Did our bees survive the arctic blast? 02/01/2024
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- Опубліковано 4 жов 2024
-  We had an unusually warm day so we took advantage of it and checked on the bees’ food stores. It’s a warm spell, they’re out buzzing around using energy looking for food, but it’s the dead of winter! We fired up the smoker and drove the trails to visit all three of our bee yards. We gave everyone Hive Alive fondant from Hillco Bees, in preparation of our next cold weather blast. 
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I see hungry honey bees, hungry bees this year. Blessed Days Gary.
They have definitely hit it hard this year. Take care DC.
I was just thinking about the challenges of raising queens in high wind and you said it. haha
Out of the thirteen I raised, 7 came back from mating flights. For several reasons but Oklahoma winds sure don’t help. Take care.
Looking good to me. Even the small ones.
Thanks Joey. Hopefully they will be making honey soon. Take care.
I had lost one very strong colony that was huge. There was 8 frames of Honey but they didn't move move to get on it and likley starved. Disappointing but the other 9 are good. Yours look good!
Yes some will move and some won’t. Crazy. Glad your other 9 made it. My Carniolans always get down so low you don’t think they will make it. But by mid March they catch up to the Italians. Take care Jon.
What's your secret to keep the smoker going? If I over pack with leaves, which I like to use since they're free, then the smoker can't get enough airflow to stay lit.
I find starting with cardboard helps leave airspace at the bottom. Then alternating leaves and bbq pellets all the way it will stay lit for hours. Hope that helps. Take care.
Great to see yall back at it and that your bees are doing good. I was pretty skeptical of those small splits going into winter but you are close to getting them thru. I agree those young queens will really fill those boxes when Spring is here for good. You can probably accelerate that in a few weeks and prevent swarms by moving over some capped brood from your production hives. Hopefully we dont get a late freeze after the bloom starts.
No doubt. Last year we had a late freeze that really set them back. Hopefully no late freezes this year and no late splits either. Take care.
Hey Gary , hope all your bees pull through , Ive never used the fondant, does it work better than the sugar, I find it is very expensive.
I definitely see a better build up when feeding fondant. It is more expensive. Take care Brad.
Thanks for sharing Gary!! Glad most of the girls are really doing good even though this weather for y’all and so many others is so crazy!
@meloneycrews Thanks! Take care