Successful wintering of bees
For ten years I have been engaged in beekeeping, and the magazine began to read even earlier. Many tips and recommendations, drawn from the articles, immediately tried to use in their practice, but, not having enough skills, made many mistakes. In particular, when preparing families for wintering, it happened, after the next experiment, remained without bees, or they weakened by the spring. Gradually, acquiring the necessary skills and skills, I came to the conclusion that the problem of wintering should be approached in a comprehensive manner.
I start preparing for it in the summer. Usually bees put pergue in nest frames. I do not touch this framework, but leave it for the winter. If a family does not have enough perga, then I take it from the stocks of other families. In the presence of protein feed, the wintering families have brood in February-March, thanks to this the family grows and is partially renewed. Families that do not have Perga stocks are practically not developing and weakening, even if they have safely endured the winter.
A necessary condition for a good winter is sufficient strength of the family and a good supply of honey frames.
Each family needs to be approached individually. I do not remember the case where a family occupying 8-12 frames and having enough forage died. She is not afraid of frosts, she winters well in two buildings without insulation. Early in the spring, he collects up to four frames of Perga, while a family occupying four or five streets is only one or two.
From one family to 8-12 frames in addition I get in season two. Practice shows that strong families develop better than weak families, who were encouraged by bees and brood of other families. However, after the honey collection from cotton, families usually weaken and in the autumn, on average, occupy five or six streets. In Osh region this is quite enough for a successful wintering.
Ventilation in the hives provide so. From the back wall I bend the canvas 5-7 mm and cover this space with one layer of gauze. Marl put in order that bees can not go under the roof under warming, as there they usually die, not finding an outlet. I also push aside the pillow. On both sides of the roof of the double hull made large slits. Usually, insulating cushions become wet in those families where there is poor ventilation through the roof, for example, in sunbeds with small ventilation holes with a diameter of 20 mm.
Bees, pre-polishing the entrance holes, can leave a pass in the center of the tap. Cutting the summer, you can inadvertently cover this passage. So in the autumn I must clean the tapewings.
In February, if the air gets warm enough, on a sunny day I open completely the upper tapes and let the bees fly around. Beforehand I clean the snow before the summer.
Allowing at least one mistake in preparing for winter or during wintering, the beekeeper can minimize all his efforts.
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