02/11/2025
The beekeeping year is now over but it’s important to keep an eye on them thru the winter - it’s too cold to open the hives but I have glass cover boards so I can peek in without chilling them (excuse my massive marigolds 😂) The bees are doing really well and are ok for food - we put a slab of fondant (literally baker’s icing fondant) over the frames of the hive in the winter. Even tho the bees have a full box of honey to see them thru the cold months they can’t always get to it - the cluster of bees (which they do to keep warm) don’t move much when it’s cold and they can starve even tho they have honey a couple of inches to the side of them! A slab of fondant over the top just ensures they can get to a sugary substance to see them thru until there’s flowers with nectar. They don’t store the fondant they just eat it so it’s a good way to see they are feeding and are healthy. The brown gunk you can see here and there is Propolis which the bees make from tree sap - they use this to plug up chilly gaps in the hive to seal joins closed and they use it as an antiseptic - it’s incredibly sticky and really hard to wash off too! 🐝🐝🐝🐝
