[FlowerPlanter]

Wintered 11 smaller hives (most were late swarms) in the garage, screen the entrance off with #8 hardware cloth (top entrance hives-I say this because I think top entrances can let the heat escape easier from a screened hive). I covered the windows to block most on the light. Average temp in the garage were from 40-50 deg. It was open twice a day for wife's car.

I would bring them in when it was below 20 and put them out for more than one day that was 45+. Our winter has been up and down, so it was at least weekly I was moving them back and forth, got to be a real pain. Several are as small as 2 frames, and a few are 7 or 8 frames. There were a few days they got too warm that they were trying to chew through the screen while in the garage. But most of the time they were quiet.

Out of the 11 lost one, it was much small than I though one of those 17 deg nights finished it. (queen was there)
Over all they did very well and I am sure I would have lost more than half if they were left outside. Would do it again in the furture.

Some were low on stores, gave them sugar blocks and about 1/8 cup of syrup on inner cover once a week.

I would have liked to use a pvc pipe for an outside entrance so I could have left them in place.

All were going crazy collecting dried pollen sub from a 5 gal bucket (more bees that when they are robbing a hive) for about a week. Now the real stuff is coming in, they are not touching the sub.

 

[jwcarlson]

So did you remove the screen for cleansing flights when you put them outside?

 

[merince]

I was curious to see how that one turned out. Thank you for updating us and congrats on the overwintering success!

 

[FlowerPlanter]

So did you remove the screen for cleansing flights when you put them outside?

Yes, I gave them about 15 - 30 min the calm down after moving (I moved them in my truck)

 

[MGCBester]

I had a nuc (slip that I did in sept) in my garage, Box of MDF of of 5 frames. My cover was screen and I had a rubber pipe going outside hook at the bottom. ( I will try to post a picture) It work perfectly Im in canada and this winter it was very cold. They were in my garage at 5 degrees canadian. My other 2 hives died in the last month (march) I don t know why, those one were outside I check them on March 7th they were ok and on March 28 th they were dead in a corner. Next year I will put more in my garage.

 

[FlowerPlanter]

This time of the year it could have been starvation. Was there alot of dead bees? Where there any stores left? Where the dead bees near the stores.

Glad the one you had in the garage made it.

 

[MGCBester]

Yap lot of bees very good size cluster and a lot of honey left.. They almost did not eat anything this winter I m surprise by how much there honey left in the hive. Usually starvation they will die there head in the comb this time the were just pile up on top of each other. We had some -30 over night in March. Dont know it s nature.

 

[Grins]

I would bring them in when it was below 20 and put them out for more than one day that was 45+.

I'm confused about the moving of the hives. I'm kicking around the idea of moving my hives into an outbuilding for the winter mostly to get them out of the Montana wind. The move would be about 70 feet from where they are now. I've read that to do this I have 2 options. One is to move the hives 3 feet a day until they're where I want them, the other is to move them 3 miles away for at least 3 days, then move them back where I want them. I would like to add the pvc pipe as an entrance from the out of doors and screen it off when it's below 40 f or so so the bees aren't confused by the artificially warm conditions.
Thanks for your info,
Lee

 

[thesecurityeagle]

<Grins post>"I've read that to do this I have 2 options."</Grins post> You could try a third option. Move one hive per three days directly to the location you desire if in the same yard and use a branch or other obstruction to get them to re-orient to the new location.

 

[FlowerPlanter]

Update;
2014-5 Garage ten lost two that year.

2015-6 Skipped a year only had two small hives so I put them above larger hives with a screened shim and their own entrance, one made it one did not.

2016-17 garaged five hives two to four frames of bees. The smallest two frame it did not make it. The other four are packing on several supers of honey. This past winter only had a few really cold spell so moving the bees less made it much easier. Changed the outside location closer to the garage also helped. Everytime I brought them in I gave them about 1/8 cup of syrup and sugar blocks if needed.