Winterizing the bees

October 19, 2009 at 3:25 pm | Posted in Beekeeping | Leave a comment

We harvested the honey last weekend. We did not get very much, only a few jars full. A lot of beekeepers have said that they had disappointing yields this year, because of all the rain. We still had fun with Barony members collecting the honey.

I winterized the hive today by putting in my final preparations for them to survive the winter. I have also started feeding them a sugar syrup so that they will have plenty of resources. Last year they did not make it through the winter, so I am being extra careful this year.

Whenever I go into the hive I always worry afterward that I’ve damaged the queen. No matter how careful I try to be, I always end up crushing a few bees when I put everything back together again. It makes me crazy worrying if it was the queen bee and the hive will collapse without her. It’s unlikely, but I’m paranoid anyway.