Even though we are barely past the winter solstice, the bees are already aware of the longer days and the ramp-up in brood production has already begun. On warm days the foragers are bringing in pollen if it’s available, and pollen substitute if it isn’t. The brood nest is expanding as the bees consume the pollen and honey stored during the previous autumn.
I sometimes envy northern beekeepers, who get a break in working their colonies from October to March. (I sure don’t miss the cold and snow!) For us beekeepers down south, the winter break is short, if there is one at all.
The prep for the spring honey season actually began the previous July or August when there is little forage for the bees – the nectar dearth. With no nectar coming into the hives, brood production – and the population of bees – declines. In an average year, Central Texas sees a fall nectar flow but there may not be sufficient number of bees to take full advantage of it, so beekeepers feed sugar syrup in August and September to maintain brood production.
The goal is to have good numbers of bees and adequate food supplies by late October to see them through to late February or early March when the first nectar flow occurs. Starvation is a very real threat to colonies that build up early and burn through their food stores, so we have to monitor them closely. For stronger colonies, we will set extra brood boxes to give them room to expand, along with heavy syrup if the weather is warm enough.
But winter is not just about working with bees. For beekeepers looking to expand their colonies, it is time to order mated queen bees and assemble boxes and frames for new colonies and to replace old equipment. All of this work must be done ahead of time – if you wait too long, you’ll never catch up.
This year we are going to try our hand at grafting larva to make our own queens. This entails extra preparation work – assembling mating boxes, prepping feeder jars, and identifying queens with desirable genetics. Making our own queens will save money over purchasing them, and will (hopefully) produce queens better suited for the conditions of Central Texas.
Stay tuned!