I checked my hives and they are both buzzing - surprising, given the arctic chill which descended upon us for what seemed like weeks.
But activity in both hives - hang in there girls, February is just around the corner.
More info (credit to Jim Kloek of Nature's Nectar):
Netflix has a good documentary series called Rotten.
The first episode is about honeybees. They talk about the struggles of a beekeeper, adulterated honey and how it happened and the theft of several thousand beehives over four years.
With the warmer weather the bees can move their cluster easily and hopefully re-position slightly on a fresh frame of honey.
There should be no brood in a colony right now.
Bees will be going on cleansing flights during warm weather. It is a good time to see if your hive(s) are alive. There will be bees dying in the snow. This is normal.
If you don't see bees on cleansing flights, it doesn't mean that the hive is dead. If a colony was very heavy with honey especially a three deep hive, the bees could still be down deep in the box and can't break cluster to get out. You can rap on the side of the hive and listen for a buzz. If you get physical with the hive, a beesuit may be in order. An interloper could fly out and give you some payback for the disturbance.
Not seeing cleansing flights is not a huge problem at the moment. As time goes on, the cluster will shift into the top box and cleansing flights will be more frequent with the warmer February weather.
There should be no brood in a colony right now.
Bees will be going on cleansing flights during warm weather. It is a good time to see if your hive(s) are alive. There will be bees dying in the snow. This is normal.
If you don't see bees on cleansing flights, it doesn't mean that the hive is dead. If a colony was very heavy with honey especially a three deep hive, the bees could still be down deep in the box and can't break cluster to get out. You can rap on the side of the hive and listen for a buzz. If you get physical with the hive, a beesuit may be in order. An interloper could fly out and give you some payback for the disturbance.
Not seeing cleansing flights is not a huge problem at the moment. As time goes on, the cluster will shift into the top box and cleansing flights will be more frequent with the warmer February weather.
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