I thought that at first, too, but in the depths of winter on a cold night, there would not be any heat transfer between hives. There is an air gap between them, so the same cold air surrounds each hive. They were all wind and water tight independently. I think it's just genetics. That (survivor) 2014 queen has been special from the start. I really want to keep her alive and try to split that hive to propagate her genes!
That second mouse didn't come from the middle box did it? Have you peeked in there to make sure the mice aren't also in that box? Are you going to use a mice guard in the future?
Sorry..... is all I can say. Someone in the comments said its strange how one can get attached to bees so far away... but its so true, through your videos I've been glued to UA-cam waiting for the next one. Please don't give up we want you to succeed and we are behind you and your videos!!
A lot of beekeepers in my area ended up losing ALL of our bees. The U.S. Dept, of AG investigated with no conclusion of the loss. I have a suspicion but will not go into that. I am happy you have one hive alive.
Sorry for your loss my friend. On a brighter note you inspired me to get my own bees. I picked them up yesterday! I'm in Texas so they are already hard at work. Good luck with the next ones.
I've done everything as you've done it and will bring in my first bees this spring. I've added follower frames on the outside of the regular frames for additional dead space, and I'm using slated bottoms. Ready to go with the insulation boards, etc for this winter. Based on your strong flow hive not making it, (a mystery!) I'll try to bump up the insulation even more and will keep my fingers crossed. We had some brutally cold stretches here in NE Washington State, similar to yours. You're a rock star. Enjoying the bread, too! Thank you for sharing everything so that we can learn. Regards to you and your family. Elena
Mark Heslin Why not do both? There's still a chance the middle hive won't make it. We still have a couple months of cold nights and it is not a big hive. I'm just covering my bases. If they make it, I will definitely try to split them.
Glad to see you've at least got one hive that's got a winter under its belt. How bout it being the "weak one"? Life, uh, finds a way :) Love it! Thanks for the update, looking forward to more videos!
Sorry about your loss. But I know you'll spring back. I've been following for a while and I am now taking bee keeping classes. I even order 3 hive for this year. Thanks for giving me the push to get started.
Oh man. So sad for you. It truly sucks to lose a hive. I had a feeling the 2014 queen would make it because she was showing good signs of organizing her girls to store for winter once you started feeding them and she already had a winter or two under her belt. Good luck next year. Look forward to seeing the next video.
Man, was I so excited to see this vid. But so bummed to see the loss that you have! I've watched all your vids and how to see more in the future. Don't give up!!!!
Sorry to hear about the two hives. You should order a queen and split that survivor this spring to prevent a summer swarm and expand your empire at the same time. Congratulations on your surviving colony. Plus now you have lots of honey and comb to give other colonies a faster start this spring. Excited to learn everything with you aswell.
Bzzzant Honey I'm hoping the middle hive makes it. It's a small cluster. We're past the brutal cold of winter, but they still have months before any real nectar/pollen starts. If they make it, I will do my best to try to split them. I really want to keep that queen's line going. Hope your bees are alive!
Wow, this really is the ultimate underdog story. I feel for you losing the two hives, and I am shocked along with you about the Flow Hive. If I had to put my money on one of them back in the fall that would have been the group I went with. It is so encouraging to see the "weak hive" hanging in there though. I can't wait to follow your journey into year two! Keep up the good work!
That sucks about your hives, but I am sure you will bounce back from this loss. You have the right attitude, keep up the good work and I am looking forward to your future bee videos.
Man... That is rough! I had hoped that they would make the long winter. I think you are right to stay with good local queens! Looking forward to your continuing Bee adventures!
I'm glad to see that at least one of the hives has stayed alive. I just recently found your videos as I am building the equipment to start my first couple of beehives. I know where there are a couple of bee trees on the farm and am hoping to catch a wild swarm or two this spring. I love how you keep it real and relatable.
Hang in there. I checked my hive a month ago and things seemed fine. We had a warm week (70's!) last week and I checked and the hive was dead. Plenty of honey stores and no obvious pest problems. I'll learn what I can and start fresh in the spring. The important thing is to keep at it and continue to look at things with the critical eye and solid reasoning you have been using all along.
Sorry to hear this bud I've lost a hive this winter so know the feeling but keep it up you might want to think of building a makeshift shed to put them in over the winter or something and before getting new bees you should place some of your brood boxes with some lemon grass out around your farm in a month or 2 you could catch a couple of swarms
Damnit, I was so hyped for your first hive... Well, at least that 2014 queen proved her strength and I'm looking forward to see you splitting that hive! All the best, will stay tuned!
I been waiting for the winter report not good on the big hive but i think saved the middle hive was the fact it was the middle hive not as exposed. Really sourcing new queens just wait till spring and you will have queen cells in your good hive take a frame with queen cells and brood and split them in new boxes break the full honey frames among all three give the bees a head start. Bam three hives.
Oh what a bummer. I feel your pain. We opened ours last week to put in some pollen patties and one hive was dead, the other with just a small cluster :( Could hear them both the beginning of January but that darn cold snap kept coming and they just didn't make it. All kinds of honey around them too.
Sorry to see the flow hive bees go. Was kinda hoping that they'd be in the lower box all huddled up where you couldn't check on them. Better luck next year! And as always, a pleasure to watch your videos!
I was hoping for the best, but knew this was a possibility. It's a learning experience. I'm not going anywhere. The new season starts now. Thanks for watching.
Well, I would never have guessed that the 'old' queens hive would have been the only one to make it, congrats on that decision to keep her. I am also super stoked that you are going to continue beekeeping, especially with local queens. Nothing like honey on fresh sourdough. ;D Everything I thought of you covered in your conclusion, so nothing I can add except one thing that has always bothered me and that is your hives location. Your winters look brutal enough, yet they are fully exposed to any winds in the middle of a field. You should consider moving them among the trees I see in the background if it is still your property. I think the hives would be a bit more sheltered there. Thanks for the excellent video's.
Thanks, Douglas. Their location is why I wrapped them in tar paper plus 2" of rigid insulation. They should be very well protected from drafts and wind. I really think it's genetics. I have a line on some Russian bees. Stay tuned!
Quick question for you, I hope you still monitor this post. Thinking of raising bees in upper peninsula Michigan? Temps get very cold, in January had -50 wind chills. Thinking of moving flow hive into the green house for the winter and heating the green house to around 50 degrees thru the winter. There will be some flowers in the green house and water available. Any thoughts on this to protect the hives during extreme cold winters?
Even though an older video. This hive that survived was insulated by the other two boxes keeping it over freezing and allowing the bees to survive. I’m surprised you didn’t put a nectar feeder in when you saw activity to help the bees out instead of just fondant. Good job either way and sorry for the loss. To a better 2017 fall and winter! Which starts his month!
Darn so sorry for your huge loss. That 2014 queen must have some good thriving genes for your climatic area she could be worth keeping her lines going with a split in the next season.
Bearing in mind I know very little about bee keeping, but if hard winters are common, would a British WBC Hive be an option, as it's double walled you may even be able to put some insulating material between the two walls - Just a thought
I think 7,000 subscribers just gave a collective "awww man"!! 😭 We were pulling for all of those busy bee's. So was the conclusion that just froze to death? Looking forward to your new bees in the spring! 👍
Could it be that you were feeding the flow hive so much that there were insufficient number of winter bees produces? Maybe almost all of the bees in the booming hive were short lived summer bees and died shortly into winter. honeybeesuite.com/what-are-winter-bees-and-what-do-they-do/
Anders Kristoffersson Very interesting info. I had never heard of a winter bee before. Thank you for sharing. I still have so much to learn! Bees are so complex! 😃
Hi, I'm a first year beekeeper and I'm looking forward to going to the Essex County beekeeping classes this Feb. I need all the info I can get and I've been watching your videos. Thank you for making them. I went to get some supplies over at Crystal Bee Supply in Peabody, Ma and I was talking to Joe Gaglione about wintering bees. He was telling me that 70% of the hives didn't make it last year because of the severe overnight low temps which started going down from Jan 5 at 27 degrees to plummeting down to 15 on Jan 27th, 7 degrees on the 8th, 3 on the 9th and 8 degrees on the 10th. It did the same on Feb 9th to Feb 17th. There were very erratic temp drops, for ex. on Feb 9th at the Beverly Airport, it went from 31 degrees to 10 degrees. So I have to believe that it did have to do with these very low temps and erratic days. I can imagine how cold it gets where you live. I got this weather archive info from wunderground.com You did everything possible that I've seen about wintering bees to keep them alive during 2016/17. I'll be making the insulated cover like yours and I hope my bees will live through 2018. Let's all wish for a tame winter!
Seal, insulate and cover the inner and outer covers. All my hives survived a Canadian winter this year with no moisture box or winter entrance. Lots of energy was lost this year by heat escaping out the top of your hives.
I'm wondering if that hive being sandwiched in the middle had a little extra protection from the cold. Good videos! I have enjoyed watching you with your hives. We started beekeeping at the same time I'm just down in Florida so it's nice to get the northern perspective.
I think being in the middle helped keep it warm too. Remember to take out the honey frames and empties before it gets warm. Wax moths and robber bees will get at them. Put them in freezer or fridge until u need them. Having all that honey will help feed future Bees. Less syrup!
Sorry to see that, after all your right moves in the Fall. I guess some of those things are a bit difficult to analyze/diagnose. I'm rather new to beekeeping and last yr we lost our colony right around mid December (Northern Illinois) still w/ plenty of stores inside. This year, so far so good, they have been collecting tons of pollen few days ago when we had temps into high 60s. I got myself a BroodMinder-TH and I've been monitoring them for the past month or so. Great tool for small (few hives) beeks. Good luck this coming season!
Thanks for your episode with the Vivaldi board. My daughter and I had researched this a bit and your review of it was quite informative. Little bit late because it was around Christmas, we decided to order one but unfortunately had to wait until until late January to be able to install it. I think it's a great tool for helping the bees overwinter. Again my BroodMinder TH senses temperature and humidity and I installed it actually in the Vivaldi above the upper brood box on another fairly warm day some three weeks ago. Since then I can tell you that the relative humidity in my hive was only a couple of times in the low 70s the rest of the time it's been in the 50s and I really credit this to the good ventilation and the moisture sucking of the Vivaldi with the burlap sack. I do have a layer of inch and a half Styrofoam around my hive and over the cover. We will see. One more month and they should be "out of the woods".
I have a question. Couldn't you like wrap some insulation or something around the supers to prevent excessive heat loss? Wouldn't that increase the odds of your bees making it through the winter (you'd still have to leave openings for ventilation).
You must be new here... There is insulation on the hives. I made several videos on my winterization system last fall. It starts here and the following three videos are all about insulation... ua-cam.com/video/egix-XrxDKk/v-deo.html
The "Flow Hive" playlist on my channel covers every single thing I did with bees in the past year. I don't officially start my second year with bees until May. I'm still a noob, so don't take anything I say as expert advice. But you will see many, many things about the day-to-day general beekeeping activities you are in for. Some things worked, some things didn't, but they're all there. Thanks for watching!
with the severity of the winter months in your area I would have to say that two boxes whether the nuc size or full size is just too much for the colony to keep warm.
which direction are your hives set up facing? wild bumblebees nest facing north in order to keep the temperature stable and prevent premature waking just because of the sun, perhaps you had a problem with similar to this? also this would be worse on the outside hives as the temperature would fluctuate much more freely
Joel Kemp Hmmm. Every single thing I've read or heard since I decided to start beekeeping suggests to face hives toward the south. (In the northern hemisphere) I have never heard of facing a hive north.
you can give bees fondant? like the stuff. you can put on cakes or is there another version of fondant sorry for the stupid question I'm interested to know
At least you have the honey for the new bees to have a head start. My brother lost all his hives, but he's hopeful that what was left will make the new bees stronger.
Have been watching a while. I live in Canada so I get cold weather. There is a hive I have been quite interested in a Long Langstroth. More so since watching your videos introducing the double nuk. Generally what you have is a single long box I am sure you know of them but I was thinking it could be split into four joined hives all sharing warmth. I also was wondering if the bees wouldn't swarm better with a wider central space?
In a cold winter situation, it's much easier for clusters to move up/down than side-to-side to get to stores. I prefer a taller, narrow configuration. That's why I use 8 frames instead of 10.
Do you think the middle one survived cause it had a windbreak from the other 2 hives. What does it cost to purchase bees and where do you get them from. Thanks
Portugee Prepper That was a theory. No way to know for sure. Bees should ideally be sourced from a local supplier. In New England, pices range from about $120 for a regular package to up to $200 for a nuc (nucleus) hive. Prices vary all over the world, though.
Portugee Prepper You can buy bees two ways. A "package" or a "nuc". Save money with a package, but the nuc is basically a tiny complete hive. It will build up much faster. The package takes longer to get established. Search "package vs nuc" on UA-cam! You have a lot to learn!
And you have a lot of EXPERIENCE, man, you made me really interested in beekeeping. Keep up the hard work and I am sure with the determination you have you will succeed. Thanks!
I can't imagine how cold it gets there. so glad one hive made it. perhaps next winter the hives can be moved into a greenhouse to over winter? feeling worried about my bees. it's autumn here and winter is coming but of course Im in Australia not so freezy and theyve survived the summer heat wave
your hive that survived would be a good hive to breed from. My favorite Lazy way to raise a queen is to put a queen excluder on in the spring and lift a frame of Lava and eggs above it. make sure you have a top entrance. There will be a laying queen in the top box 30 days later, give her 2 ro 4 weeks to lay it up and put her out with the brood and nurse bees and you have a nuc with the genetics you want. To repeat just leave a frame of brood and eggs behind and 30 days later you have another queen laying away. If the hive is very strong go in there just before the queen cells are due to hatch and cut them out to make up nucs form that or other hives.
Would there be any point to wrapping a layer of insulation around hives before winter to help them maintain their own heat, or does it speak to some survival failure on the bees part if they don't make it through a winter?
Brad Gefroh The orange stuff on the hive is 2" rigid foam insulation. Below that is tar paper acting as a wind/water barrier and solar collector. The black part faces the sun.
Wow I Live in mississippi sorry for your loss . do you reccomed starting with one or two hives for a beginner im leaning toward two just incase one dies.
cattdogg1 Definitely start with two hives if you can afford it. It's not that much more work and you will learn things WAY WAY faster. It's also good to have two hives to compare with each other. (And of course, having a spare is good too)
Harwell's Honey Hive I'm ordering couple nucs. One will go in the flow hive. The other will start a new hive. I'm hoping the middle hive hangs on and takes off and I can split it this summer.
It looks like they did a combination of starved out and frozen out, because they could keep a warm cluster, while chasing that food. This is why a syrup can feeder works well, because they can cluster under the syrup feeder, keeping the syrup from freezing, and they get some moisture from syrup too. I would recommend looking into syrup feeders, and a channel named Honey Bee Honey, can show you how he does it on his videos, to get his bees through hard winters.
Oh no! I'm sorry that you lost the other hives. I really enjoyed watching you care for all of them. Is there a way to breed a queen or make another new hive from the hive that survives in the future? Like breeding them for your location, that sort of thing. Or is that way more work then I realize?
Yes, if the middle hive survives, I will try to split the hive and propagate those bees to keep the genes going. They still need to survive a couple months of cold, though! Stay tuned.
Sorry to see you lost two hives. I haven't followed the entire series of your beekeeping videos, just watched a few near the beginning. Did you have varroa mites? Were the bees fed too much? What are the plants in your area? Certain kinds of honey (like canola) tend to crystallise really quick, and the bees can't digest them without having access to water, meaning that honey is essentially useless for them during the winter as they can't leave the cluster to fetch water (so they can basically starve on what looks like a full honey comb). There might be more possible causes, but those are what I've been told are among the more frequent causes for winter losses. They may also have been overfed, meaning that there was no room left for new brood in late summer/early autumn, which might explain the seemingly tiny clusters you found. If you suspect a disease or poisoning (looks unlikely to me, though), you could also try contacting your nearest bee institute or similar place and inquire about sending in a bee sample (usually a fair amount of dead bees).
Thanks, Bob. This year, I'm trying Russians (locally bred.) I hope I have better luck with some winter hardy bees. And I hope the rest of your girls are surviving!
You'll do well with locally grown, Russian stock! Too many of us buy packages of Mediterranean-minded Italians from southern breeders in GA and FL. Nothing wrong with Italians, I have them, but I'm in GA and don't have to deal with the temperature extremes you do. The girls are doing well. As you know, 3 of 5 made it and of those, 2 are quite strong. I'll be checker boarding and/or splitting in an upcoming video.
I found out last week exactly where my bees came from last year... Wilbanks Apiaries in Claxton, GA. I got them through my mentor, who got them through an intermediary. I really didn't know the difference at the time. I've learned a LOT in a year. All three of my hives were from the same place, so that 2014 Queen came from there, too. The Russians I ordered are from a locally certified RHBA breeder about 25 minutes away. So these bees will have been born and raised in my exact climate with some degree of mite resistance... just what I need. I'm very excited for this summer. I look forward to your splitting video! I hope to be able to do that with my 2014 hive, but it'll probably be a couple months after you. Glad you still have some strong hives!
WOW Sad news but have been following your progress. Would a mouse guard have prevented their entry? I'm starting with 2 NUCs, here in Georgia, that will be ready to pick up late April. I love how you narrate and conduct your inspections. Keep up the great effort.
I received my bees from Maine and they are still alive. Most of them are darker in color so I'm thinking they are related to Russian bees. Mine hang out at the very top were the fondant is. I insulated like you did with the added rigid foam on top and it prevented the condensation on the burlap. I also used one of those bee cozies. I'm concerned about the warm up this week and the deep freeze again this weekend. I hope the two extremes don't catch the bees off guard. Maybe there was a mite problem? It's strange how the bees died in the cells which is suppose to indicates starvation but then there was plenty of honey the next frame over?
Glad to hear your bees are alive. Mine came from Georgia and I won't be doing that again. I've reserved some local bred Russian bees to replace the ones I lost. Yes, dying with all that food right there indicates there was something else going on. As someone else stated in the comments, probably some kind of pathogen due to the mites last fall. There will be a follow up video in a couple days.
Where did you find some local Russians? I only have one and as of right now it's doing well. I ordered another package, but they're coming from CA. I won't ever get GA bees again. Never had any luck with them.
This is my first hive so I can't tell you for certain if they are Russian bees. It's just that the majority are darker than the rest. I thought I had missed the season but found someone from Maine listing bees on Ebay. I had no experience when I picked up the bees at the mail distribution center and drove home with them on the front seat. I installed them on July 1st and just kept feeding them syrup into the fall. I either got lucky or they are a hardy local strain of bees.
Spencer Brennan Sorry I didn't see this the other day. Warm Colors Apiary in South Deerfield, MA. They're an RHBA certified breeder. Their site is not loading for me at the moment, but they had Russian Nucs available as of last week.
The hives look to be insulated on only three sides. If so the cold is going to strike through the front of the hive. The hives look real pretty . Perhaps a simplistic view towards beekeeping.
Damn dude, feel REALLY sorry about the state of the bees... Such a winter can decimate the best of hives. Would definitely ask Cody's Lab for some tips or hints if required for such colder climates.
You did everything you could man - sorry for your losses. If I had to choose 3 things you could try next year: (1) Put food DIRECTLY ON the frames, rather than making them break cluster to get at the food. (2) Build a simple windbreak (alcove) out of black fabric. (3) put a black plastic skirt around the base of the hives (greenhouse affect). I'm in Leominster MA and my beekeeper mentors lost 4 out 5 last year, but I've still got 2 double deep 10 frames - alive (so far). My bees had no honey last fall - I had to supplement with 2:1 syrup in late Sept, so both hives started winter from a deficit. What counts (in my nubee opinion), is that I put the food is *DIRECTLY* on the frames. (I used 'Beverly Bee' method for insulating - sugar shim with a 1/4 in screen w/sugar&pollen patty directly on the frames (1/2 hole in front), igloo style inner board, poly insulation, standard outercover, and I just used tar paper around and on top, BUT! I also made a cheap passive solar heater (black board wrapped in a black and clear trashbags) in front of my hives that slopes up towards the entrance (like a child's playground slide). The other thing I noticed is that your hives are out in the open with no windbreaks, and the wind sweeps under them. As another person commented - maybe the center hive did better than the flow hive, because it was sheltered by the other two. And also the other two were narrower (8 frame flow, and 5 frame nuc) - they hold less heat. where your center hive was 10 frame?. - like all bee keepers - we're just trying to figure it out. I will probably try insulation next year on the 2 non-sunny sides and top, but also will build a larger passive heater on front - that will look more like a solar evaporator. (Plexiglas with an air gap and insulation behind - thanks for the Great Stuff glue video!.) From research, I've learned that the **most important thing** is for the bees to be able to "Break cluster and move around on cold days to reach those stores in the other parts of the hive". In your flow hive - there were stores, but they never left the cluster to get them. That's the key. Also be sure to over feed your bees in AUGUST. Take care of the bees that take care of the bees that go into winter. Good luck this year! ...Don...
Don Rota Thanks, Don. Great suggestions. I will definitely be modifying things this season. I appreciate the comments. Stay in touch! I'd love to see your solar heating concepts.
After all tour effort and loving care, it is sad and desappointing. But you keep up and that's super. This year will be full of honey. Just a quick question : why didn't you start with waxed frames rather than the empy ones ? It would have been faster and you'd have had honey no ?
How did a mouse get into the hive? I thought usually in winter time bee keepers would seal up the whole hive leaving just a small enough hole for bees to get out.
I always resist the temptation to open hives in winter. even when it`s +10C. Anyway i just check if some bees are going out. I`m always afraid that opening them will affect a hive that barely made it up to then...
I would guess you never put apavar like you did in the nuc and weak right hive. So mites in the flow hive. When you were standing there after lifting up the mouses home they went into the medium hive. both jumped up and went in it looked like. Hope they made it with mice.
After all your effort and loving care, it is sad and desappointing. But you keep up and that's super. This year will be full of honey. Just a quick question : why didn't you start with waxed frames rather than the empy ones ? It would have been faster and you'd have had honey no ?
Stay positive, you have one strong hive that made it throe the winter. My suggestion is that you make three mini nukes (mini nuke is about 1 frame volume) take 1 with food ,1 with fresh laid eggs and 1 drown empty frame split all frames in 3 parts and put them in mini nukes empty drown frame cut in strips of frame width and pinch at 1-2" apart to the mini-frame so the cells are vertical shake bees from 2 frames in each mini nuke to make them super packed and close them - do not let them exit for 1 day next day put them in different field (2-3 miles away preferably) and let them out for orientation flights. Making sure to keep them packed and sealed inures you that bees have two combined instincts (1 is swarming) to make new queens. Since they have food and eggs (from your queen) they will make good young queens. From this mini nukes when they have queen you can make nukes and if they are real good move them to regular hive. To be sure to have fresh laid eggs put empty frame near the frame with queen so she can lay eggs there. Next day take that frame to make mini nukes.
Vincent Gonzalez I'm working on a wind break now. I have mouse guards to install, the electric fence is the best defense against bears and we don't have wolves. Coyotes, yes, but they are not a bee problem around here. Next winter will be better. Although, I can't be certain any of these things caused the death of these hives. It was more than likely disease or swarming that weakened the colony and then cold killing the remaining tiny cluster.
sorry to see, I was hoping they were going to make it . Don't know much about bees but you tried your best. Is there a reason why bee keepers don't store them inside a barn or something ?
You don't want to be moving your hives around too much. And you don't want them to warm up (artificially) early in the spring (in a barn or something) because they'll fly out looking for nectar and pollen before it's available. The idea is to find bees that can survive the cold on their own so they break cluster and leave the hive when spring arrives and food is available.
it think the problem here is upper ventilation holes, when bees cluster to make some heat, as hot air moves up, heat goes from upper ventilation holes and makes inside colder. Maybe closing upper ventilation holes could help bees to preserve heat they generated by clustering.
I don't think there would be much cold transfer through 2 layers of coreflute, 2" of rigid foam, plus the 3" of vivaldi board space... but I hadn't really thought of it.
Vino Farm I just ask because although unrelated, I recently installed a small hot tub, and even though it came with an insulated bottom I was advised to install on a wood base (deck) with 3 inch rigid board for more insulation value, as opposed to putting it directly on cement (highly discouraged). It was just a thought for the hives as I realized the bees may have perished from the cold. I do appreciate all your videos and efforts. I'm learning with you too. I'm located near Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
One more thing, if the bees get trapped in a section with no immediate honey around them during a sudden cold snap, even a frame away, they can starve because they ball up and don't move to the new stores. Sometimes bad timing can cause that. My colony #2 is tiny aswell, started large, genetics may be at play with mine, she is being replaced in spring.
Yes, I know they could have been trapped. We had some really cold stretches over the last couple months. It's such a bummer that there was so much honey right there!
Hey, I'm enjoying your videos. Are you aware that FlowHive has a very active forum that you can join for advice? You can upload photos, talk to people from around the world and particularly in your area. Can't help but think it could help you.
This is going to be my first year. I just got a package. So that's y I was asking. I'll bee following your videos a lot more. Thanks for the insight and the encouragement for new beekeepers....
Try doing 2 brood boxes next time. Bees need more food and in the North, they need 2 full brood boxes of Honey and Pollen. I am even giving them a honey super with 3 frames of sealed honey and fondant. I live in NY so its not much different in temps. Keep in mind that bees start at the bottom and work upwards. They will use just the center frames and may still have honey in the outer frames. They can not travel too far from the cluster so this is out of reach in most cases. I am not surprised that your NUC didnt make it. You need more bees for warmth than that can provide as well as food. On a positive note...I like the foam insulation idea. I was planning to do that this year but with thinner sheets and get the face material so to resist weathering. I am thinking 2 sheets should cover 4 hives. The 5th hive I have is not going to make it through the winter. I have already accepted that.
Ray Gerwitz The hive I lost was two full deeps. They died with half a box of honey left in the top box. The one that survived was a double high medium but they were a much smaller cluster going into winter. This year we're going into winter with two double deep hives and that survivor hive is a triple medium.
Vino Farm sounds like a week hive going into winter and they froze out. I am trying some new things this winter with much stronger hives and leaving a honey super on as well as feeding fondant. Live and learn. Good luck
This was the first video I watched last week. Now I am caught up on the playlist :( sad news I hope it gets better. YOu are doing everything I want to do. Bees and sourdough bread I failed at sourdough but time to kick it in gear again. Try try again.
Dang forgot which hives lost. So sad about the flowhive we have put so much work into that hive. and by we I mean you of course :) I am binge watching these so on to season 2.
Do you think the other two hives served as wind breaks and protected the survivor hive? Wind can drop the temp of what it hits. Easy to get attached - I sure thought the Flow Hive would make it.It would be so hard to find the losses. Now you have a big following who is sad along with you.
It's amazing how emotionally attached you can get to some bees several thousand miles away. Keep on going Jim!
Dan Vitale
*EXACTLY* I'm up here in Canada, and feel for him!!!
Could it beee that the two outside hives where helping to insulate the one in the middle?
I thought that at first, too, but in the depths of winter on a cold night, there would not be any heat transfer between hives. There is an air gap between them, so the same cold air surrounds each hive. They were all wind and water tight independently. I think it's just genetics. That (survivor) 2014 queen has been special from the start. I really want to keep her alive and try to split that hive to propagate her genes!
Definitely a good point.
Shawn Bauer Bees never die because of cold...
but it is still shilded from wind more then the others
That second mouse didn't come from the middle box did it? Have you peeked in there to make sure the mice aren't also in that box? Are you going to use a mice guard in the future?
Sorry..... is all I can say. Someone in the comments said its strange how one can get attached to bees so far away... but its so true, through your videos I've been glued to UA-cam waiting for the next one. Please don't give up we want you to succeed and we are behind you and your videos!!
never clicked so fast on a video ....was waiting for this for so long
same, I have been so excited to see!
me too
ritesh joshi me too :D
Fflintiii me three!!
A lot of beekeepers in my area ended up losing ALL of our bees. The U.S. Dept, of AG investigated with no conclusion of the loss. I have a suspicion but will not go into that. I am happy you have one hive alive.
Engineering winter
Sorry for your loss my friend. On a brighter note you inspired me to get my own bees. I picked them up yesterday! I'm in Texas so they are already hard at work. Good luck with the next ones.
I've done everything as you've done it and will bring in my first bees this spring. I've added follower frames on the outside of the regular frames for additional dead space, and I'm using slated bottoms. Ready to go with the insulation boards, etc for this winter. Based on your strong flow hive not making it, (a mystery!) I'll try to bump up the insulation even more and will keep my fingers crossed. We had some brutally cold stretches here in NE Washington State, similar to yours.
You're a rock star. Enjoying the bread, too! Thank you for sharing everything so that we can learn. Regards to you and your family. Elena
Sorry for the loss. Thank you for sharing your experience.
Mate, Do not buy new bees,
use the stock you have to create your new hives,
they survived so have the right genes !!!
Mark Heslin Why not do both? There's still a chance the middle hive won't make it. We still have a couple months of cold nights and it is not a big hive. I'm just covering my bases. If they make it, I will definitely try to split them.
Glad to see you've at least got one hive that's got a winter under its belt. How bout it being the "weak one"? Life, uh, finds a way :) Love it! Thanks for the update, looking forward to more videos!
Sorry about your loss. But I know you'll spring back. I've been following for a while and I am now taking bee keeping classes. I even order 3 hive for this year. Thanks for giving me the push to get started.
may those brave bees rest in vallhala
never forget
Been waiting for this for so long...sorry you lost 2 hives. You did everything you could. Will keep watching and rooting for your bees !
Oh man. So sad for you. It truly sucks to lose a hive. I had a feeling the 2014 queen would make it because she was showing good signs of organizing her girls to store for winter once you started feeding them and she already had a winter or two under her belt. Good luck next year. Look forward to seeing the next video.
Elissa Pond Yes. I always liked that 2014 queen. She was a rock star from the start. I hope she's still in there!
Man, was I so excited to see this vid. But so bummed to see the loss that you have! I've watched all your vids and how to see more in the future. Don't give up!!!!
Sorry to hear about the two hives. You should order a queen and split that survivor this spring to prevent a summer swarm and expand your empire at the same time. Congratulations on your surviving colony. Plus now you have lots of honey and comb to give other colonies a faster start this spring. Excited to learn everything with you aswell.
Bzzzant Honey I'm hoping the middle hive makes it. It's a small cluster. We're past the brutal cold of winter, but they still have months before any real nectar/pollen starts. If they make it, I will do my best to try to split them. I really want to keep that queen's line going. Hope your bees are alive!
Wow, this really is the ultimate underdog story. I feel for you losing the two hives, and I am shocked along with you about the Flow Hive. If I had to put my money on one of them back in the fall that would have been the group I went with. It is so encouraging to see the "weak hive" hanging in there though. I can't wait to follow your journey into year two! Keep up the good work!
That sucks about your hives, but I am sure you will bounce back from this loss. You have the right attitude, keep up the good work and I am looking forward to your future bee videos.
Man... That is rough! I had hoped that they would make the long winter. I think you are right to stay with good local queens! Looking forward to your continuing Bee adventures!
I'm glad to see that at least one of the hives has stayed alive. I just recently found your videos as I am building the equipment to start my first couple of beehives. I know where there are a couple of bee trees on the farm and am hoping to catch a wild swarm or two this spring. I love how you keep it real and relatable.
This was a rough day. But you have the New England attitude that is so strong and so good. We can thank the girls for what they taught us all.
R.i.p. Thanks for sharing your journey. Im going to try this spring with my own
Sad but chin up. Spring is soon coming, renewal for us all. Good luck for those lovely months when life comes back. Mick
Mick Grewcock Chin is up. Spring is coming. Thanks Mick!
Hang in there. I checked my hive a month ago and things seemed fine. We had a warm week (70's!) last week and I checked and the hive was dead. Plenty of honey stores and no obvious pest problems. I'll learn what I can and start fresh in the spring. The important thing is to keep at it and continue to look at things with the critical eye and solid reasoning you have been using all along.
Matt Barrett Sorry to hear you lost your hive. It's sad, but I was mentally prepared for it from day one. Onward!!
Sorry to hear this bud I've lost a hive this winter so know the feeling but keep it up you might want to think of building a makeshift shed to put them in over the winter or something and before getting new bees you should place some of your brood boxes with some lemon grass out around your farm in a month or 2 you could catch a couple of swarms
Damnit, I was so hyped for your first hive... Well, at least that 2014 queen proved her strength and I'm looking forward to see you splitting that hive! All the best, will stay tuned!
I been waiting for the winter report not good on the big hive but i think saved the middle hive was the fact it was the middle hive not as exposed. Really sourcing new queens just wait till spring and you will have queen cells in your good hive take a frame with queen cells and brood and split them in new boxes break the full honey frames among all three give the bees a head start. Bam three hives.
I plan to do both. New hives and split that one if they make it. We still have a few more cold months to go.
Oh what a bummer. I feel your pain. We opened ours last week to put in some pollen patties and one hive was dead, the other with just a small cluster :(
Could hear them both the beginning of January but that darn cold snap kept coming and they just didn't make it. All kinds of honey around them too.
Sorry for your losses, hopefully your middle hive will make it yet. :) I lost my hive too, so I also am looking forward to start anew this spring!
Sorry to see the flow hive bees go. Was kinda hoping that they'd be in the lower box all huddled up where you couldn't check on them. Better luck next year! And as always, a pleasure to watch your videos!
I was hoping for the best, but knew this was a possibility. It's a learning experience. I'm not going anywhere. The new season starts now. Thanks for watching.
2 many mites... not enough ventilation!
Did you check your mite strips!
so sorry. way to have a great attitude about it. can't wait to see what's coming up!
Well, I would never have guessed that the 'old' queens hive would have been the only one to make it, congrats on that decision to keep her. I am also super stoked that you are going to continue beekeeping, especially with local queens. Nothing like honey on fresh sourdough. ;D Everything I thought of you covered in your conclusion, so nothing I can add except one thing that has always bothered me and that is your hives location. Your winters look brutal enough, yet they are fully exposed to any winds in the middle of a field. You should consider moving them among the trees I see in the background if it is still your property. I think the hives would be a bit more sheltered there. Thanks for the excellent video's.
Thanks, Douglas. Their location is why I wrapped them in tar paper plus 2" of rigid insulation. They should be very well protected from drafts and wind. I really think it's genetics. I have a line on some Russian bees. Stay tuned!
Vino Farm I thought you were looking into hygienic bees? VSH
Quick question for you, I hope you still monitor this post. Thinking of raising bees in upper peninsula Michigan? Temps get very cold, in January had -50 wind chills. Thinking of moving flow hive into the green house for the winter and heating the green house to around 50 degrees thru the winter. There will be some flowers in the green house and water available. Any thoughts on this to protect the hives during extreme cold winters?
Is your greenhouse heated in the winter?
Even though an older video. This hive that survived was insulated by the other two boxes keeping it over freezing and allowing the bees to survive. I’m surprised you didn’t put a nectar feeder in when you saw activity to help the bees out instead of just fondant. Good job either way and sorry for the loss. To a better 2017 fall and winter! Which starts his month!
Darn so sorry for your huge loss. That 2014 queen must have some good thriving genes for your climatic area she could be worth keeping her lines going with a split in the next season.
Is there anyway to build a portable structure to place over the hives and protect them on really cold nights?
Bearing in mind I know very little about bee keeping, but if hard winters are common, would a British WBC Hive be an option, as it's double walled you may even be able to put some insulating material between the two walls - Just a thought
So sad 😢 I was one of the few hundreds who started watching the hive beginning of fall. So sad to see the hive deserted.
I think 7,000 subscribers just gave a collective "awww man"!! 😭 We were pulling for all of those busy bee's. So was the conclusion that just froze to death? Looking forward to your new bees in the spring! 👍
Cause of death has not and may not ever be determined, but an autopsy video will follow. Stay tuned!
Could it be that you were feeding the flow hive so much that there were insufficient number of winter bees produces? Maybe almost all of the bees in the booming hive were short lived summer bees and died shortly into winter. honeybeesuite.com/what-are-winter-bees-and-what-do-they-do/
Anders Kristoffersson Very interesting info. I had never heard of a winter bee before. Thank you for sharing. I still have so much to learn! Bees are so complex! 😃
My Pleasure, Honey Bee Suite is an amazing source of information :)
Hi, I'm a first year beekeeper and I'm looking forward to going to the Essex County beekeeping classes this Feb. I need all the info I can get and I've been watching your videos. Thank you for making them. I went to get some supplies over at Crystal Bee Supply in Peabody, Ma and I was talking to Joe Gaglione about wintering bees. He was telling me that 70% of the hives didn't make it last year because of the severe overnight low temps which started going down from Jan 5 at 27 degrees to plummeting down to 15 on Jan 27th, 7 degrees on the 8th, 3 on the 9th and 8 degrees on the 10th. It did the same on Feb 9th to Feb 17th. There were very erratic temp drops, for ex. on Feb 9th at the Beverly Airport, it went from 31 degrees to 10 degrees. So I have to believe that it did have to do with these very low temps and erratic days. I can imagine how cold it gets where you live. I got this weather archive info from wunderground.com You did everything possible that I've seen about wintering bees to keep them alive during 2016/17. I'll be making the insulated cover like yours and I hope my bees will live through 2018. Let's all wish for a tame winter!
Seal, insulate and cover the inner and outer covers. All my hives survived a Canadian winter this year with no moisture box or winter entrance. Lots of energy was lost this year by heat escaping out the top of your hives.
I am happy your back with bee videos. Sorry for your losses. Looking forward to see more about you beekeeping. greetings from england/germany
I'm wondering if that hive being sandwiched in the middle had a little extra protection from the cold. Good videos! I have enjoyed watching you with your hives. We started beekeeping at the same time I'm just down in Florida so it's nice to get the northern perspective.
I think being in the middle helped keep it warm too. Remember to take out the honey frames and empties before it gets warm. Wax moths and robber bees will get at them. Put them in freezer or fridge until u need them. Having all that honey will help feed future Bees. Less syrup!
Sorry to see that, after all your right moves in the Fall. I guess some of those things are a bit difficult to analyze/diagnose. I'm rather new to beekeeping and last yr we lost our colony right around mid December (Northern Illinois) still w/ plenty of stores inside. This year, so far so good, they have been collecting tons of pollen few days ago when we had temps into high 60s. I got myself a BroodMinder-TH and I've been monitoring them for the past month or so. Great tool for small (few hives) beeks. Good luck this coming season!
I do want to try a thermometer next year. I hope your bees pull through!
Thanks for your episode with the Vivaldi board. My daughter and I had researched this a bit and your review of it was quite informative. Little bit late because it was around Christmas, we decided to order one but unfortunately had to wait until until late January to be able to install it. I think it's a great tool for helping the bees overwinter. Again my BroodMinder TH senses temperature and humidity and I installed it actually in the Vivaldi above the upper brood box on another fairly warm day some three weeks ago. Since then I can tell you that the relative humidity in my hive was only a couple of times in the low 70s the rest of the time it's been in the 50s and I really credit this to the good ventilation and the moisture sucking of the Vivaldi with the burlap sack. I do have a layer of inch and a half Styrofoam around my hive and over the cover. We will see. One more month and they should be "out of the woods".
That's great!
I have a question. Couldn't you like wrap some insulation or something around the supers to prevent excessive heat loss? Wouldn't that increase the odds of your bees making it through the winter (you'd still have to leave openings for ventilation).
You must be new here... There is insulation on the hives. I made several videos on my winterization system last fall.
It starts here and the following three videos are all about insulation... ua-cam.com/video/egix-XrxDKk/v-deo.html
Cool, and yes, I am new here. Starting to get interested in bees and I'm trying to gather information. :D Thanks for the link.
The "Flow Hive" playlist on my channel covers every single thing I did with bees in the past year. I don't officially start my second year with bees until May. I'm still a noob, so don't take anything I say as expert advice. But you will see many, many things about the day-to-day general beekeeping activities you are in for. Some things worked, some things didn't, but they're all there. Thanks for watching!
with the severity of the winter months in your area I would have to say that two boxes whether the nuc size or full size is just too much for the colony to keep warm.
do you now use a heater for them?
So fascinating to actually see this because I want to start doing this
which direction are your hives set up facing? wild bumblebees nest facing north in order to keep the temperature stable and prevent premature waking just because of the sun, perhaps you had a problem with similar to this? also this would be worse on the outside hives as the temperature would fluctuate much more freely
Joel Kemp Hmmm. Every single thing I've read or heard since I decided to start beekeeping suggests to face hives toward the south. (In the northern hemisphere) I have never heard of facing a hive north.
you can give bees fondant? like the stuff. you can put on cakes or is there another version of fondant sorry for the stupid question I'm interested to know
At least you have the honey for the new bees to have a head start.
My brother lost all his hives, but he's hopeful that what was left will make the new bees stronger.
Have been watching a while. I live in Canada so I get cold weather. There is a hive I have been quite interested in a Long Langstroth. More so since watching your videos introducing the double nuk. Generally what you have is a single long box I am sure you know of them but I was thinking it could be split into four joined hives all sharing warmth. I also was wondering if the bees wouldn't swarm better with a wider central space?
In a cold winter situation, it's much easier for clusters to move up/down than side-to-side to get to stores. I prefer a taller, narrow configuration. That's why I use 8 frames instead of 10.
Do you think the middle one survived cause it had a windbreak from the other 2 hives. What does it cost to purchase bees and where do you get them from. Thanks
Portugee Prepper That was a theory. No way to know for sure. Bees should ideally be sourced from a local supplier. In New England, pices range from about $120 for a regular package to up to $200 for a nuc (nucleus) hive. Prices vary all over the world, though.
Vino Farm I'm in MA as well. What's a nuc hive? Sorry 😐 trying to learn
Portugee Prepper You can buy bees two ways. A "package" or a "nuc". Save money with a package, but the nuc is basically a tiny complete hive. It will build up much faster. The package takes longer to get established. Search "package vs nuc" on UA-cam! You have a lot to learn!
I am so sorry about your loss.
And you have a lot of EXPERIENCE, man, you made me really interested in beekeeping. Keep up the hard work and I am sure with the determination you have you will succeed. Thanks!
Sorry you lost so many - best of luck with the hives into 2017, looks like you might want to look into weather wraps for Jan-Feb chills.
BluesLicks101 You're right. It's the January/February dip I really need to worry about. I'll look into addressing that next winter. Always learning.
I can't imagine how cold it gets there. so glad one hive made it. perhaps next winter the hives can be moved into a greenhouse to over winter? feeling worried about my bees. it's autumn here and winter is coming but of course Im in Australia not so freezy and theyve survived the summer heat wave
Have you started using the apimaye yet
I lost two hives one time when I moved them and was very rooky, it really got to me, you really get attached to those little guys!
your hive that survived would be a good hive to breed from. My favorite Lazy way to raise a queen is to put a queen excluder on in the spring and lift a frame of Lava and eggs above it. make sure you have a top entrance. There will be a laying queen in the top box 30 days later, give her 2 ro 4 weeks to lay it up and put her out with the brood and nurse bees and you have a nuc with the genetics you want. To repeat just leave a frame of brood and eggs behind and 30 days later you have another queen laying away. If the hive is very strong go in there just before the queen cells are due to hatch and cut them out to make up nucs form that or other hives.
Would there be any point to wrapping a layer of insulation around hives before winter to help them maintain their own heat, or does it speak to some survival failure on the bees part if they don't make it through a winter?
Brad Gefroh The orange stuff on the hive is 2" rigid foam insulation. Below that is tar paper acting as a wind/water barrier and solar collector. The black part faces the sun.
Oh! Good to know, thanks for the quick reply!
Wow I Live in mississippi sorry for your loss . do you reccomed starting with one or two hives for a beginner im leaning toward two just incase one dies.
cattdogg1 Definitely start with two hives if you can afford it. It's not that much more work and you will learn things WAY WAY faster. It's also good to have two hives to compare with each other. (And of course, having a spare is good too)
Are you thinking to move the surviving hive into your flow hive after the thaw? Or start fresh in the flow hive with a new Nuc?
Harwell's Honey Hive I'm ordering couple nucs. One will go in the flow hive. The other will start a new hive. I'm hoping the middle hive hangs on and takes off and I can split it this summer.
It looks like they did a combination of starved out and frozen out, because they could keep a warm cluster, while chasing that food. This is why a syrup can feeder works well, because they can cluster under the syrup feeder, keeping the syrup from freezing, and they get some moisture from syrup too. I would recommend looking into syrup feeders, and a channel named Honey Bee Honey, can show you how he does it on his videos, to get his bees through hard winters.
honey bee honey gave some tips to vino farm.
me mo Honey Bee Honey has been very helpful, but Syrup feeders will not work in my climate.
Vino Farm - That's a bummer....
Vino Farm
hope you can get better conditions in the future .
why there is no warming system for the hives
Oh no! I'm sorry that you lost the other hives. I really enjoyed watching you care for all of them. Is there a way to breed a queen or make another new hive from the hive that survives in the future? Like breeding them for your location, that sort of thing. Or is that way more work then I realize?
Yes, if the middle hive survives, I will try to split the hive and propagate those bees to keep the genes going. They still need to survive a couple months of cold, though! Stay tuned.
Sorry to see you lost two hives. I haven't followed the entire series of your beekeeping videos, just watched a few near the beginning. Did you have varroa mites? Were the bees fed too much? What are the plants in your area? Certain kinds of honey (like canola) tend to crystallise really quick, and the bees can't digest them without having access to water, meaning that honey is essentially useless for them during the winter as they can't leave the cluster to fetch water (so they can basically starve on what looks like a full honey comb). There might be more possible causes, but those are what I've been told are among the more frequent causes for winter losses. They may also have been overfed, meaning that there was no room left for new brood in late summer/early autumn, which might explain the seemingly tiny clusters you found. If you suspect a disease or poisoning (looks unlikely to me, though), you could also try contacting your nearest bee institute or similar place and inquire about sending in a bee sample (usually a fair amount of dead bees).
Sorry to see the losses. Glad to see the determination.
Thanks, Bob. This year, I'm trying Russians (locally bred.) I hope I have better luck with some winter hardy bees. And I hope the rest of your girls are surviving!
You'll do well with locally grown, Russian stock! Too many of us buy packages of Mediterranean-minded Italians from southern breeders in GA and FL. Nothing wrong with Italians, I have them, but I'm in GA and don't have to deal with the temperature extremes you do.
The girls are doing well. As you know, 3 of 5 made it and of those, 2 are quite strong. I'll be checker boarding and/or splitting in an upcoming video.
I found out last week exactly where my bees came from last year... Wilbanks Apiaries in Claxton, GA. I got them through my mentor, who got them through an intermediary. I really didn't know the difference at the time. I've learned a LOT in a year. All three of my hives were from the same place, so that 2014 Queen came from there, too. The Russians I ordered are from a locally certified RHBA breeder about 25 minutes away. So these bees will have been born and raised in my exact climate with some degree of mite resistance... just what I need. I'm very excited for this summer. I look forward to your splitting video! I hope to be able to do that with my 2014 hive, but it'll probably be a couple months after you. Glad you still have some strong hives!
WOW Sad news but have been following your progress. Would a mouse guard have prevented their entry? I'm starting with 2 NUCs, here in Georgia, that will be ready to pick up late April. I love how you narrate and conduct your inspections. Keep up the great effort.
My first winter with my hive, I've attached heating pad on the sides. Heating pad for reptiles
I received my bees from Maine and they are still alive. Most of them are darker in color so I'm thinking they are related to Russian bees. Mine hang out at the very top were the fondant is. I insulated like you did with the added rigid foam on top and it prevented the condensation on the burlap. I also used one of those bee cozies. I'm concerned about the warm up this week and the deep freeze again this weekend. I hope the two extremes don't catch the bees off guard. Maybe there was a mite problem? It's strange how the bees died in the cells which is suppose to indicates starvation but then there was plenty of honey the next frame over?
Glad to hear your bees are alive. Mine came from Georgia and I won't be doing that again. I've reserved some local bred Russian bees to replace the ones I lost. Yes, dying with all that food right there indicates there was something else going on. As someone else stated in the comments, probably some kind of pathogen due to the mites last fall. There will be a follow up video in a couple days.
Where did you find some local Russians? I only have one and as of right now it's doing well. I ordered another package, but they're coming from CA. I won't ever get GA bees again. Never had any luck with them.
This is my first hive so I can't tell you for certain if they are Russian bees. It's just that the majority are darker than the rest. I thought I had missed the season but found someone from Maine listing bees on Ebay. I had no experience when I picked up the bees at the mail distribution center and drove home with them on the front seat. I installed them on July 1st and just kept feeding them syrup into the fall. I either got lucky or they are a hardy local strain of bees.
Spencer Brennan Sorry I didn't see this the other day. Warm Colors Apiary in South Deerfield, MA. They're an RHBA certified breeder. Their site is not loading for me at the moment, but they had Russian Nucs available as of last week.
NewEnglandgardening That does sound pretty lucky!
The hives look to be insulated on only three sides. If so the cold is going to strike through the front of the hive. The hives look real pretty . Perhaps a simplistic view towards beekeeping.
Damn dude, feel REALLY sorry about the state of the bees... Such a winter can decimate the best of hives. Would definitely ask Cody's Lab for some tips or hints if required for such colder climates.
You did everything you could man - sorry for your losses. If I had to choose 3 things you could try next year: (1) Put food DIRECTLY ON the frames, rather than making them break cluster to get at the food. (2) Build a simple windbreak (alcove) out of black fabric. (3) put a black plastic skirt around the base of the hives (greenhouse affect). I'm in Leominster MA and my beekeeper mentors lost 4 out 5 last year, but I've still got 2 double deep 10 frames - alive (so far). My bees had no honey last fall - I had to supplement with 2:1 syrup in late Sept, so both hives started winter from a deficit. What counts (in my nubee opinion), is that I put the food is *DIRECTLY* on the frames. (I used 'Beverly Bee' method for insulating - sugar shim with a 1/4 in screen w/sugar&pollen patty directly on the frames (1/2 hole in front), igloo style inner board, poly insulation, standard outercover, and I just used tar paper around and on top, BUT! I also made a cheap passive solar heater (black board wrapped in a black and clear trashbags) in front of my hives that slopes up towards the entrance (like a child's playground slide). The other thing I noticed is that your hives are out in the open with no windbreaks, and the wind sweeps under them. As another person commented - maybe the center hive did better than the flow hive, because it was sheltered by the other two. And also the other two were narrower (8 frame flow, and 5 frame nuc) - they hold less heat. where your center hive was 10 frame?. - like all bee keepers - we're just trying to figure it out. I will probably try insulation next year on the 2 non-sunny sides and top, but also will build a larger passive heater on front - that will look more like a solar evaporator. (Plexiglas with an air gap and insulation behind - thanks for the Great Stuff glue video!.) From research, I've learned that the **most important thing** is for the bees to be able to "Break cluster and move around on cold days to reach those stores in the other parts of the hive". In your flow hive - there were stores, but they never left the cluster to get them. That's the key. Also be sure to over feed your bees in AUGUST. Take care of the bees that take care of the bees that go into winter. Good luck this year! ...Don...
Don Rota Thanks, Don. Great suggestions. I will definitely be modifying things this season. I appreciate the comments. Stay in touch! I'd love to see your solar heating concepts.
After all tour effort and loving care, it is sad and desappointing. But you keep up and that's super. This year will be full of honey. Just a quick question : why didn't you start with waxed frames rather than the empy ones ? It would have been faster and you'd have had honey no ?
Thanks for this update 👍
How did a mouse get into the hive? I thought usually in winter time bee keepers would seal up the whole hive leaving just a small enough hole for bees to get out.
Sorry you lost some of your bees. You should try to catch a feral swarm this spring and video it.
I always resist the temptation to open hives in winter. even when it`s +10C. Anyway i just check if some bees are going out. I`m always afraid that opening them will affect a hive that barely made it up to then...
I would guess you never put apavar like you did in the nuc and weak right hive. So mites in the flow hive. When you were standing there after lifting up the mouses home they went into the medium hive. both jumped up and went in it looked like. Hope they made it with mice.
so sad for you and the bees. looking forward to your next bee adventure !
After all your effort and loving care, it is sad and desappointing. But you keep up and that's super. This year will be full of honey. Just a quick question : why didn't you start with waxed frames rather than the empy ones ? It would have been faster and you'd have had honey no ?
I'm thinking the middle one was insulated by the other two hives. I'm sure sorry, I was looking forward to seeing your hives survive the winter.
Stay positive, you have one strong hive that made it throe the winter.
My suggestion is that you make three mini nukes (mini nuke is about 1 frame volume)
take 1 with food ,1 with fresh laid eggs and 1 drown empty frame
split all frames in 3 parts and put them in mini nukes
empty drown frame cut in strips of frame width and pinch at 1-2" apart to the mini-frame so the cells are vertical
shake bees from 2 frames in each mini nuke to make them super packed and close them - do not let them exit for 1 day
next day put them in different field (2-3 miles away preferably) and let them out for orientation flights.
Making sure to keep them packed and sealed inures you that bees have two combined instincts (1 is swarming) to make new queens. Since they have food and eggs (from your queen) they will make good young queens.
From this mini nukes when they have queen you can make nukes and if they are real good move them to regular hive.
To be sure to have fresh laid eggs put empty frame near the frame with queen so she can lay eggs there.
Next day take that frame to make mini nukes.
Sad hoping the best for you this season. I really recommend local bees, from a swarm or a nuc. Swarms are willing to build!
I knew the 2014 queen was gonna make it! The satisfaction of being right about the old queen!
how would wind block walls and low scrub work for the temperature? maybe some deterrent plants for mice, rats, bears and wolves?
Vincent Gonzalez I'm working on a wind break now. I have mouse guards to install, the electric fence is the best defense against bears and we don't have wolves. Coyotes, yes, but they are not a bee problem around here. Next winter will be better. Although, I can't be certain any of these things caused the death of these hives. It was more than likely disease or swarming that weakened the colony and then cold killing the remaining tiny cluster.
So sorry for the sad news 😿 I lost my hive too in my first year but have ordered some new bees 🐝 and been given two more hives for free😎
why didn't you bring them indoors?
sorry to see, I was hoping they were going to make it . Don't know much about bees but you tried your best. Is there a reason why bee keepers don't store them inside a barn or something ?
You don't want to be moving your hives around too much. And you don't want them to warm up (artificially) early in the spring (in a barn or something) because they'll fly out looking for nectar and pollen before it's available. The idea is to find bees that can survive the cold on their own so they break cluster and leave the hive when spring arrives and food is available.
it think the problem here is upper ventilation holes, when bees cluster to make some heat, as hot air moves up, heat goes from upper ventilation holes and makes inside colder. Maybe closing upper ventilation holes could help bees to preserve heat they generated by clustering.
are you at all concerned with the cinder blocks transferring cold to hives?
I don't think there would be much cold transfer through 2 layers of coreflute, 2" of rigid foam, plus the 3" of vivaldi board space... but I hadn't really thought of it.
Vino Farm I just ask because although unrelated, I recently installed a small hot tub, and even though it came with an insulated bottom I was advised to install on a wood base (deck) with 3 inch rigid board for more insulation value, as opposed to putting it directly on cement (highly discouraged). It was just a thought for the hives as I realized the bees may have perished from the cold. I do appreciate all your videos and efforts. I'm learning with you too. I'm located near Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
What is the solar panel next to the hive??
It charges the battery for the electric bear fence.
One more thing, if the bees get trapped in a section with no immediate honey around them during a sudden cold snap, even a frame away, they can starve because they ball up and don't move to the new stores. Sometimes bad timing can cause that. My colony #2 is tiny aswell, started large, genetics may be at play with mine, she is being replaced in spring.
Yes, I know they could have been trapped. We had some really cold stretches over the last couple months. It's such a bummer that there was so much honey right there!
Hey, I'm enjoying your videos. Are you aware that FlowHive has a very active forum that you can join for advice? You can upload photos, talk to people from around the world and particularly in your area. Can't help but think it could help you.
@VinoFarm..... Was this your first overwintering?
Cory Summers Yes. I got these bees last May.
This is going to be my first year. I just got a package. So that's y I was asking. I'll bee following your videos a lot more. Thanks for the insight and the encouragement for new beekeepers....
The hive that survived, was it 2 deeps????
Cory Summers The survivor hive was two 10 frame mediums. The flow hive was two 8 frame deeps.
I'm trying to figure out what I want to run.
Try doing 2 brood boxes next time. Bees need more food and in the North, they need 2 full brood boxes of Honey and Pollen. I am even giving them a honey super with 3 frames of sealed honey and fondant.
I live in NY so its not much different in temps.
Keep in mind that bees start at the bottom and work upwards. They will use just the center frames and may still have honey in the outer frames.
They can not travel too far from the cluster so this is out of reach in most cases.
I am not surprised that your NUC didnt make it.
You need more bees for warmth than that can provide as well as food.
On a positive note...I like the foam insulation idea.
I was planning to do that this year but with thinner sheets and get the face material so to resist weathering.
I am thinking 2 sheets should cover 4 hives. The 5th hive I have is not going to make it through the winter. I have already accepted that.
Ray Gerwitz The hive I lost was two full deeps. They died with half a box of honey left in the top box. The one that survived was a double high medium but they were a much smaller cluster going into winter. This year we're going into winter with two double deep hives and that survivor hive is a triple medium.
Vino Farm sounds like a week hive going into winter and they froze out.
I am trying some new things this winter with much stronger hives and leaving a honey super on as well as feeding fondant.
Live and learn.
Good luck
This was the first video I watched last week. Now I am caught up on the playlist :( sad news I hope it gets better. YOu are doing everything I want to do. Bees and sourdough bread I failed at sourdough but time to kick it in gear again. Try try again.
Dang forgot which hives lost. So sad about the flowhive we have put so much work into that hive. and by we I mean you of course :) I am binge watching these so on to season 2.
Do you think the other two hives served as wind breaks and protected the survivor hive? Wind can drop the temp of what it hits. Easy to get attached - I sure thought the Flow Hive would make it.It would be so hard to find the losses. Now you have a big following who is sad along with you.
Super, just saw the video on your extra wind break!
Man that is realy sad. Not my bees but after watching all your vids you fell for those bees.