This document provides advice from a beekeeper in Missouri on winter preparations for honeybee hives. It discusses evaluating hive strength in mid-September and combining weak hives. Mite management through treatments like ApiVar in August and formic acid in September is recommended. Ensuring hives have ample honey stores through feeding is also advised. The beekeeper details their process for insulating hives in late fall that involves wrapping hives with insulation boards to help prevent condensation inside the hive over winter. Their observations found insulated lighter hives unexpectedly survived winter better than some stronger uninsulated hives.

1. Midwestern Beekeepers
Grant Gillard
Holden, MO
September 20th 2020

3. ☻

6. Some advice on advice
Advice: An opinion
based on experience.
Advice will vary because
opinions vary because
everyone’s experience is different.
The beginners lament: “Just tell me the best way to
keep honey bees. Is there a right way?

7. A relevant observation
Some hives just
won’t, don’t or can’t make it.
“Failure to thrive and survive.”
Put your time and energy
into the hives that show
promise and potential.

8. A New Trend?
Freezing supers prior to extracting.
Why?
“To kill off the bugs and pathogens.”

17. Finding Capped Frames

31. Amazon.com
Organic hemp wick

32. Post-harvest care of supers

34. Winter Preparations
August 1st
• Get harvesting and extracting wrapped up
• Not the time to think about splitting
• Three Goals:
1. Strong population 6-8 frames of brood
2. Healthy colony (mite management)
3. Ample stores for winter

35. 1. Strong Population
1. Feed to encourage stimulate queen to
continue to lay eggs – 1:1
2. Supplement with Honey-B-Healthy (watch
out for robbing)
3. Feed a “stimulus” protein patty
(not a pollen substitute)

36. Stimulus Patty
• 8 cups of sugar (4# bag)
• 4 cups protein (AP23 from Dadant)
• 1 cup liquid cooking oil (canola or olive)
• 32-oz bottle of light corn syrup
• Mix in a bucket with electric drill –
(too sticky for kitchen mixer)

38. Mid-September Evaluation
• Combine weak colonies into strong
Weak will probably die out
Strong colonies can use the resources
Other option: pull frames of honey and
brood from strong and give to weak

39. 2. Mite Management
• Earlier the better, once supers come off

41. 2. Mite Management
• Earlier the better, once supers come off
• 50% Formic Acid – “flash treatment”
86 degrees or cooler
• ApiVar (a little expensive)
• Oxalic and Glycerine on shop towels

42. 50% Formic Flash Treatment
• West Virginia University, early 2000s
• Initial project conducted by Jim Amrine
and Robert Noel
• Follow up research done by Dennis Van
Engelsdorp, Robyn Underwood and
Diana Cox-Foster
• Used in conjunction with grease patties

43. Grease Patties
• 8 cups sugar (4# bag)
• 1.5# Crisco – hydrogenated vegetable oil
(half of a 48 oz canister)
• 1 cup honey
• 1/3 cup salt
• 3 tablespoons wintergreen oil
• 2 cups AP23 protein supplement

44. Preferred Plan
• ApiVar in while it’s still hot
• Follow up with grease patties
• September “clean up” with 50% Formic acid

45. 3. Ample Stores - Further Feeding?
• Mid-September – switch over to 2:1
• Start to consider solid feed
-candy boards (cooked fondant)
-sugar bricks (10# and 1 cup water)
• Cheap insurance

47. Insulate the hives (?)
• Wrapping with roofing (tar) paper
Warms the hive to allow bees to
break cluster and move to an
area of new honey
• Moisture problems with condensation
• Insulation not needed in Missouri

48. My thought process
“The cold doesn’t kill colonies; it’s the
moisture (implying condensation).”
Conclusion: condensation is a problem
when the hive is poorly insulated.
Remember: Bees heat the cluster and not
the environment.

54. Anecdotal Findings
• The majority of the lighter hives with
insulation unexpectedly survived
• Some of the stronger colonies without
insulation unexpectedly died
• Concession: There are many variables

57. Protocol – October/November
• Lighter hives get a candy board
• 1” blue board over candy board or inner
cover
• Additional empty super on top of blue
board to account for telescoping cover
• Wrapped with 2” pink board

58. Protocol – October/November
• Screen Bottom Boards closed off
• No upper entrance (covered by insulation)
• No entrance reducer installed
• ½# screen wire for mouse guard

59. Observations
• Cost to insulate = $16 - $20 per colony
Fall of 2019 into
winter of 2020 = 80 hives
Lost 8 hives spring of 2020