Getting a colony ready for an Ontario winter

It's the first week of September. Anne slides her hands under the back of her hive and lifts it an inch, the way her mentor showed her. It comes up far too easily. Her colony looks busy and strong, but the box is light. And in Ontario, a light hive in September is a colony that may not see April.

Getting ready for winter is the most important job of the whole beekeeping year. In the Ontario colonies surveyed for twenty twenty four to twenty twenty five, every one was wintered outdoors, so your hive has to carry its bees through months of cold on its own. The work starts in late August, not November.

Job one: mites. The bees being raised now are the winter bees, the ones that have to last for months, and they must be healthy. Sample for Varroa in the last week of August or the first week of September. Ontario guidance says to have mites below three per hundred bees by the first of October. Treat promptly if you're above that, and test again afterwards.

Job two: food. Honey supers can stay on in Ontario until about mid September. As soon as they come off, start feeding thick syrup, two to one, two parts sugar to one part water by weight. Give each full sized colony at least fifteen litres. Thin syrup stored for winter can give the bees dysentery.

How much is enough? Ontario's ministry gives targets by the weight of the whole hive. A colony in one brood box should weigh at least thirty two kilograms going into winter, and a colony in two boxes at least forty five. The beekeepers' association suggests even more. Heft your hives to check.

Finish feeding before the weather turns. Once it drops below about ten degrees, the bees stop flying and can't take the syrup, so aim to have every colony fully fed by mid October.

Job three: bees. In the colder parts of Ontario, the ideal colony going into winter covers seven to eight frames with bees. A big cluster stays warm more easily and uses less food than a small one.

Job four: the hive itself. Wrap it, with insulated wrap, cardboard, foam board, or a wooden box packed with shavings, to shelter it from the cold. Reduce the entrance. And give the hive an upper entrance or vent, so that moisture and stale air can escape. Moisture is a real danger in a wintering hive.

How will you know if moisture was a problem? In spring, the signs are dead bees blocking the lower entrance, a wet inner cover or damp walls, and mould. A bottom board tilted slightly forward helps water drain out.

Now let's change one fact. Suppose Anne leaves feeding until the end of October, after the first cold snap. The syrup sits in the feeder, untouched, because the bees can't reach it in the cold. Her hive goes into winter light. And even a colony with honey in the box can starve, if a long cold spell separates the cluster from its stores.

The mistake beginners make is thinking winter preparation starts in November. By then it's too late to fix mites or food. It starts in late August.

Here is the rule, in one breath. Get mites below three per hundred bees by the first of October, feed at least fifteen litres of two to one syrup and finish by mid October, reach thirty two kilograms for a single box or forty five for a double, go in with seven to eight frames of bees, then wrap, reduce the entrance and vent the top.

Next, the other end of winter: waking the colony in spring.