Campbell's Honey

The weather is chilly, the leaves are almost gone from the trees, and the bees have a winter's supply of honey in the brood-chambers. Mid October is the time we pack up the bees for the long cold winter, which usually means deep snow, and temperatures down to -25 C. The snow is beneficial, in that it acts as insulation which helps to moderate hive temperatures, but too much cold, especially with a wind, can freeze the bees, or chill them to the point of  starvation, in a brood-chamber filled with honey.

Winter packing at Campbell's Honey has evolved from a wrapping of Tar Paper and straw for insulation thirty years ago, to a heavy commercial black plastic bag which we pull down over the hive, and a piece of carpet cut to fit under the top cover of the colony.

The Black plastic attracts heat in the the sunshine, which warms the bees and enables them to move within the cluster to the next frame of honey which is their food. Although there is little or no insulation value in the plastic bag, it stops the wind, and traps the heat. The piece of carpet goes on top of the plastic bag and under the outer hive cover. A ventilation hole in the plastic bag at the top of the hive allows the moisture to escape. For every lb. of honey that the bees consume there is an equal amount of water given off. When this condensation is trapped in the hive it condenses on the hive top and drips down, thereby causing certain death to the bees.

Today  before we packed, we were pulling the  two mite strips which were inserted between the frames of the upper brood chamber 47 days ago for control of Varroa Mites.

This concludes the  honeybee manipulations, and medications, for this year.

Questions or Comments Welcomed.