WinterBeePictures

These photos were taken in January 2008 in a South Anchorage backyard. Notice how they are placed up against the
house protected from our high winds and facing the southern exposure. They are standing on 2 deep pallets. There is
a stand (a frame the size of the supers) made out of 2x4's between the bottom board and the supers. That keeps them
elevated from the mounting dead bees that pile up in the winter months. They have a bottom entrance and a top
entrance that are reduced to 1/4" openning to keep out the mice and offer some ventilation. The 2" blue board sleeves
are made to slide over each super; there's about a 1/4" space between supers and sleeves. These tips I learned from
Tom Elliott who has had much success in wintering bees. One of the hives has a screened bottom board I got from
Steve Victors. It was an experiment. Maybe not a good idea for winter but thought I'd give it a try. It could potentially help
keep them healthy.

Note, I might have too many supers, I may have fed them too much syrup post harvest but mostly because I had some
prolific colonies. Also, the top supers are empty,holding jars for syrup and filled w/ insulation (this is a Fletcher Miller trick
because he liked to feed his bees all winter). I left them on, not needing to feed them all winter but because I am
planning on feeding them, should they run out of stores come early spring. (Nobody starves on my watch! Ever heard of
fat bees??)

The tops have plywood and bricks to keep the winds from blowing them over, and to anchor them should a really dumb
dog or bear get in the yard and try to bother with them. The additional snow piled on top probably helps to insulate them.
Well, that should keep them snug as a bug (!) in a rug....or a hive, if you will.

"What's that black dot on the end hive, an entrance?" Joe Carson asked. No, it's a sticker. That one hive has lots of
stickers on it for decoration; they wanted that so that they could tell which hive was theirs and they insisted on having a
sticker on their blue board,too. Rather demanding little beasties I say. But, if it makes them happy......
Josetta :)

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Are you a member of SABA with beekeeping photos to share?
Please email them to: w ebmaster@alaskabees.com

Ray in Anchorage sent these pictures of his overwintered hives.

Southcentral Alaska Beekeepers Association

Contributed by Dan Bale, beekeeper Anchorage, January 2009

I built a second telescoping cover, larger roof, and with 1x 6 telescoping edges. Have 3 vent holes in the
front, 3/4 inch. Tacked a fleece blanket around the hive, attaching to the new top cover. Besides the
blanket, it makes a 2" airspace around the hive.