Winter Is Coming! Fix Your Bee Hive Space Issues NOW

[@blindsquirrel4882]

When do you typically remove the ventilated tops from your hives?

[@raymondshewitt]

Hi when night temps get below 50 I'll either remove them or I'll tape them over. I like to use that ventilated inner cover as a feeding tray for hive alive fondant. So sometimes I don't take them off I just reduced the amount of events by taping them over

[@TL50-r9f]

If the genetics of your queen does not produce self sufficient surviving hives for at least 3 to 4 years your wasting money feeding. Good hives are hygienic removing mites and other pests with a strong colony, produce enough honey for overwintering, and can handle diseases like foulbrood. There is no bee producers that have the perfect colony of queens or package of bees to sell. you have to buy several different queens about 20 hived queens and let nature produce a quality feral bee population in your area in time. Bees have lived in trees for years on end so do you see what I am saying.

[@HoneyTopBees]

Thx for comment, while I agree, it would be my thought that environment also plays a big factor in the hives ability to store enough to overwinter .

[@TL50-r9f]

@@HoneyTopBees True., sometimes there is not enough nectar and pollen. but bees will fly 2 or more miles to find it and a time consuming process to make winter stores. A while back I planted 3 acres of sweet yellow clover and got 30 plus gallons of honey after the second year, biannual, with 8 hives out of 17. My hives have slowly died out over 10 years. I have done splits with queen cells, caught feral swarms and I think my frames and boxes have something bad, maybe foulbrood so I will burn the whole lot and make new in my wood shop and get some Flow hives for convenience. Crop Pesticides, 5g phone towers really are making bee life difficult too.

[@HoneyTopBees]

pesticides are not helping us beekeepers at all.