Wraps will also have an upper entrance hole for ventilation, moisture control, and for bees to leave the hive to defecate. Wrapping hives in black plastic helps to reduce wind exposure and keep in heat. Strong bee hives can do just fine outside all winter as long as they are protected from the wind and water. Finally, as temperatures start to decrease in the late fall, beekeepers will wrap their hives. Similar to the habits of domesticated honey bees, they construct hives by chewing wax until it becomes soft, then bonding large quantities of wax into the cells of a honeycomb. Without food in the winter, a honey bee colony would not survive. Wild honey bees make hives in rock crevices, hollow trees and other areas that scout bees believe are appropriate for their colony. Sugar syrup acts as nectar and the bees will use it to replace their honey stores. In the fall after honey is harvested, beekeepers will feed their colonies with sugar syrup. This will allow colonies to go into the winter with the largest population possible and decreases the chances of pests and disease overtaking the colony through the winter. Keeping colonies strong and disease free throughout the summer and fall is the first step to a successful winter. Overwinteringīeekeepers do many things to help their hives survive the winter. Some comb is built larger for rearing drones and is built into downward facing cups to rear queens. The comb is used for food storage (nectar, honey, pollen) and brood rearing. Hexagons are a very efficient shape! They are the shape that utilizes the most space, while using the least amount of wax. The comb is constructed with the worker’s mouthparts into small hexagons which are all evenly spaced and sized. Bees use their wax to build all the comb in their hive. Wax is produced by glands on the underside of the bee’s abdomen. Frames allow honey bees to use less wax and energy to build their comb, and the beekeeper can easily remove frames for inspections without damaging the hard work of the bees.įun fact: honey bee colonies can grow up to 50 000 individuals at the peak of the summer! Beeswax Bee boxes are built to reflect a dark cavity, and honey bees are happy to build their comb on the wax or plastic frames provided by the beekeeper. Modern beekeeping takes advantage of how European honey bees behave in the wild. They make multiple, evenly spaced, vertical sheets of comb attached to the top of the cavity. European honey bees prefer to make their nests in dark, empty cavities such as a hollow tree or a wooden box.
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