Ask A WA Beekeeper: Overwintering (Jan 2025)

[@cryptotony5110]

Etienne Tardif has been keeping bees in the Yukon for more than a decade. He is highly technical and is incredibly diligent in his record keeping. He has been incredibly successful in keeping his hives alive at insanely low temperatures with high R-value insulation with light honey/sugar syrup. Importantly, he points out that his winter bees need the rocket fuel/100% sucrose to live inside the hive with no cleansing flights for 6+ months. He also has many of the same problems I have with forest/honey de w honey. I've taken much of his research and implemented it and am getting great results overwintering in insulated single boxes and nucs.

[@jasonseaward8506]

I came here to say this. I'm glad someone beat me to it though lol. Etienne has so much data showing so much info about cluster dynamics etc.

[@jasonseaward8506]

Etienne Tardif has also been discussing the bees ability to survive through winter with a lower amount of oxygen and a higher amount of co² and his theory is that they might use the hypoxia to lower/regulate their metabolism and so then they need less honey etc.

[@denb7181]

I winter bees in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and you said bees won't survive when temperature is 20 below that is False just this past week we had 32 below 0 with 20mph winds and all my 20 hives are alive and I have 6 5 over 5 nuc"s that are doing fine. There are a lot of bee keepers up her and in Northern Wisconsin that winter bees and they come out of winter just fine

[@nadernaderi6461]

I have over 100 hives in canada and have barely 5% lost over winter... by adopting my apairy management to reduce the thermal stress and promote propolis.... the way the central asian alongbthe chain of mountain...have done for 1000years.. .the presentation is mostly self promoting...

[@janist553]

You are living in oficial statistic, that last import vas 100yrs ago. Russians, ar illegaly importing queens tousa. Buckfast, carnica, carpatica.