THE APIARY.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume XL, Issue 3, 20 March 1930, Page 208

THE APIARY.

Preparations for Winter.

The time is at hand when it is of paramount importance that proper preparation be made for winter in the apiary. If the colonies are to winter in good order, so as to escape the abnormal losses which sometimes occur, then it behoves the beekeeper to attend to the leading factors that ■ensure successful wintering. The attendant evils of neglect are starvation, spring dwindling, and poor colonies, these latter being of little account when the next season’s flow arrives. Among the most important factors which make for success are a strong cluster of bees, a good queen, plenty ■of good stores, and protection.

Strong Clusters'.— lt is safe to say that too little attention is paid to wintering the colonies with strong clusters of young bees. Having secured a crop of honey, and noting that the colonies are strong in bees, the beekeeper is often satisfied to trust to chance. At the close of the season the ■colonies are likely to contain a large force of bees, but the majority, having helped to gather the season’s crop, are old, and in consequence cannot be taken into account in wintering. As a result, unless large numbers of young bees are being raised to take the place of the old stock, the colonies will •seriously dwindle in the spring or become a total loss in winter. Every ■effort must be made to keep up breeding well into the winter, and it is ■often advantageous to stimulate the colonies by autumn feeding.

Good Queens. Next in importance is the necessity for the colony to be headed by a good queen. Too little attention is paid to superseding failing •queens. A queen that has laid vigorously, during the honey season is likely to become worn out and her powers of reproduction diminished. In all •cases these. queens should be replaced and a vigorous young mother supplied. It often happens that the bees recognize a failing queen and set to work to supersede her, but this work should be anticipated by the beekeeper. Other things being equal, stocks headed by . a vigorous mother are likely to keep up late breeding, with a result that the colonies will come •out in the spring with a prolific queen, and the bees attendant upon queenless hives will be greatly diminished.

Ample Stores.— the beekeeper studies his interests and the welfare of his bees he will ensure that every colony goes into winter quarters with plenty of good stores. This is a most important factor, and upon it depends largely the staving-off of starvation which faces the bees during the months which follow. The colonies that are supplied with honey winter safely, build up early in the spring, and are ready to take advantage of the nectar from the early-flowering plants. Beginners often ask how much honey .should be left for the bees to winter on. The amount necessary must to some extent depend largely upon locality, and care must be exercised, more particularly in the South, to provide sufficient food so that winter feeding may not have to be resorted to. In the North winter feeding may be ■successfully carried out, as there is not the same risk in breaking up the ■clusters as there is in the extreme South. In no case should a colony be left with less than 30 lb. of sealed honey, and it. is wise to increase this amount to 40 lb. Abundance of stores is essential if winter losses are to be eliminated altogether. • : '

—E. A. Earp,

Protection. Another important factor in safe wintering is that of protection. This may be provided by housing the bees in good watertight hives, and protecting them by good shelter-hedges or fences. Great winter losses occur every year in this country through lack of attention to the hives, more particularly to the roofs. Leaky roofs are an abomination, and should not be tolerated under any circumstances. By allowing the roofs to leak the mats and hives become damp, and the consequent drain on the stores is largely in order to keep up the heat of the cluster for safe wintering. It is safe to state that where the bees are kept dry the amount of food consumed to keep up the heat of the cluster will be small as compared with the stores eaten where proper protection has not been afforded by the beekeeper. New Zealand in general being a wind-swept country, it behoves the beekeeper to see that the bees are located in a sheltered position. Cold winds militate against brood-rearing, and also prevent the bees from, taking a cleansing flight during the spring months.

Senior Apiary Instructor, Wellington