Class #3 of BUMBA Short Course

The 3rd class covered fall and winter management as well as queen rearing.

Hopefully, the new colony will be well established and strong for the spring honey flow so that it will have adequate food for the winter. Feeding fondant (bee candy) will be necessary if they don't.

Most of the activity in a bee colony is aimed at surviving the coming winter. Winter bees have a live span of 120 days enabling them to live clustered within the hive. Enough food and good ventilation are keys to successfully wintering a hive.

I was most fascinated with the queen rearing presentation having no prior knowledge of what that entails. I have studied the supplies in the catalogues and now I understand how they use queen cell cups.