Drought in PA and east coast USA

Beekeeping - Basics
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Hi folks, I just did a partial inspection of all four of my colonies yesterday and thought I’d post because of the way drought can affect winter prep. Recently I saw robbing happening to two of them (and got it to stop by hanging a damp beach towel over the affected hives) - not out of the realm for fall so I was careful not to spend a lot of time pulling frames. We’ve been in a dearth for at least a month, but the added concern is that any traces of nectar out there are long gone due to lack of rain - zero :egg::expressionless: for the month of October thus far. Meanwhile, it’s been warmer than usual so the bees are very active for this time of year. As they’re also focused on raising ‘fat bees’ to carry colony numbers through the cold months until early spring, food stores are in danger of disappearing fast.

My main goals of inspecting were:

  1. to check stores
  2. monitor for pests without setting off another robbing event
  3. add my usual fall configuration of sandwiching the inner cover between two feeding shims - top insulation in the form of green board goes under the outer cover inside the topmost shim resting on the inner cover; room for feed on the top bars made by the lower shim.

It was reassuring to see that two colonies were very strong, still heavy with food, had low mite counts, and had small/average numbers of loose beetles (lots in the traps plus bees patrolling their own igloo jails).

The third colony was doing well in all areas but one - as soon as I lifted the outer cover there was a mass beetle exodus from the center hole of the inner cover out to the edges. I smashed and snagged them up in a swiffer cloth I had handy :fist_right::boom::sponge: and added a new one.

The fourth colony was a split that filled two mediums in mid summer. This is about the equivalent of a single deep so on the small side to get through winter. It has been going strong but I was wondering how much food they would have left with the drought. As expected, the hive felt very light when I hefted it. Bees were defensive flying everywhere around my face. Bees inside on the top bars immediately glommed onto the food I put in, and soon the flying bees disappeared - they were so hungry that as soon as they recognized there was food they didn’t care about the intrusion anymore :disappointed:

I plan to look in on this one again tomorrow, will likely need to add more feed, and will surely need to keep doing so regularly through the winter. I wanted to mention this because of the unusual conditions in this region for this time of year. And it’s a perfect example of how flowers still in bloom doesn’t always equal nectar! So, if you haven’t checked recently, don’t let activity at the entrances fool you - please go out and give a quick lift at the back of your hives to test the weight. Make a plan if you haven’t yet for a convenient way to add feed through winter months. I am betting that in this region even well-stocked double brood box hives will eventually need feeding this year.

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Thanks for this. I am a first year keep hoping my bees make it thru winter. Beeing a noob, not knowing what a lift test would feel like. I am going in to check stores next week. It’s been dry in Virginia, too, although there was a lot of goldenrod and wild rubekia in September but nothing now, really. Maybe people have asters and mums here and there.

We were honey bound several months ago, but with a new queen, they righted that. I did read that overfeeding can cause a honeybound hive in fall, also, and I worry about the queen having room to lay in the spring. Some keeps sound like they feed and feed all winter regardless of the situation but perhaps they are in colder climates. Not certain how to porceed at this point.

Also, I learned at EAS you can drape a burlap cloth or cardboard over the frames you aren’t pulling to cut down robbers on an open box.

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That won’t be a problem, I guarantee you. Bees consume almost a frame of honey each week when they are not flying in the winter months, which is why your locals continue to feed over winter.

@Eva and I use linen tea towels. Same idea, but they make a better seal than cardboard and aren’t as fluffy as burlap (which can trap bee legs).

:wink:

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Good to know, thank you.

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Sure thing :slightly_smiling_face:

I would bet that after doing inspections all season you have a very decent sense of how a full/heavy hive feels. It helps to keep in mind how much heavier a frame of honey is than a frame of brood is too, and that there won’t be nearly as much brood now. Give it a shot! :muscle:

[quote=Dawn]
@Eva and I use linen tea towels

You took the words right out of my mouth buddy! :nerd_face::raised_hands: @Metsker just in case this isn’t what you’d call them Dawn :uk: is referring to your typical kitchen towels or ‘dish towels’ that are thin and flat with no fuzzy looped surface. I keep a bunch in my bee shed and use them regularly, not just late season. The other advantage of tea towels is you can fold the towel back as you go thru frames and keep exposure to a minimum.

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