Feeding "Wild" Bees in Old Decrepit Colony Boxes

[urglik]

Hi Everyone!

i've been bitten by bees! i look forward to the spring. i am a newbie and located a stand of colonies in the woods of this property i bought. they were mostly falling apart after 5 or more years of non use. i consulted a local beekeeper and he came out and discovered that there were 2 colonies active out of 5. the hive body and supers(2 on each) are cemented with propolis and the frames are rotting. the supers are full of honey and are very heavy. we are not sure what the colonies future is since maintenance of the hives cannot be done to it's state of cemented rotting wood. we would like to give them the edge for the winter and tried feeding sugar water in a slit ziploc under the tops and on a separator board with a hole in the center. with the propolis and some moth stuff the tops of the frames are pretty jagged so i didn't lay them directly on the frames. it was not eaten. i thought it may be too late in the year as i live in lower michigan and the evening temps have been 35-45 degrees. i removed the sugar bags and put them in trash last night. today the weather warmed to 60 degrees and hundreds of honey bees were swarming my trash can today. 200 feet from the hives. so, i guess i should still feed them. what do you all think? money is tight for commercial feeders though i can carpentry some. were the ziploc bags used incorrectly? has anyone tried them? how long will they be feeding if i provide food at this time of year. thanks!

[rkr]

I have fed bees out in the open and I have also used a couple of different feeders. The cheapest of which is a milk jug full of syrup laid on its side with a bunch of small holes punched in the side closest to the hole in the inner cover, then an empty super over that, then the cover.
You might just have some survivor bees there. If they have survived 5 yrs with no help, then you might not want to help them to much. Of course no way of knowing if these bees are survivors or swarms that found a new home when the existing colony died, but if they are survivors then you really have something. I am a first year Beek' so I can tell you this, most of the issues I have dealt with so far have been of my own making. I am going to try to keep my hands in my pockets a bit more next year and not "help" so much!!:pinch:

RKR

[justin]

it sounds like you have alot of work in front of you, and quite a bit of stuff to buy. you have alot of reading to do this winter, try to get lots of perspectives reading several diffrent books. the best thing going for you is that you have fairly self reliant bees to start with, and have already consulted a beekeeper for help, keep that contact open. they only feed when day time temps get in the high 40's or warmer, and it takes them a while to warm up daily. if they were here i would not feed them but maybe someone from your area will weigh in with advice on that. i know lots of areas had lousy honeyflows this summer. justin

[urglik]

hi,

i was wondering why you would not feed the bees? thank you

[devdog108]

If they are taking feed, i would feed them.....you really cannot hurt them. Just will give them more stores.... I went to Walmart and bought one of those dog wateres that you fill up and as they empty it, it gives them more. $5.00 plus the cost of sugar and water.....one thing to watch for is that the little button doesnt close so as it empties, they like to climb up inside, and they WILL drown or overheat. When there is an inch left in the container, I take it off and pour it in the feeder and let them clean it out. I also take the lid off and let them lick that clean too...Good luck!

[rkr]

Hi,

I was wondering why you would not feed the bees? thank you

My thought about not feeding was more along the lines of if it ain't broke don't try to fix it. They may have all they need to make it through the winter. They have all the honey that they gathered over this season, since none has been harvested by anyone.

If you feed them, they may think it is time to produce brood and upset the balance (ie change their mind about winter and start a spring brood boom that they cannot support)

I have one hive that is from a old survivor colony. They shut down and are ready for winter according to what I have read. The other hive is from managed stock and they seem to be using the syrup I give them to make more brood! This time of year they need to be conserving energy not spending it to make a bunch of bees.

If you choose to feed I might go with a dry sugar method or make sure it is heavy syrup (I use one quart of water to 4 lb of sugar or 2.5 qt to 10lb sugar... some will give you other ratios). This heavy syrup is supposed to be more like honey than nectar. If they think they have a new nectar source they may try to exploit it by building the population.

Just food for thought, I have made a few mistakes this year so take my advise with two grains of salt and a heavy dose of skepticism. :D


RKR

[rkr]

One more thought for you, do you have a bear fence? It would be a shame to go out next spring to find some bruin made a meal out of your new hobby!!!:lookout:

[phil c]

I got a simalar situation this fall. I got a bunch of stuff, old boxes and such but also a colony that had nothing done with it for several years. It was 1 deep with about 1 deeps worth of burr comb under it.
since moving it to my property I have been feeding heavily and will wrap it and will see if it makes it through the winter. I have not treated for mites mainly because I cant get the frames aprt to get a good look at things or get enough bees out to do an ether roll.
My advice, feed as much as you can before winter and hope for the best through the winter. During the cold weather read as much as you can, get advice from all the people you can, see if there is a local beek assn that you can join. then get supplies ready for spring to rehab the old hives.
Good luck and welcome to the wonderfull sickness that is beekeeping!