and then moderating slightly to about 0 F for over night lows.  These cold temperatures are predicted to last for a week to 10 days.   Well fed and healthy bees should have no trouble surviving these temperatures. 

So the questions are:  1) Did you control the varroa mites last fall and 2) Is there sufficient food in the hive.   There isn’t much you can do about the varroa mites or the viruses they spread at this time, but you can add emergency feed in the form of sugar to the top of the hive.  Adding several dollars of sugar to the hive may prevent the need to buy another $120 package of bees next spring.  Last summer was not the best honey harvest season and many hives are short on winter feed.  People who don’t try to ensure survival of their hives are “beehavers” not beekeepers.   Taking the additional precaution of feeding your hives during winter is your choice.