Hi all. First year newbee here. Just did an inspection on my hive in the French Pyrenees. We’re very much in autumn now (cold overnight temps and only some warm days) and noted a few things:
Bee numbers seem very much down vs the summer - there were maybe 2 frames that had some brood, but not lots. All frames are drawn and there is no super on, just the brood box.
There doesn’t seem to be very much capped honey. Again, there were perhaps two frames that felt ‘weighty’, the rest felt very light and there was quite a lot of uncapped nectar.
I have been feeding with sugar syrup for a couple of weeks and have just switched to fondant.
I also noted a couple of asian hornets hanging about.
Do I just keep feeding so they get their stores up? Is it normal for bee numbers to be noticeably down vs the summer? Could it be the asian hornets?
Hi Charlotte, it is normal for the population to shrink by almost or about 50% in preparation for winter. Your bees have stopped raising brood by now since your winters are very cold and freezing temps are coming soon, as the oldest bees are dying at the end of their normal lifespan. It’s good you are feeding them, and I would also provide insulation so they will be able to keep their space warmer without consuming as much food. Insulation on/inside the top of the hive is most important, but I recommend taping some to or wrapping the sides also.
I would however be concerned about varroa infestation - have you tested and treated for mites? It’s common for an unmanaged varroa mite infestation to get the upper hand in fall when the bee population start to naturally decline and the mites’ numbers sharply increase. Weakening and dying off due to diseases and loss of hemolymph (bee blood) will start to have a noticeable effect at this time of year. Here’s a good article with a treatment chart -
And yes I would also try to eliminate the hornet problem! I watched one eat one of my bees this summer before I realized what I was looking at
Make sure to reduce the entrance, enough to cut down on wind and pests plus a way to screen mice out, without making it too hard for bees to get past dead bodies that will accumulate in the coldest months. This is why side openings plus a top opening work well.
Here’s an article about dealing with the hornets (plus lots of videos on how to make a trap if you google):
