Oh the excitement of harvesting the honey!! I never expected (or planned) to be doing it this year. It was a whirlwind but once the honey was collected and the excitement past, there were still a few important tasks to be done.
So let's talk a little bit about what happens with the bees after the harvest. Afterward you have to: clean up the supers (the boxes we removed the honey from), clean the beeswax, feed the bees and ultimately prepare the hive for winter.
Note: I removed 100 pounds of honey from the hive, which is awesome for a first year hive! I left them with a very full deep box filled with honey for winter, it was approximately 80 pounds.
First step is feeding. Above is a large pot of sugar syrup I was in the process of making to feed the bees. Once you remove all the honey supers you want to feed them. This is to prevent them from eating all their winter stores before true winter even starts. There is not much nectar available for foraging after labor day in this area so they will start to consume what they stored to stay alive if you do not provide them with other sources of food. I also gave them pollen patties, which is a source of protein for them.
The bees help with cleanup. After harvesting the honey from the frames, I placed the supers back on the hive and they clean up all the leftover honey very quickly. After cleanup the boxes go into storage for next spring- for when the bees will make honey again.
My second big task was to take care of all the beeswax I had collected. The crush and strain method I used to harvest honey resulted in lots of wax for one hive. I decided to use this low heat double boiler method to clean my wax.
It worked beautifully and I ended up with almost 7 pounds of absolutely wonderful smelling clean wax.
Finally, once the temperatures drop it is time to remove the feeding pail and wrap the hive. I reduce the entrance to the smallest opening to help them defend from honey robbers, mice and other opportunistic predators. They do fine taking turns in the little door.
In the winter, they do not hibernate. They are awake but just not foraging. They form a cluster to stay warm inside the hive. Wrapping the hive helps keep them warm in our harsh Minnesota winters. It is an added insulation and also helps generate heat in the sun because of the dark color. I used a black cardboard box for insulation. You can also wrap it with a double layer of roofing paper. A windbreak on the northeast corner is also recommended to shield them from the harsh winter winds. You will notice there are two holes for them to go in and out. (They do need to leave the hive to relieve themselves all winter long.) The upper hole is in place because as winter goes on the lower entrance may be blocked by snow or other debris. In my winter preparations I also included a moisture board. This goes on the top of the hive to collect condensation. Condensation happens from the bees activity inside the hive. It collects on the top, inside and can drip down on the bees causing them to freeze.
Winter is the time when most beekeepers lose their hives. Last year in MN it was a 50% loss. There are so many factors at play in this. The length of the winter, how severe the winter is, the strength of the colony, the mite load and disease resistance and so much more. At this point the best you can do is make sure they have plenty of food and offer them some winter protection in hopes they survive until spring.
It is suppose to be a mild winter, so I am praying they will survive it. We are planning on expanding our apiary in the spring with hopes to have more honey and stronger bees next year. Next year I plan to use essential oils to assist in my honey bee health and pest management.
I have been up to check on them a few times since wrapping the hive. We have had some warmer weather so I saw the girls out foraging last weekend. I will probably get up there a few times this winter to check on them in hopes that I will see- or more accurately hear-any activity.
Blessings!
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