Month: February 2017

We have had some extraordinarily warm and unseasonable weather in Iowa lately. And it hasn’t gone unnoticed by my bees.

They have been put in full force as temps rise to the 50s, 60s and even 70s during the last couple weeks. As I explained earlier, the primary purpose of these mid-winter flights has been to poop. But I am sure that while they’re out it has been tempting to look for food anywhere they can find it. Usually this time of year in Iowa, we have snow on the ground and a lot of frost in the ground. I doubt that much is pollinating – maybe a few pine trees, but not much else. 

So from a bee’s perspective, finding food in Iowa in February is akin to dumpster diving.

Believe me, they’ve been looking EVERYWHERE! First, I get a text from my neighbor. Bees have almost covered her freshly filled bird feeder. Within five hours, it’s empty. That’s right, EMPTY!

We are talking sunflower seeds, millet, cracked corn, things I didn’t even know my bees can lift, let alone get into their tummies. Honestly, these bees are like hungry teenagers, glomming onto anything they can find.

A bee friend said he had heard of this happening. The bees were looking for the corn fines, the smallest particles of corn. Hmmm….corn-flavored honey?

I advised her that the bees would probably enjoy a bit of sugar water, mixed in a ratio of one part water and one part sugar. She put it in her bird path by the deck and spent the rest of the afternoon refilling it as the bees waited for their turn at the trough. 

I am sure they loved it. I feed sugar water to my bees in the spring and fall while the night-time temps are above freezing. It is a good way to maintain a hive when Mother Nature’s nectar flow hasn’t started or is beginning to taper off. I don’t usually condone a community feeding station because bees can get pretty feisty fighting off bees from other hive, but it probably doesn’t hurt to have an occasional treat, like this sugar-laden bird bath.

And it was pretty entertaining, my neighbor reported.

I am feeding winter patties to my bees right now. They are a flat, Play-Doh-like patty that has lots of sugar and some protein for the bees to munch on. They are laid flat on top of the frames so the bees do not even need to leave the hive to get it. The bees will chew through the wax paper that covers the patties, and freezing is not a problem.

When I checked today, the patties I gave them two weeks ago were gone from every hive except one. I figure that hive is still living off its honey stores from last fall, which is a good thing.

As I keep saying, it’s always something with these bees. The weather does not follow a set schedule, and neither do my bees.

It did not take long, and it happened just as I was about to leave the bee yard. But my passing thoughts about whether I needed to wear boots with my bee suit now could easily be answered.

Three unhappy bees found their way to my unprotected ankles and did what they were supposed to do – they stung me. My first three stings of the season. As I always have said, the only reason I get stung is when I have not been careful – by wearing the wrong clothes, cutting a corner, or unnecessarily pissing off the bees.

Today I decided not to wear foot protection. I knew I would need my suit: a cloudy day, cranky bees that were probably hungry and maybe a little bit cold all told me to get my beesuit out of the box in the garden house. I guess I had forgotten how much the bees crawl around whenever I disturb them in the hive. They fly at my hood, explore every zipper and opening in my beesuit, and cling to my gloves.

The task at hand would no doubt please the bees: we were adding fresh winter patties, a mixture of sugar and protein in a solid form that the bees could eat. At this time of year, I suspected they had used up all their honey stores from last summer. Until something starts to bloom in the spring, my bees rely on me to provide that supplemental food. We fed them sugar syrup last fall until cold weather set in, and we will resume that practice as soon as nights stay a bit warmer.

But I ended the afternoon with three stings on the tops of my feet. Right now they just itch, thanks to the poultice of Vitamin C and meat tenderizer that I put on them, and ice (more about those home remedies later).

I never fault my bees when I get stung. They are just doing what they have to do, being bees.

I love the winter thaw. Those warm winter afternoons in early January and February when the sun shines brightly and the snow starts to melt are just what my bees need. You’ll see them happily leave the hive, getting out to stretch their wings, and maybe find a spot of water.

Don’t think they are just dumb bees, hoping to find nectar during these bleak brown-and-gray months. These mid-winter trips are called cleansing flights. The bees use them primarily to cleanse themselves, that is, take a bee dump. Bees will not defecate inside the hive, so an occasional warm day is a welcome sight.

Equally so, seeing bees flying from my hives when the weather warms is a welcome sight for me, too! It means that my bees are at least healthy enough to take care of business. The level of activity at the upper and lower entrances also give me a clue as to how many bees have survived the cold temperatures.

I have been told that temperatures need to reach at least 45 degrees for bees to break cluster and start flying. A strong warm sun and lack of wind also helps.

Today we had one of those perfect winter days. Three of my four hives at home had bees waiting at the entrances. My friend Emily, who has two hives on our property, had bees that were just as busy. What an uplift to my spirits!

My fourth hive stood quiet under the pine tree. It could be that the sun wasn’t hitting it full enough to warm the hive. I don’t want to lift the cover and peek – on these still-chilly days it is not a good idea to disturb the cluster and risk chilling the bees.

So I’ll just have to wait. That’s the hard part about keeping bees.