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Treatment-Free, Winter 2012-2013, How's it going?

49K views 164 replies 54 participants last post by  Oldtimer 
#1 ·
For you treatment-free beekeepers out there, how is your winter progressing? Is the weather better or worse than usual? Lost hives? Feeding? Mishaps?

Winter here is going swimmingly. I wouldn't say it is as mild as last winter, but pretty close thus far. A couple more dips into the teens, but not the usual drops down in the single digits for the last two winters. No ice storms. No snow of note. But also no dandelions blooming all winter like we had last year either.

On the mishaps front, while I was gone over Christmas, our trampoline blew across the yard and knocked over two of my hives. They are back together, both seem to have eaten much of their stores while they were strewn about the yard.

No deadouts thus far.

Preparing for spring, trimmed three of my deep queen castle's down to mediums. I need to expand my collection of mediums significantly. I have no loose boxes but plenty of frames. Looks like it is time to build some more.

Already having people contact me about purchasing nucs. I'm glad they are getting an earlier start on it this year. Looking forward to refining my technique on raising queens and nucs. One thing to avoid this year, last year, I collected brood from outyard hives and brought it back to my main yard. It seems like most of the bees flying around ended up in one nuc. Need to figure out how to avoid that. Perhaps rotating nucs for a few days to spread the bees around. Perhaps not delivering all those frames of brood to the same batch of mating nucs.

Tell me how you all are faring.
 
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#2 ·
We have had some very cold weather for here. Down close to zero degrees. Since this is my first winter, I am anxiously awaiting warmer weather to see what is going on. It has been getting up into the 50s this week. I saw a few bees outside two of my hives. I am a little concerned about the warm weather right now, because it could get cold again. Pollen should start appearing soon, here, so I am looking forward to that. I am hoping to do some splits and create some nucs for raising queens this year.

Ted
 
#3 ·
I've never experienced winter losses before, but so far this year I've lost about half my nucs. But that was to be expected because my work schedule got crazy toward the end of the year and I was unable to take care of the bees as I needed to and make sure they were up to proper weights. But, I wanted survivor bees so, dadgummit, that's what I'm getting. The price is high. -js
 
#5 ·
we are having a bad year in Virginia, losses running about 50% for some (my self included) 3 of my hives had CCD symptoms ( no bees at all in hive) 2 were weak hives despite my best efforts ( I know, I should have combines them) and one who knows Mites maybe?
 
#7 ·
None of my hives were treated in 2012 and my only loss so far is a nuk to bull ants. Oh, an early spring last year to nosema, a cut out hive that had never done well. I inspected all but one hive over the last 10 days and with temps almost always in 80's so far, and there is a light nectar flow of some kind right now, most my hives look good. Almost all have about 3 frames of brood, a couple with more than that. According to my notes from last January, it's less this year for some reason. Maybe it has to do with the cool that is supposed to come for most the month of February in deep south.

I don't count mites, everything looks good in all my hives other than one. I have one that has since last summer been pretty hot. It calmed down Nov and Dec, but now with the buildup starting, I see that not only are they runny on the frames, anxious when I went in, they also have brood top to bottom which is another indication of Africanized. I haven't decided what to do--something soon for sure. I looked for the queen but couldn't find her, probably from smoking them and their running on the frames as they were. I want to intercept esp before they really build out and before she starts drone laying. Any ideas? I requeened this hive last May, I think they may have killed her.
 
#9 ·
I've lost 5 out of 41 so far, with a couple more that are weak. Condensation issues are biting me this winter here in KC.

Our weather here has been a regular roller coaster ride, five weeks in a row of temperatures on some days as high as the mid-sixty's only to fall back to days with lows in the low teens.

On a side note; I track about two dozen feral colonies and they are really taking a beating here this winter. Drought here and no fall flow to speak of seems to have really caught them off guard.

Don
 
#11 ·
Lost two strong double deeps ten framers to mites. Checked the other six hives ( three double deeps, three double deep five frame nucs) and everything was alive. Although I was treatment free until I lost the two double deeps I did do an oxalic vapor treatment on my three remaining double deep ten framers and I am glad I did, had 35 drop in one, 72 drop in another and 26 I believe in the last one. This was after 48 hours.
 
#14 ·
2012 was the first time in my three years of beekeeping that i didn't feed in the fall. i was concerned at first at how light my hives were after the first frost, but it's looking like everything's going to be alright.
 
#18 ·
It's my first winter with my first colony. It had a very high mite count in August (130/24hr drop to SBB), but so far is surviving without treatment. We just had a week of very cold weather where it got down to -26degC(-15 def F). I was happy to see a few dead bees in the fresh snow when it was sunny and a little sunny on Saturday. I have plans to increase to 5 colonies next season and this colony surviving is key to that.
 
#22 ·
Wow that's pretty interesting Zhiv, was that a natural drop? (no chemicals like sugar dust or whatever?) If a natural drop I've never seen a hive with so many mites, untreated, and still alive 6 months later. What is the breed?
 
#30 · (Edited)
I'm in the Chemung valley of upstate New York.
I've had temps swing from -9F to mid fifties.

So far I've lost one nuc to starvation.

I had to go out of state from Oct 2 til Thanksgiving, and by the time I got back it was too cold to feed up to weight.

That nuc was a pretty late split, and was pretty well dwindled w/ no stores when I mtn camped it. I'd have been surprised if it had made it. It was in a single 5 frame.

The rest of the nucs are in single deeps, 2 nucs to each 10 frame box.
Two others aren't showing much activity, and may be lost as well. They are in the box at the windward end and have taken a beating.
This my first winter in this yard and the wind is apparently pretty brutal.

The rest seem to be doing quite well. I have one strain that has been out foraging when temp were in the 40's and bringing something back.
Can't imagine what pollen they found, but they were bringing in light grey pollen.
I think it is too early for willow .. it might be chicken feed or some other.

This winter is going surprisingly well, given the neglect in the fall.
 
#31 ·
In SW VA, just west of the Blue Ridge. Went into fall with a little over 90, half nucs, half 10 frame. As of yesterday lost a little over 25% of the 10 frame, and 15% of nucs. Almost all are mite/virus related crashes in Nov and Dec. Plenty of feed on the hives, mostly honey, some syrup. A couple more hives are queenless so they will be gone too. Working on quality and not quantity at this point, nature is helping!

Richard
 
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