Hi all
I brought a single deep colony into my heated workshop (55-60 F) about a month ago after seeing broodminder temperatures that were too low. I knew that they would never make it to spring. I was taking a chance but these girls were doomed anyway because the cluster was not big enough. Now the trouble is that they are raising brood and are quite active. They have access to the outside via a short tube that goes through the wall and I have seen them flying about on one sunny day when it may have been close to 50 F. I am worried that they need to get outside to relieve themselves and they won’t go out because it’s around zero here quite regularly. I gave them some small sugar cakes with a little honey on them yesterday and they covered them before I could even set them down on the top bars Today I’m going to give them a little pollen patty. I was hoping this would not happen and thought that the cold air constantly coming in through the tube into the bottom below the slatted rack would keep them in winter mode. Boy was I wrong about that. I am trying figure out how to make a place for them inside the shop so they can relieve themselves. Pretty sure they will die of dysentery if I don’t do something pretty quick. They were a split made last year and I did feed them sugar syrup in the fall until they wouldn’t take any more. Any ideas would be welcome! Going out there this morning to rig something up for them- just not sure what I’m going to do until I start doing it. Thanks.....Jeff in the Adirondacks.
I brought a single deep colony into my heated workshop (55-60 F) about a month ago after seeing broodminder temperatures that were too low. I knew that they would never make it to spring. I was taking a chance but these girls were doomed anyway because the cluster was not big enough. Now the trouble is that they are raising brood and are quite active. They have access to the outside via a short tube that goes through the wall and I have seen them flying about on one sunny day when it may have been close to 50 F. I am worried that they need to get outside to relieve themselves and they won’t go out because it’s around zero here quite regularly. I gave them some small sugar cakes with a little honey on them yesterday and they covered them before I could even set them down on the top bars Today I’m going to give them a little pollen patty. I was hoping this would not happen and thought that the cold air constantly coming in through the tube into the bottom below the slatted rack would keep them in winter mode. Boy was I wrong about that. I am trying figure out how to make a place for them inside the shop so they can relieve themselves. Pretty sure they will die of dysentery if I don’t do something pretty quick. They were a split made last year and I did feed them sugar syrup in the fall until they wouldn’t take any more. Any ideas would be welcome! Going out there this morning to rig something up for them- just not sure what I’m going to do until I start doing it. Thanks.....Jeff in the Adirondacks.