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November - December

This information is for the North Alabama area. If you are a novice beekeeper in other parts of the world, join a local beekeeping association and ask known-experienced beekeepers for similar advice. If unfamiliar with your advice giver, check his credentials with other beekeepers. Beekeepers with little experience have a tenancy to give advice that might well be bad! I find that the best advice is based on experience and not necessarily education. All advice in this post is intended for the novice beekeeper.
More experienced beekeepers may have the skills to attempt practices not recommended for the novice.

Update 12/20/2023

Should the weather get really cold, there is a chance that you might loose really small colonies. This can possibly be avoided by placing the small colony above a big colony with only a double screen between them. The natural heat loss from the larger colony will rise and help warm the smaller colony. You need to use a double screen to prevent the bees touching each other. If the bees are allowed to touch each other they will likely unite into one larger colony and one queen will likely be lost. If that happens you can always split the combined hive next spring and you will be back to 2 colonies again.

It is however important that they have adequate winter stores. Winter stores should have been added 2 months ago but if you missed a hive or they consumed more than anticipated, feed them. The feed should be above the cluster so Boardman feeders, baggie feeders and the like are not suitable to prevent starvation in really cold weather.

it is a good idea to add a little extra water to your normal 2:1 sugar. This will help prevent it from crystallizing. However you feed, make sure the liquid is available to the bees.

WINTER FEED

As of mid December 2023, we have had virtually no cold weather here in north Alabama.  As the result, honeybees have been flying most every day.  It seems that flying consumes more honey stores that warming the cluster so check your bees for stores. If needed, feed 2:1 syrup.

Update 11/14/2023

Generally speaking, in this area of north Alabama, there is not much going on in the bee yard right now except to make sure you have adequate feed for the bees to make it through the winter.

If your bees need feed, it is best to feed a 2:1 sugar mix or Fructose 55 full strength (if using top jar or bucket feeder, make sure the Fructose is "thin" enough to go through the holes in your feeder).   If too thick add water as required. If a hive had adequately weight on a recent inspection, check it again. Be aware that 2:1 sugar syrup and especially Fructose 55 may require larger holes in a jar top feeder in extreme cold weather also, thick syrup will sometimes crystallize in a feeder jar, so check them regularly.
(click here for syrup mixing suggestions).

In this area of north Alabama the bees need a minimum of 60 lbs. of honey to safely survive winter.  100 lbs. is better because that provides a safety margin. A general rule is that one full Medium (Illinois) super is approximately 60 lbs. (approx. 5 gallon).

If you have a colony that is out, or near out, of food and you are feeding to prevent starvation, the syrup needs to be such that the bees can cluster directly under and in contact with the feed. A "through the inner cover" feeder is probably best or some form of fondant on the top bars or where the bees can cluster directly under the food. Baggie feeders should not be used to prevent starvation because the bees have to break the cluster to get on top of the baggie. In cold weather, they can't do that.

MOUSE GUARDS

Get your mouse guards on all hives. An entrance reducer should serve well as a mouse guard. They are not there to help keep the hive warm but to prevent mice entering and making a "super messy" winter home.

Unless you have a compelling reason to open your hives, do not open them.

If you do need to open a hive it is best to wait for a warm day when the bees in the yard are flying.

General information

1. Make sure you leave adequate stores for your bees to survive the winter. To be safe, try and leave about 100 lbs. of honey. In this area (north Alabama), I recommend a deep “brood chamber” and one additional medium. The medium should be full of honey (approximately 60 lbs. which is roughly 5 gallons). You can also overwinter two deeps or three mediums.
2. Remember, if you sell (or consume) comb honey, it should be stored in a deep freeze for 3 days to kill Lesser Wax Moth eggs before it is sold or consumed.
   1. Honey stored in a deep-freeze, should not crystallize. The ideal crystallization temperature for honey is 54°F. Any warmer or cooler will slow the process.
3. Reduce the hive entrance during late fall and winter months to prevent the entrance of field mice. Most bottom boards are “reversible” if turned shallow opening up; no entrance reducer is needed. If you turn deep entrance up, you need to use an entrance reducer.
   1. Entrance reducers should be placed “slot up”. Some winter die off is normal. “Slot up” allows the live bee to climb over the dead bees to exit.
4. If your removed supers have any dark combs (particularly if caused by having had brood in them), they are a target for wax moths. If needed, treat them as follows: ·
   1. Use Moth Crystals PDB (Para dichlorobenzene) do not use Moth Balls (Naphthalene).
   2. Stack supers to be treated 3 high, then place a ¼ sheet of newspaper with about 3 TBL spoons of PDB.
      1. Repeat every 3 supers.
   3. Close all lower entrances, as fumes are heavier than air.
   4. If a queen excluder is placed above the top PDB, you will get better air circulation and more effective results.
   5. Check the stack at least once a month, if PDB has evaporated, replace it.
   6. Before you re-use the treated equipment let it air well (until no odor is present) before using with live bees.

   NOTE: If combs are not discolored and / or you desire not to use PDB, cross stack the supers so as to allow maximum light and ventilation exposure. Wax moths hate both light and circulating air. Be sure and protect all stored equipment from mice.

5. Start your planning and shopping list for next year. Remember that suppliers will normally not ship foundation in cold weather due to the probability of breakage in shipment. Since we (The Madison County Beekeepers) do not have another official meeting until next year, don’t forget to leave clues such as beekeeping supply catalogs with items marked so your spouse or other obligated gift giver can find them.
   1. OR
   2. Discuss your planned purchases with said gift giver as though you want their input. Make sure you mention that you plan to purchase just after Christmas to allow time to build and paint. This way you plant a gift idea in their mind and assure them they will not duplicate a “surprise” purchase.
6. Decide soon what your bee needs are for next year and get package, split and queen bee orders in as soon as the supplier will take orders. March may be too late.
 
7. Make sure you have left adequate stores for your bees to survive the winter. If too light, feed sugar syrup or high Fructose corn syrup or other methods of choice.
8. If you leave a queen excluder in an active hive, make sure it is above the food chamber so the queen can reach the food.
   1. Reasons to leave a QE include spacing above menthol (between the menthol which is on the top bars of the top most box and the inner cover) to allow better air circulation.
9. It is unlikely that you will be harvesting honey this late in the year but if you do make sure that it has not been medicated. If you have a super of medicated honey that you would like to harvest:
   1. Remove and harvest the top super from any other colony that has not been medicated; replace it with the medicated super. CAUTION; make sure you do not take the queen in either super.
10. Keep weeds trimmed from entrance as this hinders flight and ventilation.
11. If you have weak failing colonies between now and winter, mix them with a strong colony.
    1. HOW TO MIX
       1. Remove the outer and inner cover from the strong colony.
       2. Place a sheet of newspaper on top where inner cover was; make sure it covers the entire super. Make sure it has no holes big enough for a bee to pass through.
       3. Separate the weak hive from its bottom board.
       4. Set the weak hive on top of the newspaper.
       5. Slide the inner cover on the top (weak) hive back ¼ inch or so to allow ingress – egress.
       6. Put a spacer (entrance reducer works well) to prop the outer cover up to allow the bees to go in and out.
    2. WHY TO MIX
       1. If they are weak and you re-queen.
       2. You will be out the cost of a queen.
       3. You will be out the cost of medication.
       4. They may not make it through the winter.
    3. If they are weak and you combine them.
       1. You greatly increase the likelihood that they will survive the winter
       2. You have no additional cost
       3. Come spring, you can split them, if they are strong enough.
          1. If they are not strong enough, you may have lost both colonies had you tried to over winter separately.
12. Robbing as the result of taking honey off or medicating.
    1. It is unlikely that you will be taking surplus honey off this late in the year but if you do take the following steps to help prevent the bees robbing each other:
       1. Place an entrance reducer ‘big side up’ in the entrance.
       2. Make sure no other holes exist in the hive.
       3. Stop up the vent hole in the inner cover or place a menthol bag over the IC vent hole.
          1. The bees do not like the menthol odor and will not try and enter the vent hole.
    2. If you create a Bee robbing problem while Beekeeper robbing, the following procedure will sometimes stop robbing:
       1. Immediately insert “or change” an entrance reducer with the smallest opening exposed.
       2. Stop up the inner cover vent hole and all other openings.
       3. Place one of your Fume Boards over hive entrance.
       4. First charge it with Fishers Bee Quick (or equal) place the end on the entrance point on the bottom board as far away from the entrance as practical (charged side in), prop the other end against the front of the hive. Scotch it with a steel “T” post or similar.
       5. Smoke the outside of the hive heavily.
       6. Do not remove Fume Board until after dark that day or the next day.
       7. Re-orient entrance reducer with big slot exposed within the next few days, and this time of year, leave it until spring.
       8. Unstop IC vent hole a few days later.
    3. How do you tell a hive is being robbed?
       1. The hive being robbed will have thousands of bees frantically trying to get in the entrance and any other opening in the hive as well as the interface point between supers even though the can not enter there. You will be able to hear a lord roar a little like a swarm except a lower pitch. In the early stages, there will be bees fighting at the entrance.
       2. When you approach the apiary (or your yard if the hives are in your back yard), there will be lots of bees flying in all direction, very fast, and they will sting. Any empty, spare or junk equipment you have will have bees either going in and out trying to get in.
       1. We are all familiar with the “figure “8” dance” that the bees do to recruit foragers for a nectar source. They only do the “Figure 8” dance if the source is more than 100 or so yards from the hive.
       2. If the source is less than 100 yards from the hive, they do a “round dance” instead. The “round dance” does not convey exact location therefore the bees leaving the hive start a very thorough search of the immediate area. They get rather excited and will try and enter other hives. If you have weak hives with the normal summer entrance opening, those hives will likely be “robbed out”. “Robbed out” means the bees will enter the hives and take the honey. Since the target hive will try and resist, the invaders normally kill all bees in the hive being invaded.
       3. The “robbers” are not only aggressive toward other bees they are very likely to sting anyone that is in the immediate area.

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