The January Thaw

In the middle of the winter we often experience a short period of warm weather, a “January thaw.” During such a warm spell, bees will break out of their winter cluster to move about the hive and collect stored honey. If outside temperatures are above 50 degrees Fahrenheit, bees will be seen flying from the hive. Some are gathering nectar from skunk cabbage and dandelions; some are collecting water to liquify stored honey; and some are making cleansing flights to eliminate stored body waste. The January thaw is a good time for the beekeeper to make his or her first quick check of the bee hives. Since there is likely to be brood in the hives, they cannot be opened for a thorough inspection. We don’t want to break apart the brood nest or leave the hive open except for a very short time else risk chilling and killing the brood. However, we can determine whether a particular hive is running out of stored food by gently lifting the back of the hive and comparing its weight to other hives. Any light-weight hives likely need some emergency feeding to carry the bees through the winter. Also, any hives that show large numbers of bees located in the upper-most portion of the hive likely need emergency feeding. The bees in these hives have likely consumed the stored honey above their brood nest, or their stored honey is located in a portion of the hive that the bees will not access. In either case, the colonies risk starvation, the greatest killer of honey bees.

Mid-winter feeding of bees is emergency feeding. It can be accomplished by feeding full frames of honey taken from other hives or from the beekeeper’s storage. Gently scratch the capping to expose the honey, and place the frames directly above the brood nest. Dry sugar can be fed above the hive’s inner cover as in today’s photo. A wooden shim lifts the outer cover to accommodate extra sugar.

--Richard

Feeding Honey Bees

When the honey bee split from its wasp ancestors about 100 million years ago, it took on a diet based upon food derived from the newly evolving flowering plants. A mutually beneficial strategy for survival of the bees and the flowering plants soon developed. The bees found carbohydrate in the sweet and attractive nectar from the flowers. They also found protein, fats, vitamins, and minerals in the pollen that these new flowering plants produced. Between the nectar and the pollen the bees assembled a complete diet needed to reproduce and thrive. With the honey bees’ assistance, the flowers got pollinated and reproduced in a much more efficient manner than had existed before when plants relied on the wind to distribute pollen. Together, the honey bees and flowering plants flourished. The flowering plants that reproduced most effectively were the ones that were the most successful in attracting honey bees and other available pollinators. They attracted the bees by offering a reward of sweet tasting nectar. They also provided attractive odors and visual clues to help the bees find the flowers. Blossoms developed with various colors, shapes, and patterns of petals. Many flowers developed ultraviolet nectar guides to direct the honey bees to the center of the flower to help ensure effective pollination.

While honey bees survive quite well with their unique ability to gather nectar and make high-energy food, honey, to carry the colony through dearth and winter seasons without available food, managed colonies do need supplemental feeding at certain times. Beekeepers regularly feed bees heavy syrup of sugar or high fructose corn syrup, both healthy bee foods, in the fall for the bees to convert to stored honey for the winter. Over winter, beekeepers can feed fondant, a candy made of sugar and corn syrup. In the spring, beekeepers often stimulate the bees to forage by feeding the colonies diluted syrup similar to the sugars in flower nectar. Beekeepers also use sugar syrup to deliver medications to the colonies when necessary.
--Richard