After the main honey-flow is past it is usually desirable that each
colony be kept in two hive bodies of full depth. Most producers of
extracted honey do this, but too many producers of comb-honey are not
adequately supplied with hive bodies and do not give the second body.
These two hive bodies should be left with the bees at least until
brood-rearing ceases, and at this time one of them should be removed if
the bees are to be wintered in the cellar. As has been pointed out in
other bulletins of the department, if the bees are wintered outdoors
they will do better in the two hive bodies throughout the winter.
In the upper hive body will be found a considerable amount of the
honey to be used by the bees up to the time of the next honey-flow.
Usually there will be enough in the lower hive body for the bees while
they are in the cellar, especially where comb-honey is produced, but
if the lower hive body is not adequately supplied with winter stores
(perhaps 15 to 20 pounds) the beekeeper should move some of the stores.
It is also a good practice to winter the bees in the cellar in a hive
containing the full stores, except that this makes it necessary to
carry in hives weighing perhaps 80 pounds.
After the second hive bodies have been removed, if they contain honey
they should be stored in a warm, dry place, where the honey will not
be injured. If it is possible to place such hive bodies in the furnace
room of the residence, this will be found to be ideal. If no such
place is available, the beekeeper may keep these in a dry cellar or
other location where the honey will not be exposed to rapid changes
in temperature. For this purpose a place suitable for the storage of
comb-honey is desirable. It should be pointed out that the honey in
these combs should not be extracted. It will be needed for the building
up of the colonies the next spring, and to remove it is simply to
reduce the crop of the next season.
Some time within two weeks after the bees have been taken from the
cellar, depending on the weather, each colony should be provided with
its second hive body. Preferably, this should be placed underneath the
hive body in which the bees were wintered in order that the propolis
at the top of the hive may not be broken. At this time an examination
of the colonies may be made from below to see whether any of them
are queenless or require immediate attention for other reasons, but
at this season there is little that the beekeeper can do that will
help the bees other than to provide them with room for the brood and
with adequate supplies of stores. Queens should not be clipped at
this time, and usually not until settled weather has arrived. Further
spring manipulation is not necessary and the bees are better off if the
beekeeper lets them alone.
If the bees have been requeened at the proper time and if the total
amount of stores is given as indicated, it will not be worth while
to go through the bees to look for queenless colonies. The beekeeper
should see to it that at least 45 pounds of honey are provided for
each colony from the time of the last honey-flow in the fall to the
beginning of the first main honey-flow of the following season. If this
is not given in full, the beekeeper may be sure that the crop of the
following year will be reduced. This amount of honey left for the use
of the bees is a better investment for the beekeeper than money in the
bank.
It should be pointed out that the giving of a second hive body in the
spring is not simply a means of supplying additional stores, but more
than one hive body will be needed for the development of the brood. A
single 10-frame Langstroth hive is not large enough for the development
of a good colony of bees, which, before the beginning of the main honey
flow, should have brood to fill at least 12 frames.
As was stated earlier in this bulletin, a colony of bees from one
season to the next needs three things in abundance--room for the
development of the brood, stores of good quality, and protection from
wind and cold. In cellar wintering the protection is given by putting
the bees in the cellar; the room and stores must be supplied later or
the population of the colony will be reduced at the critical time of
the honey-flow. If the early sources of honey are abundant, the amount
of honey advised will not be consumed. The wise beekeeper, however,
does not gamble on the early honey-flows, but invests this honey as
life insurance for his bees.