We have now reached the time of year where we know that either our hives have made it through most of the winter or that they have been lost.
This extraordinarily warm winter has been such a contrast to last winter where hives needed to be large to make it through the brutal cold. This year was great for small hives as well as for those larger ones. That is, provided the varroa mites did not get them in the fall.
It became apparent this winter that while many hives were doing very well enjoying the relatively warm weather, a significant number of hives had already died. The reason for this goes back to our unusually warm fall. Here’s what happened.
Most of us treated our hives to remove varroa mites last summer between late July and the end of August. Up until that time, mite levels in hives were not too bad. The aim was to get rid of almost all the mites to allow the colonies to build up a good population of mite-free, fat, healthy bees that would live for six months or so over the winter.
There were some beekeepers who, for some reason, did not treat their hives for mites. Sometimes you can get away with this, more frequently, however, you cannot.
Normally, the cold weather in late September and October brings a halt to the bees production of brood (young) as they concentrate on food storage and sealing up the hives with a glue-like substance called propolis, for winter. But last fall was not normal. The weather stayed warm for many weeks. Bees continued to rear brood, and developing brood is what mites need to feed and reproduce. Those hives that had not been treated for mites, suddenly had a very rapidly rising mite population.
Worse still, mites, (who are like a giant tick to a bee), bring many kinds of viruses and bacteria into the hive, infecting their hosts. During the cold nights the bees had to huddle together (cluster) to keep warm. With all the bees in the hive packed closely together, viruses spread quickly. The sick bees do not stay in the hive, rather they leave the hive to die, saving their sisters the task of carrying out their diseased bodies. Within a week or two, the populations in these hives had crashed from being full of bees to being very low, leaving perhaps a hundred pounds of honey uneaten.
At the same time as this was happening, the first frost in September brought an end to the flow of the majority of nectar into the healthy, mite free hives. As the days were still nice and warm, bees were still flying, desperately seeking any source of food they could find. Soon they found hives whose population of mite and virus infested bees had crashed leaving all this food almost unguarded. In a matter of days they would rob the honey from the hives, overwhelming the low, sickly population. In the process of moving the huge bounty of honey, thousands of virus carrying mites climbed aboard the robber bees and were carried back to hives once free of mites. With brood rearing still going on because of the warm weather, mites now boomed in population in these hives, too.
Over the next month or two these hives started to die. But by this time the weather had become too cold for them to be robbed out.
Fortunately, not all hives suffered this fate. The majority of our hives stayed relatively mite free and have done very well this winter. As long as they do not run out of food before the nectar flows start, they will be big and strong by the end of May.
For those that did lose their hives, it’s time to restock hives with new bees.
I have already sold-out of my first consignment of 3-pound packages of bees with queens arriving in late April. Fortunately, I have a second shipment arriving in early May. Other beekeepers prefer to stock their hives with larger nucleus colonies, also called nucs. My nucs will be ready in early June, and they are selling out fast.
Those beekeepers who lost their hives last year after not treating for mites, should reconsider their approach to managing hives and mite levels. For those of us who did treat but still lost hives, the lesson to take on board is keep checking mite levels in the hives, even after mite treatments, and if necessary, treat again late in the fall.
I will again be at the Bangor Garden Show April 15-17. I will be giving talks on Saturday and Sunday. Stop at our booth and say hello and pick-up some honey and other bee related products!
Peter Cowin, aka The Bee Whisperer, is president of the Penobscot County Beekeepers Association. His activities include honey production, pollination services, beekeeping lessons, sales of bees and bee equipment, and the removal of feral bee hives from homes and other structures. Check out “The Bee Whisperer” on Facebook, email petercowin@tds.net or call 299-6948.