February ’25 in the Apiary

February ’25 in the Apiary

By Kathy Cox Master Beekeeper

Hello fellow beekeepers! It sure has been cold here in Washington. I hope your bees have survived. The national average is that the commercial beekeepers have lost 50-70% this winter. These losses have not been seen since 2007&2008 when Colony Collapse hit. There are all sorts of ideas of why this happened. For me I think that climate change is to blame. We have had the hottest years on record and fall was especially warm. Most varroa treatments are done in late August and early September. I think we need to do treatments later, because the brood is still very much going on later. The 22 viruses that mites carry are causing deformed wings in addition to eating the fat bodies of the bees, which should sustain the bees all winter. It will be interesting to see what the final outcome is. Luckily hobby beekeepers have not lost numbers that large.

Remember that bee nucs and packages are sold out early. Get your orders in now. And the classes offered by Puget Sound Bees are listed on the website calendar. They fill up fast, so don’t wait. Dawn Beck a Master Beekeeper is teaching a 2 hour a day class via zoom for 2 weekends in early March. Tracy Klein a Master Beekeeper is teaching an in person in late March.

There are some warm days ahead when temperatures are above 50 degrees. You can do quick checks of the hive. Make sure they have sugar and clean off the bottom board of the dead bees. When the temperature is above 55 degrees you should do a check of where the cluster is. If they have moved out of the bottom box, you can either remove it after replacing any empty frames in the top boxes with honey from the bottom box. If the remaining cluster is in the next two boxes, you should place the bottom box on top for them to move up into. This is if you are using all mediums which make all boxes interchangeable.

Speaking of medium boxes, if you are new to beekeeping, take my word for it and buy all mediums. A full medium will weigh under 50 pounds. A full deep can weigh up to 100 pounds. I don’t know about you, but 40-50 pounds is enough!

A fun bee fact: Asian honeybees are learning new tricks. The guard bees at the front door are learning to flick off mites by using a wing. You can find pictures of this online. There is an older video of two bees working together to unscrew a lid on a pop bottle to get to the sweet liquid. Aren’t bees fabulous. A few years ago, it was found that bees recognize faces. They also communicate by smells and dances. So, take a cup of coffee out in the morning before 10am when the foragers are still at home and walk around your hives. Just don’t wear perfume, have body odor or strong toothpaste. They don’t like that. And what not to wear around the hives: fuzzy socks or jackets, or any black or red clothes. Black and fuzzy makes them think “bears.” And why not wear red? Bees see colors in a different way. They see ultra-violet and for them red looks black.

This is the time to order equipment and get it painted before you add bees. Clean up old equipment. Scrape frames and melt some wax to paint on the foundation for reuse. Order regular pollen patties to help the bees get a balanced diet. Remember that pollen is their protein and nectar is their carbohydrate.  Get a bucket or cart and fill it with tools, lighter, fuel and the things you use every time you visit your bees. I keep Benedryl gel in my cart for the bee stings. I find putting it on right away reduces the pain and swelling.

On a personal note, I am reducing my equipment due to arthritis making it harder to lift and do fine motor movements. I will mail a price list to anyone who sends me a note with their email. After 24 years, I have lots of bee stuff! Thanks.

Spring is less than 30 days away,

Kathy Cox Master Beekeeper

Text: 206-465-1464

Website: Facebook.com/seattlehoneybees