Beehive covered with newspapers and waterproof paper for wintering outdoors
Many experienced bee-keepers winter their colonies successfully outdoors with home-made protection. The ordinary hives, with the covers on but with the supers off, of course, are put into winter quarters in this way: Fold seven or eight thicknesses of newspaper over the top of the cover and sides. Make a neat job of this as if you intended to send the box by mail. Use a few tacks if needed. Over this fold a large piece of tar or other waterproof paper. There is a right way to fold the ends of this outer wrapper, and a wrong way. The illustration shows the right way. If the paper is brought down from the top first and round the ends from the sides over that (the wrong way), pockets will be formed which hold snow and water. Nail thin pieces of wood on to hold the folds securely. The entrance to the hive should not be closed as bees come out more or less on warm days in winter. Be sure that the entrance is always free from dead bees.
Another way to protect hives from the cold when wintering outside is to construct a packing case three and a half inches bigger in all dimensions than the hive. Set one of these down over each hive and pack the space between hive and case with any kind of dry packing material, such as shavings, sawdust, cork chips, dry leaves. Any of these materials used wet would do more harm than good. Some sort of shelf or projection should be so placed over the entrance as to keep it open as with other forms of winter protection.
FEEDING
In the spring, bees need water. If the tree blossoms are late in coming out, sirup is often fed to the bees to give them a start. Patented feeding devices are not necessary. A flat tin pan works admirably. The best sirup for all purposes is plain granulated sugar and water, made cold. Stir in all the sugar that the water will hold. Fill the feeding pan with excelsior first, then sirup, and place it in the super. Little ladders leading up to the top of the pan will help the bees get at the sirup.
Feeding is also practised in the fall if the amount of stored honey is short. The feeding of honey is likely to start the bees to robbing. Under no circumstances should "market" honey be fed to bees. Diseases are transmitted by this practice.
| PLANTS THAT FURNISH HONEY OR POLLEN OR BOTH | ||
| gill-over-the-ground | elm | } |
| shadbush | maple | } |
| tulip tree | dandelion | } spring. |
| willow | hawthorn | } |
| grape | red bud | } |
| sorrel | fruit trees | } |
| clovers (cultivated) | fig-wort | } |
| alfalfa | locust | } |
| wild sweet clover | basswood | } |
| raspberry | catnip | } summer. |
| bee-balm | horse mint | } |
| blueberry | mustard | } |
| chestnut | sage | } |
| corn | sumach | } |
| buckwheat | smartweed | } |
| spider flower | milk-weed | } |
| sunflowers | golden-rod | } fall. |
| fireweed | aster | } |
| rape | } | |