Surviving the Winter
My bees have survived winter – at least so far.
Kyle opens the hive.
A few days ago the temperature rose into the low fifties. Between rain showers, I hurried out to inspect both of my hives. I didn’t have to open them to know the most important news, as of that day in late January both colonies had survived the winter. Individual bees were flying out and returning to both structures.
Before opening the hives, I cleared a few dead bees from near the entrance. This is normal. Worker bees remove the dead from the hive, but on cold days they don’t take the bodies far. Then I removed the top of the hive. Immediately below the roof is a box with a wire mesh bottom. On top of that is a cloth and resting on that are cedar chips. This collects excess moisture during our damp rainy winters. I was pleased to see that it was dry.
Deep in the hive below, I heard the buzz of a healthy colony. I quickly returned the moisture box and roof to the hive.
In a few weeks, I’ll open the hive again and add food to tide the bees over until spring.