Preparation for Winter

The last 24 days have been spectacular in Minnesota. No rain, plenty of sunshine and above normal temperatures. However, the honey bees know that winter is around the corner, and they have been busy getting ready. The queen by now is laying fewer eggs, knowing that the food will be rationed for the next few months. Foragers are still going out and about collecting the little precious nectar left and the priceless pollen. This is also becoming a rarity as the flowers are mostly spent. Right now, the bees' activities are done later during the day than previously as the temperatures are lower in the morning, impeding them. However we can still see them hovering around flowers late morning and early afternoon. Then the honey bees seems sluggish again, and just walk around the hive, or fly nearby.

As beekeepers we still have one more thing to do before we "tucked them in" for a long winter and say: "Have a good and safe winter!" So, in order to protect our bees against the wind, we will plug the bottom holes with cork and we will wrap each hive in a waxed cardboard, making sure that we leave one opening at the top for the bees to get in or out as weather permits. Ben has been cutting out perfect little holes in our cartons. We will wrap them up sometimes during the first week of November. Then our job as beekeepers will be done until March! However in the meantime we will build more hives, order new bees and queens...and thinking about next season!

This is how the hives will look like

in the fields.