EXTRA EXTRA, read all about it! The temperatures are above freezing. This week is a perfect week to check for survival in your hives and put on supplemental food if needed.
Winter patties are especially helpful this time of year. If necessary, you can also feed Pro-Sweet. I like to warm up the Pro-Sweet, put it in a feeder pail, then insulate the feeder pail and put it on for daytime feeding. Depending on the temperatures at night, it might even stay warm enough to feed through the night and the following day.
Unfortunately, with these cold temperatures we can experience losses. If that is the case, you can clean and prepare your hives for a new package of bees or a divide. It’s best to clean it out before it gets too warm outside. Clean out any loose bees, use a bee brush. Clean off the bottom board. Bring a box with you to put the dead bees in. Don’t leave the debris near your hives. When you are done cleaning it out, seal up all entrances to keep other bees from robbing your honey as you can feed that to a package or a divide. Clean it up a bit and close it up. You don’t need to worry about getting all the bees out of the frames, just brush the loose ones off.
We have a good stretch of warm weather but seeing possible cooler temps later on. So triple check the food stores and do what is necessary. We have winter patties, feeder pail insulators and Pro-Sweet available at the store if needed. Additionally, we still have package bees available as well. Good luck everybody!