I installed my two packages on Sunday late afternoon. Today, Tuesday at about 5pm, there was very little activity in one of the hives, no bee feeding in the hive top feeder. A well intentioned neighbor lifted the feeder and saw lots of bees clustered on the top of the frames. The other hive has a small (about 3") clump of bees underneath the screened bottom board, and showing no sign of moving from there. I am worried that the first hive is getting cold with all the wind we have had. I know I should not get in the hives to see what is going on for a few days but is this normal?
That same neighbor told me that screened bottom board are not good at keeping the hive warm in cooler weather and that I will have terrible ant problems. Is he right?
I have screened bottom boards on almost all of my hives and they have been on there all winter with no IPM boards. I was once told that cold won't kill the bees but moisture in the hive would....maybe someone else could elaborate or clarify that a little better.
As far as ant problems...what do they call a problem? I have yet to see ants "swarm" a hive and cause any problems. Ants are the least of my worries....hive beetles, wax moth, etc... are some of your bigger problems.
Keep in mind that all of this is in my opinion. Good luck and give your bees some time...
I successfully overwintered 50 hives on screened bottom boards after having started with around 52. If there is a concern about cold weather you can always slip a board in underneath.
Cold does not kill... well OK, I suppose that if you got the bees really cold it might not help them. Honey bees are kept in all 50 states many of which are significantly colder than we are her in North Carolina. I have not ever heard that someone's bees froze to death. Starve to death yes, because the cluster was small and could not move to the food source.
Colder winters actually help the bees because they do not consume as much food stores.
The ants we have in this area are of no concern to the bees. What possible threat could an ant cause a Bee? I have never had and ant problem and heve kept bees in 7 different locations around VA and NC.
Thanks for your replies. Both hives seem to be doing fine today. The clump underneath the sbb has gone. I guess I need to relax a bit and only play "mother hen" with my chickens!
