MillerThousand AnswersBeekeepingQuestions.pdf - BioBees

268 DR. miller'sWinter Stores.—Q. How much honey should I leave in eachhive as a winter supply for the bees?A. A store of 30 or 40 pounds is none too much for winteringoutdoors, a stronger colony needing more than a weaker one, andfor cellaring, 10 pounds less will do. Better five pounds toomuch that five ounces too little. The overplus will not be wasted.Q. Are eight Langstroth frames full of honey enough to wintera strong colony of bees out-of-doors? I pack in leaves, threein a shed, six inches of space between each hive.A. Yes, less than eight frames; six would do if well filled.Q. Will the bees go through winter with as small an amountof honey as IS or 20 pounds, when in the cellar?riskA. In some cases they would, but it would not be safe toit.Wintering.—Q. In preparing bees for winter, would it be bestto leave the hive full of honey, or leave some empty combs forbrood?A. Don't you worry about room for brood. The best you candc at getting the brood-chamber filled with honey, no doubt therewill be by spring plenty of room for brood, and the bees need noroom for brood late in the fall. Some, however, think it betterfor them to have some empty cells to cluster on in winter, butthey will have these emptied out in good time.Q. Will it be safe to winter bees on combs with nearly allcells partly full of honey, but little or no capped honey?A. Not very safe, but it might succeed.Wintering in a Building Without Flight Opportunities.—Q. Iwintered my bees in the granary last winter, and of 19 coloniesonly 8 lived through the winter. They seemed to be troubledwith dysentery, and the stuff they passed was one-quarter of aninch thick on top of the frames. The last 4 hours of the bees' livesthey seemed to pass nearly a teaspoonful, and all of very badodor. This winter I left them on the summer stands with theseresults : From 18 colonies all but 3 died of the same disease. Thehives are full of nice looking honey. Would it be all right to puta colony of bees in these same hives without removing the honey?I have an idea that the sudden change in temperature caused thehives to become damp, and thus the disease.A. The likelihood is that the granary was too cold a place. Awell ventilated cellar might give better results, being warmer. Itis possible, also, that they were not packed warmly enough on thesummer stands, especially on top. It is just possible, also, thatthe honey was at fault, but in that case it would likely be dark