Preparing for winter

[judith.ribenfors]

Thankyou

 

[Norton Caff]

I've started feeding syrup as very little summer stores. What does anyone do with fondant that has gone hard?

Out of interest what make of fondant is it? My fondant has never gone hard.

 

[plain_hunt]

It’s probably empty a week after you put it there.
I used to put honey I couldn’t extract under but always found the outside four frames were too mouldy to save so I try to get the bees to rob the honey down. If they won’t then it’s extracted and fed.

I was wondering about trying to get the bees to rob it down. Do you put it above the crownboard, and scratch the frames? If it works, then it saves me a lot of effort.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Crownboard with feeder hole reduced to one bee space, empty super then super you want robbed down.

 

[jimmiestan]

Crownboard with feeder hole reduced to one bee space, empty super then super you want robbed down.

Our local [Dingwall] assoc had a v good talk by a bee diseases inspector a few weeks ago. Re. extracted, wet super frames, "don't leave them out and only feed back to the hive from whence they came". [I find that a shame really but makes sense re. foulbroods]

 

[Erichalfbee]

I would never ever leave them out
If your bees are all healthy in my mind there is no reason you can’t put any super frame on any hive. When supers come off you should be doing a thorough brood check anyway. That’s shaking the bees off every frame and having a good look at the brood. I wouldn’t expect a complete beginner to do that but they should find someone to help them with that.
I store my supers wet and they go back willy nilly on any hive that needs them in the spring.
Do bee inspectors expect us to code each frame and make sure each goes back in the same colony?
I bet they don’t do that themselves

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I would never ever leave them out
If your bees are all healthy in my mind there is no reason you can’t put any super frame on any hive. When supers come off you should be doing a thorough brood check anyway. That’s shaking the bees off every frame and having a good look at the brood. I wouldn’t expect a complete beginner to do that but they should find someone to help them with that.
I store my supers wet and they go back willy nilly on any hive that needs them in the spring.
Do bee inspectors expect us to code each frame and make sure each goes back in the same colony?
I bet they don’t do that themselves

even when at Sand Hutton doing the DASH training it was accepted that it was daft to expect supers to go back on the same hives, even taking supers back to the same apiary was seen as a gold plated system.

Unfortunately when it seems the BBKA condone open feeding it's an uphill slog

 

[Erichalfbee]

Unfortunately when it seems the BBKA condone open feeding it's an uphill slog

They certainly seemed to in one piece in the mag but I would fervently hope the editor just didn’t read it before it went to print.

 

[jimmiestan]

I'd also be pretty sure they don't do that ! We've wrapped supers up, frozen them for 48 hours, boxed for the winter.....but did leave some filters/pans with residue a good 40 metres away from the hives -- near a wasp-attracting plum tree........cleaned up nicely ready for dishwasher. btw our ivy [we have MASSES] is alive + humming right now when rain stops.

 

[jimmiestan]

I'd also be pretty sure they don't do that ! We've wrapped supers up, frozen them for 48 hours, boxed for the winter.....but did leave some filters/pans with residue a good 40 metres away from the hives -- near a wasp-attracting plum tree........cleaned up nicely ready for dishwasher. btw our ivy [we have MASSES] is alive + humming right now when rain stops.

So maybe no honey/residue should be left out??

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

They certainly seemed to in one piece in the mag

it's been suggested more than once - so not just an editorial oversight

 

[Erichalfbee]

So maybe no honey/residue should be left out??

Spot on. Leave nothing out for any bees to clean up.

 

[Newbeeneil]

Spot on. Leave nothing out for any bees to clean up.

Exactly, you never know who’s bees are also cleaning up the honey and what diseases they are carrying.