A fresh article about splitting winter bees and the mistakes of doing it too early
One of the best ways to increase your apiary/number of hives is to make splits in the spring when the bees are naturally making increase and preparing to swarm. In other words, take advantage of their natural inclination to swarm and channel that energy into producing splits. Turning lemons into lemonade!
Winter preparation is a bit overwhelming and stressful for the beginner and this course will help newer beekeepers with lessons learned, how to's and even what not to do's. In this 101 course the article and video below show how we prepare for winter here in Southwest Missouri.
I got my first experience with the damage a mouse can cause on a colony of bees this year, It was a lesson I won't soon forget! A local beekeeper passed away recently and the family asked Jeff to sell off his excess equipment and remove a couple remaining hives of bees that had not been touched since last October. First the bees were relocated because family members said they were allergic. Second we were very busy with packages, nucs, removals and swarms. Inspection of those hives would have to wait.
As most of you know, I started keeping bees when I lived in Indiana. In 2008 I moved some of my bees with me to Missouri. Beekeeping here is different than Indiana even though we are not that far apart geographically. My beekeeping journals show just how different the Februaries are here in Southwest Missouri than they are in Indiana. These articles are here to share the lessons I’ve learned while keeping bees here in Missouri.