bee-keeperWinter does not kill bees — poor preparation does. A colony that goes into winter strong, with young bees, healthy, and with enough food will survive hard frosts. The mistakes are made in August and September, and the consequences only show up in March. That makes wintering perhaps the most important job of the whole beekeeping year. Here is what a strong, well-wintered colony really needs.
A strong colony and a young queen
The colonies that winter best are those with plenty of young bees and a queen no more than a year or two old. Young "winter" bees live for months and keep the cluster warm until spring, while old, foraged-out bees die quickly. So the goal is to have many young bees by autumn — which means a queen that laid well in late summer and a colony that is not exhausted.
Beat varroa first
The most common cause of winter losses is not the cold — it is varroa. Mites that build up in late summer infect exactly the generation of winter bees that has to survive until spring. So the varroa treatment is done in time, before the winter bees hatch (usually late summer / early autumn), and an extra treatment in the broodless period (oxalic acid, late autumn / early winter) "cleans up" the remaining mites. Without this, everything else is wasted.
Enough food — of the right kind
A colony needs enough stores to survive from the last forage to the first spring nectar. Exactly how much depends on the colony’s strength, the hive type, and the climate, but the rule is: a little too much beats too little. Winter feeding is done in time, with a thicker syrup or fondant, while it is still warm enough for the bees to process and cap the food. Late feed the bees cannot cap stays damp and spoils.
- Feed in time — while the days are warm and the bees active
- Make sure the honey/syrup is capped before the cold
- Leave some pollen/bee bread too, for the first spring brood
Damp is more dangerous than cold
Bees tolerate cold if they are dry and fed — but damp kills them. The winter cluster produces heat and water vapour; if that vapour condenses on a cold cover and drips back onto the bees, the colony is chilled and fails. Good ventilation is therefore key: a slightly sloped roof or top ventilation so moist air escapes, the hive sheltered from wind but not sealed airtight. Insulation helps, but never at the expense of airflow.
Protection from mice and wind
In autumn, narrow the entrance or fit a metal mouse guard — once a mouse gets in, it builds a nest and wrecks the comb. Place hives so they do not face the north wind, tilted slightly forward so water runs out of the hive, and stable so the wind cannot move them. If your area gets strong wind or snow, a windbreak or shelter helps a lot.
Winter quiet and silent checks
Once you have wintered a colony, leave it in peace — every opening in the cold chills the cluster and burns precious food. Winter checks are quiet and from the outside:
- Listen, or tap the hive gently — a soft, even hum means the cluster is alive
- Judge the stores by lifting the back of the hive ("hefting") or weighing it
- After snow and ice, clear the entrance so the bees can take a cleansing flight
- Use the broodless period for the final varroa treatment
Let the app remind you
Wintering is a sequence of steps that have to happen at the right time — and it is easy to skip one. In the bee-keeper app, seasonal reminders walk you through the autumn jobs, and for each hive you record how much food you gave and when you treated for varroa, so in spring you know exactly what each colony is coming out of winter with.