I’m happy to report that my Honey Bees have settled in nicely into Azzza Hive and are getting along with their new Queen, but my worries are not over.  Winter is coming and I have to make sure the Bees are prepared for the long cold months ahead, when they can no longer forage for food.  Unlike snow birds who fly south and bears who sleep away winter in hibernation, Honey Bees are like most Mainers and prefer to hunker down at home surrounded by family and eat…a lot.  As a first time Beekeeper, I feel it is my responsibility to help my Bees survive the harsh New England winter.  However, apparently there are two lines of thought on how best to care for Honey Bees during the coming months.  Some Beekeepers believe that Bees have been surviving on their own throughout time and can survive the winter without the aid of Humans…or in this case Dogs.  But others say due to the drought conditions in the area, Bees have not produced enough honey to feed themselves and are vulnerable this winter.  Thanks to my upbringing this leaves me with no choice but to be a Helicopter Bee Parent!

Bees survive the winter by huddling together and vibrating their wings to generate heat, while moving around the hive together feeding on the honey they produced over the summer.  Would you believe they can keep their hive as warm as 90 degrees Fahrenheit!  That’s way warmer than even what Mom sets our thermostat, and she likes it hot!  However to play it safe, I thought perhaps I should ask my friend Potsie’s Mom to knit them each a little sweater.  That is until she refused to knit 10,000+ tiny sweaters, and Potsie reminded me that without thumbs it would be virtually impossible for me to get those itty bitty sweaters on the Bees.

Time for plan B.  According to my research…ok, Dad’s research…to give my Bees the best chance to survive we need to winterize their hive.  This could only mean one thing, we need to buy a pellet stove for the hive!  But again, the reality of finding an itty bitty pellet stove, not to mention pellets small enough for my little friends seemed daunting.  So I relinquished control to Dad.  His plan is to wrap the hive in insulation to keep in the heat generated by the Bees, and help block those cold Nor’easter gales.  But he also needs to make sure that Azza Hive is well ventilated.  All that vibrating generates condensation, which if not vented properly could make my poor Bees freeze to death!

Another cause of death is usually starvation.  Luckily Asa’s Bees did an excellent job preparing for winter and made lots of honey to feast on in the coming months, and my Bees brought along their two best frames filled with honey when they moved into his hive.  However, I couldn’t help but notice that towards the end of Summer Asa’s Bees weren’t making as much honey despite being a strong colony.  As a first time Beekeeper it never dawned on me that despite our yard being filled with wild flowers, the drought was effecting them.  So to keep their food supply from dwindling too low throughout the winter we will feed them Bee Candy!

Bee Candy is basically sugar and water that is hardened into cakes and available for the Bees to eat if their honey stores run low.  Seriously, my Bees will survive winter on a sugar high.  No wonder their wings are always vibrating!  Not only will that keep their bellies filled, but I’m guessing will make their little wings extra buzzy with the sugar high they are experiencing!  Now some Beekeepers prefer to feed Sugar Syrup over the winter.  But that’s where having a well ventilated hive becomes even more important.  If there is too much moisture the Sugar Syrup can ferment.  This could lead to a bad episode of Real Housewives in my hive if the ladies are too tipsy!  It could even lead to death!  So Dad and I decided to make the sugar cakes.  A word of warning though.  Making Bee Candy is messy work.  But hopefully Mom won’t notice that somehow some of it got on my head while supervising Dad.

Long story short, with Dad’s help Azzza Hive is now insulated, and modified to add the Bee Candy periodically throughout the winter.  Now I just need to hope that we did our best, and that my Honey Bees will survive.  I really wish I could open the hive from time to time to check on them, but can’t because that would let the cold air inside.  The best I can do is check to make sure their vents are not blocked, that the mice aren’t bothering them, and to quietly listen for their telltale buzzing inside.  Paws crossed on that first warm day of spring I will see them happily buzzing around the yard once again!