Closing Down of Hives and Storage of Winter Feed

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 84, Issue 3, 15 March 1952, Page 236

Closing Down of Hives and Storage of Winter Feed

Seasonal Notes for the Domestic Beekeeper

By

S. LINE,

Apiary Instructor, Department of Agriculture, Invercargill

THE period in which bees are active is now drawing to a close, when all honey in I domestic apiaries that is to be extracted should be off the hives. Commercial beekeepers may have a "hot-room" in which to store supers of cold honey to be warmed for several hours or even days and are not so dependent on the heat of summer to do their extracting. However, the domestic beekeeper cannot afford to wait long into the autumn, otherwise difficulty will be experienced in extracting cold honey. Any honey remaining on the hives may be evenly distributed among the hives as winter feed or stored away in a dry place for feeding to bees that become short of stores during winter.

AGOOD practice during earlier months was to have put aside as a reserve combs of honey (in the process of uncapping) that looked darker than the main body of honey extracted, for use especially during the following spring, when bees may be on the verge of starvation. Any combs that have been through the extractor and where honey is so thick that it fails to come out of the comb should be stacked away in supers placed on trays to catch any drips. Absorption of moisture may cause the combs to “weep” and if columns of supers are not stacked on special metal or wooden trays, a honey house floor can become saturated in places, thus causing fermentation to become established. Emptying of Tanks Any honey still being extracted is likely to granulate quickly in the tanks, so that processing will need to be given closer attention than in warmer weather. Wax particles and especially any black specks of comb should be skimmed off quickly and a starter of smooth-grained honey stirred into the body of liquid honey so that in the event of a very cold or frosty night the honey will thicken and granulate evenly and minimise the chance of coarse crystals becoming noticeable when the honey is run into containers. A thing to be guarded against during cold nights is honey setting hard in a tank. If by some oversight the beekeeper has not ordered his requirement of small honey containers well ahead and is therefore short, it will be necessary to empty the tanks into 601 b. tins, of which there should always be enough on hand for any eventuality. These tins are useful if a beekeeper wishes

to empty tanks quickly or if a larger crop is gathered than was expected. Storing Combs in Winter The method of storing extracted combs in winter will depend partly on whether there has been any foulbrood in the past in the apiary. Beekeepers with a few hives may find it practical to mark the hives and supers extracted and by keeping or returning the frames to their respective hives for cleaning up the danger of spreading disease is reduced. The mat over the brood nest is partly turned back so that without chilling the lower part the bees may have access to the wet combs and take the residue down below. There is an element of risk in placing supers of extracted wet combs outside in an exposed condition for all the bees around to clean up, as robbing may become a problem, and there is also the possibility of spreading bee diseases. Mice and Wax Moths Mice and wax moths must be prevented from destroying the combs. Supers of extracted combs represent a considerable part of the . outlay in beekeeping, and the damage a mouse could do in a column of supers in one night would easily run into pounds. If there are any faults or unevenness in the flooring that supers are stacked on, a queen excluder or wire screen should be placed over the top and under each column. In most cases wax moths can be warded off by placing a level dessertspoonful of naphthalene on a piece of paper under the base of each column. Where there are signs of the wax moth having already entered the comb, calcium cyanide in powder form would be a better deter-

rent, using 1 tablespoonful on a piece of paper placed under each stack. Where fumigants are used, however, the storing place for supers should be in another building or well away from where honey is being handled so that no foreign odours are absorbed while honey is being processed or tinned off. Wintering of Hives Preparatory to wintering down hives it will be necessary to provide a number of fresh mats to replace damaged ones. Although some beekeepers consider bees winter better without mats, the action of tugging or jerking off roofs that have become cemented down with propolis is disturbing to the bees and they are likely to be more vicious when feeding is necessary. During late autumn field mice will endeavour to find a quiet corner within a hive with consequent damage to combs, and entrance blocks or strips of wood should be on hand with a slot cut out that is no deeper than 5/16in. and 2in. to 3in. long. Where the bottom board has settled down in the earth or become lop-sided it should be raised and straightened up to allow reasonable air-space underneath. A slight slope should be given toward the entrance to drain away water that can accumulate on bottom boards in wet weather. A problem in some districts is to eliminate condensation and wet mats, but if a method is used that provides space under the roof so that air may circulate, the mats will be found to be drier than where a lid is close fitting and tight down on the mat. Hives will be more easily attended to if left 2 storeys high for the winter and if they contain about six full combs of honey in the upper box. Shelter for Apiary A breakwind such as a manuka scrub fence is desirable for hives if they have not shelter from a hedge or belt of trees, as during sunny days the warm, still air will encourage bees out for a little exercise and “cleansing flights”. From the time that bees form a compact cluster they should not be disturbed; they are depending on their combined warmth for survival during the winter period in most parts of New Zealand and only frames outside the cluster should be manipulated.