Surviving Winter

Winter is often a real nail-biter for beekeepers. We may think our honeybees have plenty of stores to get through the cold winter months, but then we sustain colony losses anyway. Fortunately, from sugar syrup and fondant to candy boards and beyond, you can offer some important extras to help your most vulnerable colonies make it through.

- Susan M. Brackney

Based in South Carolina, Charlotte Anderson is a master beekeeper and the owner of Carolina Honeybees. For Anderson, simply leaving honeybees to fend for themselves is a nonstarter. "Some people feel that you shouldn't feed bees at all period," she says. "You know, 'Let them survive on their own or not."

But, she maintains that's simply poor animal husbandry. "I have miniature donkeys," Anderson says. "If we have drought and there's not much grass in the pasture, I'm going to buy hay. I'm not going to just let my donkeys die because of weather conditions. And, when we keep honeybees - honestly, no matter how we try to keep them as naturally as possible - it's not a natural environment." 

Not only do we install bee packages in manmade hives, but we often cluster multiple hives close to one another something you'd be hard-pressed to find in nature. With such increased competition for limited forage, it falls to beekeepers to ensure that their bees have enough to eat.

Whether you're just thinking about getting started or you're a long-time beekeeper, we have you covered in our new beekeeping column. We'll connect with leading entomologists, geneticists and other experts to provide you with the latest in beekeeping best practices, honeybee health and nutrition, and much more. - Susan M. Brackney

Of course, that's not to say you should have to feed each of your hives every year in perpetuity. "The beekeeper should only have to step in when, for some reason, the bees are short of resources," Anderson says.

Varied Needs

There are many reasons why a colony might end up light on stores. Aside from putting too many hives in one place, times of drought can limit the available forage. "The bees might not be working at their peak efficiency, because of pests or disease, which we, as beekeepers, should hopefully have seen and handled earlier in the summer," Anderson says.