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New From Keokuk Iowa

2K views 2 replies 2 participants last post by  iowastan 
#1 ·
Hello,
I am from South Eastern Iowa. I Just started in Bees last Spring with a package from Dadant. I caught 3 more swarms this year so I have 4 hives. One swarm that I caught late in the summer is small & I am really concerned about their well being since we had a stretch of really cold weather (-10 to + 10 for three weeks. I am seeing a lot of dead bees near the entrance but I don't know how much of this is normal. They had 1 1/2 to 2 deep supers of brood & honey & pollen so I felt good going in but now I am not so sure.

I Retired from my regular job about 3 years ago & have been interested in bees for a while so I decided to give it a try. I am close to Dadant so have gotten a lot of good advise from them. I need to meet some other bee guys in the area but haven't yet.
 
#3 ·
Thanks!!
How long have you been keeping Bees? What do you do to prepare your hives for winter? I looked at some of mine yesterday ( it was over 40), there are quite a few dead bees at the entrance but after I brushed them away, the bees drug out a few more so there are some alive. I didn't want to open them until it gets over 50 but when I taped on the hive near the entrance some bees came out. I built an extra box around my hives last fall, leaving 4 to 6" all around & coated the outside of the enclosure with 30 lb. black felt. I put 4" fiberglass insulation on the inside. After the long stretch of below 0, I am glad that I did!

Stan
 
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