As this is my first winter with my bees I wondered if there were any handy hints for winterising here.
I was thinking of removing the super so there would be less to heat. I’ve got a 10 frame brood box with the QE above and a second 10 frame for honey storage.
I’m going to modify two inner covers to give myself extra space for supplemental feeding as I don’t want to give access to the roof space.
Also, I ordered some bee patties but my order was substituted with 2 tubs of bee sausage. It is more or less the same and is it given to the bees the same way as sugar syrup?
Any information gladly received.
Good idea. And also gives you a chance to do some maintenance on super while it is off. In our climate it is not so critical to have it removed. Last 3 winters I was keeping supers on out of interest but found no benefits in doing this. Disadvantages were more pronounced.
Same thing but in different package. You need to form parties yourself before feeding it to bees. Usually paties placed right on top of the frames. However, you don’t need it till spring really.
Thanks for the info. My super definitely needs some maintenance as the frames are a really tight fit. I’m going to sand back the inside to give myself a bit extra room.
Do you think I should put my entrance reducer on over winter?
It will not hurt, particularly if the hive is exposed to the wind.
Cheers. Terrible weather here today.