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Prevention bee colonies from the cold and frost

          In winter, temperatures can drop to their lowest (a few degrees Celsius below zero) or slightly above zero, with cold winds blowing and occasional rainfall. In such extreme cold, bee colonies may perish entirely, or at least the number of bees in the colonies may decrease by more than three-quarters. Spring and summer come ( honey flow season ), and the colony is not ready to collect nectar and pollen, and the abundant forage might exhaust what remains of the bees in the colony due to the abundance of forage and the scarcity of foraging bees in each colony. As a result, the honey flow season passes without benefit. Since honey bees do not hibernate in winter but spend the winter in a state of calm or dormancy inside the hive, where they regulate the temperature to suit their survival by clustering together in a ball, raising the temperature to 32-34°C by releasing energy from feeding on honey and muscle activity. The number of bees performing this function increases as does the rate of food consumption and energy release as the temperature drops, leading to greater clustering and bonding of the bees.

What should the beekeeper do to maintain the strength and activity of their bee colonies?

        Therefore, the beekeeper must take special care of the bee colonies during this period of the year to prevent them from dying due to their inability to regulate the hive’s temperature to a suitable level for survival. The success of wintering depends on four factors::-

  1. The number of bees in the colony.
  2. The age of the bees.
  3. The amount of stored food.
  4. The preventive measures taken by the beekeeper.

        Ensuring these factors is achieved by having an active, young queen that lays a large number of fertilized eggs, as she is the guarantee of providing a large number of young bees that generate heat. Providing food and energy sources is also essential. It is important to remember that if the means of protecting bee colonies from cold (wintering)  are available, the bees will not need to produce large amounts of heat, thus consuming less stored food. The following are the most important measures:

How does the beekeeper handle bee colonies in winter?

  1. Combine weak colonies to form strong colonies capable of surviving the severe cold and emerging from the harsh winter with minimal bee loss.
  2. Seal any cracks and holes in the hives with wax.
  3. Create a windbreak in front of the hive entrances, about two meters away and one meter higher than the hives.
  4. If the entrance from which the bees exit faces the direction of the cold winter winds, open the other entrance on the opposite side. If there is no second entrance, create one using a drill, and open both for two to three days to allow the bees to get used to the new entrance, then close the northern entrance.
  5. Place the hives in an area where they receive direct sunlight during winter so that they gain warmth from the sun’s rays, helping them remove excess moisture and thus protecting against the diseases and parasites that affect bees and the hive in general.
  6. Cover the hive well from all sides with a thick piece of cloth or an old, well-cleaned floor mat.
  7. Provide the bees with enough stored pollen or purchase some from a trusted bee supplies store, or use an alternative pollen paste. There are many brands such as Nektaboll, but a newly invented paste has proven to be more effective than the most famous global mixtures. To learn more, check out (an alternative pollen mixture) .
  8. Provide the bees with a sufficient sugar solution for each colony, in a concentration proportional to the number of bees inside the hive (1 sugar : 1 water or 2 sugar : 1 water), using a fast feeder inside the hive to prevent temperature drop, which would deter the bees from consuming it. Feed them two or three times a week, making sure to clean the feeder each time before adding the solution. If your bees are not consuming the solution and it’s spoiling in place, read  how to prevent sugar syrup spoilage.
  9. It is preferable to move bee colonies from areas with extreme cold to areas with milder weather, where relatively fertile forage is available.


In conclusion, I hope I have conveyed the information correctly. If you find any scientific errors or missing information, please let me know in the comments below.


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