Looking toward spring

Last week's lovely weather in the 60's gave me a chance to open up my hives and see what was going on. I had realized after our extended bout with severe cold that all the hives appeared dead. When it topped 50 degrees and there was no activity, that was a sure sign. Although both the tan long hive and the swarm hive - the vertical hive - had shown signs of life in early January, there was no sign of life when the weather warmed.

In the tan long hive, I found debris on the bottom board that looked like the results of robbing. There was no honey at all in the combs. There was a very small dead cluster and virtually no dead bees on the bottom board. That meant that the small number that survived until January had been robbed out in the fall and had no chance of survival for several weeks of intense cold.

The long blue hive had not had any signs of life even in January. It was also robbed out and there were no dead bees in the hive. Likely it was long gone before fall arrived.

The vertical hive which was populated by the swarm had a lot of honey in it - which likely came from the other two hives. There was a small dead cluster and a large number of dead bees on the bottom board. Likely the swarm was not acclimated well to severe weather and hadn't properly clustered and wasn't prepared for the long, cold interlude we had in January. That is the problem with swarms in our area. They are often left behind by the commercial beekeepers who overwinter in warm climates.

I cleaned up all three hives and left the two long hives ready for two nucleus hives I have reserved for spring. I found some overwintered Michigan nucs. Hopefully this will be the start of better times in the Abbott Farms beeyard! The vertical hive I left with one deep of frames. Just in case some hardy swarm survived this winter and wants to find a new home. We will see.

I brought in the honey from the vertical hive and will crush and strain it. That will also give me some more beeswax for crafting.

All was not a loss from last summer. I got enough honey to last me until now, and with what I just collected, I may make it until I can get more off my own hives. I also was able to get the bees to draw out more comb for me, so although I have to start with new bees, I have more drawn comb to give them to give them a head start.