Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Winter Solstice Good News

All my beekeeper friends, and us included, worry that our bees will not make it through the winter.  We feed and feed and put in the entry reducer (to keep out mice) and worry.  One bee keeper has already reported that her bees died.  They will not die from freezing but can die from starvation if there is not enough honey stored up or if they cannot get to it.   It is not good for the bees to open the hive box when it is cold.  It has been a very cold December in NC. 

Imagine my surprise when I looked out the window today and saw activity.  The temp is 51 and that is barely warm enough for them to venture out.  Good news that we have live bees in both hives!!



Now girls get back in there before the sun sets.
Hang in there girls ... the days are getting longer!

2 comments:

  1. This is my first year of beekeeping and I've read and heard so often that bees won't come out of the hive until the temperature is in the mid-50s. But my bees regularly come out when the temperature gets to around 45 degrees and the sun is out. It's happened repeatedly this winter and I've got two outdoor thermometers so I don't think it's my imagination.

    ReplyDelete
  2. So good to see them outside. Cant wait till I have some move into my hive. I also have a swarm catcher out.

    ReplyDelete