Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 9
Overwintering your bees:
autumn to spring
PREPARING FOR WINTER
Now that you have completed the harvest and your colonies have settled down again,
you should start thinking about two things - storing your honeycomb and preparing
your hives for winter. For most beekeepers, the management of their bees is really
centred around honey flows, and the early autumn may be a time when you wish to
move your bees to the heather (in the UK), for example, or to a late crop if you are in
Spain. Before you do this, remember that the colony must be inspected to make sure
it has:
no diseases (see Chapter 10);
sufficient bees for the purpose (it's no good taking a depleted stock); and
a laying queen.
Apart from storing honeycomb and preparing for winter, the only other task after the
harvest is to go right through your apiary and inspect every hive. Winter is approaching,
and your colonies must go into winter as strong as possible. If there is any uniting to do
to boost certain weak colonies, do it now before wintering the hives down.
Moving your hives for the winter
If colonies need to be moved to winter sites, this is the time to do it. For many
beekeepers - especially commercial operators - honey-collecting and winter sites may
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