I like to imagine my Russian bees huddled next to one other, drinking tiny glasses of vodka as they make it through the coldest days of winter.
This morning I walked out to the hives – it’s bright blue, brisk January 10 degrees outside. The wind is still, and the snow is hard and crunchy. I am hoping to see a few bees outside of the hive furthest from the house. Yesterday, that hive showed no signs of bees. The hive nearer to the house had dozens of bees gently curled up on top of the fresh snow – a sign that hive is still thriving.
Today, I found a few more bees near the quiet hive. However, it’s not very clear which hive those bees came from. The snow clearly shows which hive is more active.
The number of dead bees outside of the hive in the above photo on the right is a little bit alarming. But, the experienced beekeepers did say that this is very common to see in fresh snow. The contrast of snow makes it far more obvious than mulch or grass.
On my way back into the house, I noticed a dead bee curled up on my driveway. It was a long way from the hive! Also, it must have recently landed or died right there. I have heard from multiple people that you can take them into the house to warm them up, and they will wake up. So, I’m trying a little experiment.
Meanwhile, I am torn about whether I should submit my order for a new package of bees, or wait a little bit longer to see if one or both hives pull through. As soon as I get a warm day, I will add emergency sugar to the hives. But, the weather is far too cold right now so I can’t do that for at least a few more weeks. All of the beekeepers are in “wait and see” mode – the issue is that the sooner you get your bee package, the quicker your hive builds up. Then again, there are enough places that I can source my bees from.
That active hive in the photo above is my mean hive. If they make it through, then I’d like to “re-queen” them. That means, I replace the current queen with a new one. The point of it is to hope that she lays more gentle workers.
Barrington Bee 