Are you ready for the Odfrank overwintering challenge?

[Adrian Quiney WI]

Daniel, are you asking about the new season for your region or for the purposes of the OD challenge?

[Daniel Y]

For my season in general. For now it is in my head it starts when the queen starts her spring build up.

[KQ6AR]

Hi Daniel,
On the forum I've seen a swarm listed for socal, & one for FL. A guy in my bee club said he got a call for one on the SF peninsula. I usually go by when the ornamental fruit trees start blooming.

Very few drones in my hives yet.

[Daniel Y]

California sucks all the warmth and moisture from the air before they send it over the Sierras to us. We live with that cold mountain air pouring down on us year round. it is nice in July. February not so much. Palm trees grow in Sacramento. Two hours away where I am. you can't get cactus to grow without watering them. They grow the worlds almonds there and just over the hill is Death Valley. not far in distance but a completely different world. and it is all due to the mountains that are between here and there. I vote we level them.

[fieldsofnaturalhoney]

Whats you're final count this winter?

What is the final date of the challenge?

[Charlie B]

As stated in my original post,

"We'll go by number of hives lost beginning October 1, 2012 thru March 1, 2013". Everyone should report in on March 1st. on number of hives lost in this time frame including nucs and then calculate your percentage of hives lost.

[odfrank]

As stated in my original post, "We'll go by number of hives lost beginning October 1, 2012 thru March 1, 2013". Everyone should report in on March 1st. on number of hives lost in this time frame including nucs.

Charlie, have you considered that some members of BeeSource don't live in California and their hives might still be deep in snow? Getting a little feeble in the waning years? Has all that in coming eucalyptus honey clogged your mind? Getting lightheaded lifting all those eight frame mediums? Hate to see me win another of your silly challenges and exclude most of the country from having a chance to out do me?

[cg3]

Really, it's not a problem. I can just shovel a path out there and check them.

[Charlie B]

As cg3 says, I think the snowbound hives can be checked for any buzzing easy enough. I've never had bees in the snow so correct me if I'm wrong.

[cg3]

If you whack 'em hard enough with the snow shovel you can hear them.

[VickyLynn]

I am not officially registered in the overwintering challenge, but I have been following this thread. Last year I lost both my hives, one to starvation.

This year, knock on wood, they are both still alive. I have paths shoveled out to them through two feet of snow. Yesterday was mild (44), so I went in to give them another fondant patty (I had given them one during a January thaw, too). I also added some pollen patty Both hives are two deeps plus a super which had capped honey in the fall. In January both hives' supers were empty of honey, but I could see down below in the top deep that there was still some left. Yesterday, one of my hives had clear honey in several of the super frames. I am wondering whether they are making honey out of the fondant patty I gave them. I am just so afraid of them starving - we are at least a month or more away from pussy willows and maples.
Maple sugar season begins around George Washington's birthday (Feb.22) and that marks the beginning of the beginning of spring.

[odfrank]

They didn't over winter until they are out foraging well into spring. I will have fist size clusters on 3/1 that will die after that. If you want everybody to be able to participate honestly (Like Honest Ollie) you have to extend the ending date to what, 6/1?

[KQ6AR]

By 6/1 I will have doubled my hive count, & caught at least a dozen swarms. So I guess my #'s would be way up from fall.

[rweakley]

They didn't over winter until they are out foraging well into spring. I will have fist size clusters on 3/1 that will die after that. If you want everybody to be able to participate honestly (Like Honest Ollie) you have to extend the ending date to what, 6/1?

You have to draw the line somewhere and I think that March 1st is a pretty fair date to go by. If you wanted to be "FAIR" you'd have to have separate challenges for each of the zones or subzones and different dates for each, but since this is nationwide you gotta draw a line somewhere. Besides all of us know if we lose a hive after march 1st to say may1st it may have had something to do with overwintering. Not like there is a monster prize involved. LOL

[Charlie B]

You have to draw the line somewhere and I think that March 1st is a pretty fair date to go by.

Thank you Rod for being the voice of reason here. Sometimes Olly comes up with really bazaar notions. I think he's free basing and snorting to much propolis.

[Adrian Quiney WI]

Charlie, as you are the judge (and OD is the mascot) Have you decided how long you will give the participants to self report their totals. Two weeks? A month? I thought I read somewhere the prize was one of OD's saplings shipped free to a destination of the winners choice or a pound of his honey if you happen to live in a cold climate....

[Charlie B]

Adrian,

I think by March 10th is ample time and you're right, Olly should donate a BeeBee Tree sapling to the winner AND a pound of honey. (However, I've seen pictures of his honey house, I would just go with the sapling).

[KQ6AR]

Hold on I like Olivers rules, I can end the contest with more hives than I started with.

[odfrank]

By 6/1 I will have doubled my hive count, & caught at least a dozen swarms. So I guess my #'s would be way up from fall.

Dan, it is over wintering challenge, not a swarm catching challenge.

[Eyeshooter]

Started with 18 colonies split between 2 yards. One yard still good with 4 nucs, 2 hives. In the 2nd yard, the wind blew so hard during the recent blizzard, it bent the snow fence stakes I was using backwards and blew the wind break into the hives. It moved the telescoping covers plus inner covers off 3 of the hives, exposing the cluster. Wet bees in winter means dead bees in the spring. Count me down 3 of 18. Even had about 8 pounds of rock on each cover...Remaining 3 nucs and 6 hives out there doing well.