What to Do in the Hive

Brian Fackler – Cornell University Master Beekeeper

November is a quiet time for the bees. It is possible for the bees to do some late season forage on a mild sunny day. Brood rearing will have essentially ceased making the demands on the colony much less and activities levels will be lower. Cleansing flights will take place when weather conditions permit otherwise the colony does very little.

Winter Bees: With the demands on worker bees reduced they store fats and proteins thus their fat bee longevity. With reduced activity the metabolic rate is lower. When the temperature drops below 64f they will start to form small clusters. At 32f the cluster is as tight as it will get, with the center of the cluster as low as 55f. The center of the cluster is not so tight and be bees are able to move around, feed and vibrate wing muscles to generate heat. They regularly swap places in order so all can feed. Do not disturb or break the cluster if possible.

Winter Winds: If your hives are not protected by trees or a fence consider bales of straw bales or other method to block the weather. To the top of your hive add a cinder block, large rock or strap hives down. Your bees have worked hard to seal cracks and opening with propolis so don’t open your hives unless necessary. If you need to wrap your hives with tar paper or other methods, do it prior to Thanksgiving.

Winter Feed: If you are concerned you may not have sufficient honey stored install a candy board which can be purchased from Dadant or other suppliers. Watch the video instructions from Weller Bee Supply “Candy Boards and Preparing Your Hive for Winter” – https://wellerbeesupply.com. Make fondant and or sugar patties with recipes from Lane County Beekeepers – https://www.lcbaor.org. Only use 100% plain white granulated sugar and not organic or brown sugar. Checking for starvation or adding emergency feed can be done from the hive top. Do not add pollen patties as this encourages the queen to lay eggs. One of the most important winter chores is to lift the hive body from the bottom to check if it’s light in weight and likely low in honey stores. Also, on a favorable weather day you can open the lid for a very brief peek. Your bees will starve if they consume all of their honey reserves or they move to the edge of the hive where they no longer contact honey frames.

Varroa Mites: At temperatures of 50 f or lower do not open your hive unless necessary and consider if needed treatment and sampling methods using oxalic acid vapor and screen board for mite sampling. Monitoring with a screen bottom board use a treatment threshold of five mites per day or lower. Effective times to treat are from Thanksgiving to Christmas.

Mouse Guards: If you haven’t done so already, be sure to put your mouse guards on – but make sure a mouse does not get trapped inside.  Look inside the entrance with a flashlight. If you do not see mouse nesting material on the bottom board, you’re probably okay. If you do, you need to remove it otherwise the mouse could cause severe damage over the winter.

Entrance and Queen Excluder: Your hive lower entrance needs reduced to the minimum and queen excluder removed.

Stored Drawn Comb: Storing drawn comb frames in the cold weather will kill wax moths at 20f.  In your freezer frames will kill wax moth and eggs in a few hours. Thuricide BT is a biological insecticide you can also spray on your frames and is formulated to kill young wax moth larvae as they attempt to feed on comb and must be used as a preventive before combs are infested. After the frames are prepared, store the drawn comb frames in sealed plastic bins or garbage sacks. It is heart breaking to see all the drawn comb ruined that your bees worked so hard to make.

Ventilating Hive: Involves removing the hive moisture with ventilation or capture with Vivaldi board or quilt box installed with moisture wicking materials. Upper entrance closed or open and Screen bottom board closed or open. Check for moisture on the bottom board and add a shim between the inner and outer cover if needed to reduce.

Condensing Hive: Mimics bee biology and what bees naturally create in a tree cavity. The temperature above the bee cluster must be maintained below the dew point. Less honey is needed stored in the hive by possibly 25 to 50%. The winter lower metabolic rate is maintained by keeping CO2 in the hive. Moisture is maintained in the hive as the bees consume only water diluted honey. The concept includes: insulation between inner and outer cover, no upper entrance, screen bottom board sample board fully inserted, wrapping and or sealing cracks and openings.

Reflection: This is the time of year to review your success and failures and develop a plan of action to level up your beekeeping for next year.

Brian Fackler – Cornell University Master Beekeeper

In October, the days will start to be colder and the bees will not fly as much. The queen now is
laying fewer eggs and the entire colony is preparing for the cold winter months. Be sure to set
up your hive for winter before the end of the month. The decision to overwinter with moisture
control by either using ventilation or condensing both can each lead to success. Starvation and
moisture are the major factors in winter hive failure.

Mouse Guards
 If you haven’t done so already, be sure to put your mouse guards on – but make sure a
mouse does not get trapped inside.  During a hive inspection, look inside the entrance
with a flashlight. If you do not see mouse nesting material on the bottom board, you’re
probably okay. If you do, you need to remove it otherwise the mouse could cause severe
damage over the winter.

Feeding
 A general guideline is that one colony will need approximately 60 to 70 pounds of honey
to make it through winter. Weigh or heft you hives to make a determination of honey
stores.
 During the cold winter months consider winter patties, fondant and candy boards.
 If you’re worried that your bees will not have enough stores going into winter, feed them
1:1 sugar syrup, which mimics the nectar flow.
 2:1 sugar syrup when the weather starts getting cooler or you notice the nectar flow
tapering off.
 In warm weather syrup ferments quickly and to prevent this add 1 tsp bleach per gallon of
syrup or one tablespoon each of white vinegar and lemon juice.
 Avoid adding Honey-B-Healthy or ProHealth as this encourages robbing. If you do use
Honey-B-Healthy or ProHealth only use it only with an internal feeder.
 In mixing 2:1 syrup boil water first and remove from heat before adding sugar as you
might scorch the sugar which possibly can form HMF (5-hydroxymethylfurfural), which is
toxic to honeybees.
 Stop feeding sugar syrup when daytime temperatures are below 57 F

Preparing Hives for Winter
 Wrap or close all air gaps between the supers
 Reduce to winter hive size – two deep or three medium supers or less
 Remove the queen excluder
 Lower entrance to be reduced to a minimum size
 Remove any left behind varroa mite treatment

Ventilating Hive
 Involves removing the hive moisture with ventilation or capture
 Vivaldi board or quilt box installed with moisture wicking materials
 Upper entrance closed or open
 Screen bottom board closed or open

Condensing Hive
 Mimics bee biology and what bees naturally create in a tree cavity
 The temperature above the bee cluster must be maintained below the dew point
 Less honey is needed stored in the hive by possibly 25 to 50%
 The winter lower metabolic rate is maintained by keeping CO2 in the hive
 Moisture is maintained in the hive as the bees consume only water diluted honey
 The concept includes: insulation between inner and outer cover, no upper entrance,
screen bottom board sample board fully inserted, wrapping and or sealing cracks and
openings

Top Bar Hives
 Now is the time to start moving your bars and reorganizing them for winter.
 If you have a center entrance hive, that means moving them toward the center with your
follower board on either side of the hive entrance with all stores down to one side.
 Think about what you will use as a windbreak and make sure your mouse guards are on.

Varroa Mites
 With temperatures getting colder, treatment options for varroa are limited.
 Results of the PNW Honey Survey show that treating for varroa during the year made a
significant difference in survival rates.
 Sample your colonies for varroa mites and apply treatment as needed. Honey Bee
Coalition Tools for Varroa Management is your best guidance on sampling technique and
treatment options.
 Make sure you follow the recommendations precisely for the treatment you choose. Some
treatments can only be applied when honey supers are off while others need a certain
outdoor temperature. Check the extended weather forecast.
 After treatment, re-sample to make sure the treatment was effective. This is very
important and should not be overlooked.
 Going into winter it is critical you have your varroa mite levels and the viruses they carry
low enough or your winter bees will not survive till next spring.
 At temperatures of 50 f or lower do not open your hive and consider if needed treatment
and sampling methods using oxalic acid vapor and screen board for mite sampling.
 Monitoring with a screen bottom board use a treatment threshold of five mites per day or
lower.

Brian Fackler – Cornell University Master Beekeeper

September is the time for beekeepers to focus on winter preparations. The queen will be laying “winter bees” eggs and the colony will need plenty of pollen to develop fat reserves these bees will need to survive the winter. The forage in our area is primarily finished by mid-October. Beekeepers should ensure that their bees have enough food to sustain them through the winter. Strong healthy hives are essential for winter survival, so take whatever action you can to prepare your hives.

Mouse Guards – by September 1

• Before installing a mouse guard, look inside the entrance with a flashlight to see if there’s any nesting material. If you see nesting material, you must get the mouse out before installing a mouse guard. 

Yellowjackets

• In late summer the yellowjacket population is large and their typical food supply is declining. This causes aggressive scavenging behavior and can become a threat to honey bee colonies when the yellow jackets rob a hive for both honey and larvae.
• If yellowjackets are noticed close upper entrance, reduce hive entrance and or install robbing screen.

Remove Honey Supers and Harvest “Surplus” Honey

• Keep in mind that one colony will need approximately 70 pounds of honey (that’s two medium supers full) to make it through winter.
• If you have extra honey, this is a good time to harvest it.
• Your honey frames are ready to extract when nearly all the cells (approx. 80%) are capped or the honey inside the uncapped or open cells is cured. To find out if it’s cured, you can shake the frame with the open cells facing down. If honey leaks from the cells, it’s not cured and should not be extracted. Uncured honey can ferment.
• First year beekeepers should not harvest honey the first year. That’s because the bees need the honey to make it through the winter. Of course, there are exceptions – but in general it’s solid advice to wait. 

Feeding

• If you’re worried that your bees will not have enough stores going into winter, feed them 1:1 sugar syrup (2:1 when the weather gets cooler).
• In warm weather syrup ferments quickly and to prevent this add 1 tsp bleach per gallon of syrup.
• Avoid adding Honey-B-Healthy as this encourages robbing and if you do use an internal feeder.

Combining Colonies

• It is generally better to take your losses in the fall and go into winter with stronger colonies. You might want to consider combining hives if: (1) you have a queen-less hive, (2) you have a weak hive, (3) you have two weak hives or (4) you have less than six full frames on both sides of bees.  You must do this carefully and systematically. 

Top Bar Hives

• Now is the time to start moving your bars and reorganizing them for winter.
• If you have a center entrance hive, that means moving them toward the center with your follower board on either side of the hive entrance with all stores down to one side.  
• Think about what you will use as a windbreak and make sure your mouse guards are on.  

Varroa Mites

• Results of the PNW Honey Survey show that treating for varroa during the year made a      significant difference in survival rates. 
• Sample your colonies for varroa mites and apply treatment as needed. Honey Bee Coalition Tools for Varroa Management is your best guidance on sampling technique and treatment options.
• Make sure you follow the recommendations precisely for the treatment you choose. Some treatments can only be applied when honey supers are off while others need a certain outdoor temperature. Check the extended weather forecast.
• After treatment, re-sample to make sure the treatment was effective. This is very important and should not be overlooked. 
• Going into winter it is critical you have your varroa mite levels and the viruses they carry low enough or your winter bees will not survive till next spring.  

April – Beekeepers What to Do – Brian Fackler (Cornell University Master Beekeeper)

1. Do NOT unwrap your hives until the weather is consistently warm. It’s tempting to unwrap but your bees will thank you for
   keeping their home warm.
2. Bee packages and NUC’S will begin arriving in Oregon in early April. Make sure you have everything ready to install your
   bees. New beekeepers may want to check in with their mentors with any questions or for tips and encouragement.
3. Keep feeding!!!
   a) Most hives that die from starvation perish just before the first nectar flow of the season.
   b) Your bees were busy raising brood in February and March. This activity burns through food stores very quickly.
   c) In April, the weather is often cold and wet and the bees will not be able to forage for food. Make sure you give your
   bees the best chance to build up strong. Since there are no supers on your hive yet, their intake of sugar syrup will
   not go into your honey product.
   d) If you determine that the colony doesn’t have adequate food stores, feed 1:1 sugar syrup and pollen patties; the
   presence of pollen will encourage the queen to lay. When it’s too cold for sugar syrup feed fondant. Lane County
   Beekeepers web site has excellent recipes (www.lcbaor.org) for winter feed.
   e) Once you start feeding, continue until the bees start bringing in nectar or the dandelions come out. Then, put on
   your supers and stop feeding.
   f) The bees will begin to collect nectar in the latter part of April from early flowering plants and trees like dandelion,
   maple and willow. Once you put on honey supers, feeding must stop or you’ll have sugar syrup mixed in with your
   honey. Not a good thing!
4. Hive openings should be clear so bees can get out for cleansing flights on warm days. Clear the entrance of dead bees.
   Remove the mouse guard/entrance reducer and scrape the dead bees away from the entrance with a stick or your hive
   tool. You don’t have to remove every single bee. Clearing the front entrance is good for hive ventilation.
5. On a warm day, inspect the hive for food stores and brood pattern. If you don’t see a solid brood pattern, consider
   replacing the queen with local survivor stock.
6. If you need to order package bees or a queen, check in with your bee supplier as soon as possible.
7. On a warm day, consider reversing the brood chambers but ONLY if doing so will not split the cluster. Splitting the cluster
   at this time of year could chill the (now two) clusters and be deadly for the colony. The single reason to reverse the brood
   boxes is to give the queen more room to lay – but again only if it will not split the cluster. To reverse the brood chambers,
   take the top brood box and put it on top of the bottom board and put the one that was on the bottom on top.
8. Clean out any dead outs you may have and store the frames so other bees, mice or other pests cannot get inside and rob
   it out. Frames from dead outs are a great boost for a package of bees.
9. Repair and paint woodenware before the season begins. Have honey supers ready to go before the hive needs it to
   prevent hive crowding that could trigger a swarm.
10. Educate yourself on the different mite treatment options (cultural, non-chemical and chemical) and know when and how to
    use them correctly. Order supplies to control mites ASAP. Don’t let mites get the best of you and your bees this year.
    Check out the Honey Bee Coalition Tools for Varroa Management and videos on how to control Varroa mites
    http://honeybeehealthcoalition.org/.
11. The PNW Honey Bee Survey is OPEN  https://pnwhoneybeesurvey.com  please take the survey. Survey is for
    any and all pub members who have overwintered colonies. The survey covers questions on
    survivorship/losses overwinter and managements for varroa mite control. It is electronic.

Brian Fackler – Cornell University Master Beekeeper

The Bee Cluster: The bees are in a compact cluster since the ambient temperature
dropped below 57F. As the temperature lowers to freezing the bees generate heat with
heads facing inward and consume a great amount of honey also give off a great amount
of water. The bees rotate positions and are active in the cluster center. Most of the
colony will be rearing brood and maintaining the brood-rearing temperature in the brood
area of 92F. This area must be dry, and an efficient ventilating or condensing hive must
be maintained to control moisture.

Hive Entrance: The hive entrance needs to be open as bees will take a short cleaning
flight to void fecal matter on a sunny calm day. Clear your hive entrance of blockages by
snow, ice, and or dead bees. Keep the entrance reducer and mouse guard installed.

Starvation: Bees will break the cluster for the worker bees to move into areas where to
resources that are stored. The bees will starve if they do not have access to the
resources or are too cold to break the cluster. You can get an idea of how much
resources the hive has stored by hefting the hive and comparing it to previous
monitoring. If you suspect or are in doubt, feed the bees with fondant, sugar patties, or
100% plain white granulated sugar and not organic or brown sugar. Make fondant and
or sugar patties with recipes from Lane County Beekeepers – https://www.lcbaor.org.
Checking for starvation or adding emergency feed can be done from the hive top.

Dead Bees: You might notice dead bees as well as brown spots of fecal matter in front
of the hive. This is typically not a concern. The bees may have frayed wings and hair
loss, which are indications of old age and desire to die outside the hive. Monitor the
bottom and landing board for excessive dead bees as the undertaker worker bees may
not be able to remove.

Varroa: Monitor the sampling board for dropped dead mites and consider multiple
applications of oxalic acid vapor following the guidelines of Honey Bee Health Coalition
Tools for Varroa Management.

Reflection and Preparation: This is the time to reflect on last year’s success and
failure and consider your 2025 bee year. Make a plan to control varroa mites and now is
the time to order cultural and miticides to have them on-hand. Take inventory of
wooden ware and frames and repair, paint, and replace as needed. If you anticipate
needing new bees place your order for NUCs and or packages, as later this spring they
often are unavailable.