Preparing for October : 21 LOOKING AHEAD Preparing for October Adam Leitch, Master Beekeeper, NDB
ast month we talked about feeding and this month I am going to discuss feeding some more. Why is it so important? Every year, colonies die from starvation and, in many cases, this could have been prevented had sufficient stores been provided by the beekeeper.
L Leaving a Food Super
Feeding sugar syrup isn’t the only option. Some beekeepers leave a super for the bees which means, as you head into winter, a super full of honey remains on the hive, ie, you are temporarily running a brood-and-a-half. However, as the super is just to provide additional stores that the bees have collected, it isn’t really a brood-and-a-half in terms of providing additional space for the queen to lay. It
Bees will eat fondant over winter on days when it is warm enough to leave the cluster
is simply a method to increase access to stored food for your colony over winter.
Our series looks ahead to the priorities for next month
September 2016 Vol 98 No 9
When leaving an additional super of stores, it is important to remove the queen excluder as, during the winter months, the bees in the cluster may well eat their way through the stores. Then, as they move up from the brood chamber into the super, it is important the queen does not get trapped under a queen excluder. Left on her own, she will become chilled and die. You should also be careful about the risk of transferring diseases between colonies. Leave the colony with only that honey it has collected itself. One of the disadvantages of such a technique is that next spring the colony may start
rearing brood in the super. Many beekeepers do not wish to run a brood-and-a-half, ie, brood extending into a super above the deep brood frames during the active season. To reduce this risk, some beekeepers place the super underneath the brood chamber in the autumn. Bees eat their way through the stores from bottom to top so the super can be easily removed at some point towards the end of winter, without disturbing the colony, once it is empty. Larger brood chambers than those of National hives do not normally need supers of food for winter because they have additional capacity. So it is normally only those running a National or WBC that add a super of stores.
Apimondia Gold Medal for Popular Beekeeping Journals, 2007, 2013 and 2015
Fondant An alternative method to
provide winter food is to give your bees fondant. This is a soft form of sugar candy which is added in blocks or tubs directly over the brood chamber frames. Bees will consume it during the
Fondant can be bought ready- made in handy packs
www.bee-craft.com
Claire Waring
Margaret Cowley
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