At 10:39 PM 10/13/98 -0400, you wrote:
 
>As an aside to Tony's remarks I have a concern. With the massive flows we've
>had all summer our wintering hives don't appear as large as usual.
>We are putting our hives to bed and noticed the clusters are smaller
>than normal. I think the massive flows have plugged the hives more than
>normal and prevented the usual amout of brood production.
 
Hi Friends,
 
First back to the Oak Honey, even in this area of mild winters oak, fir,
willow, or any honeydew can be a problem with carrying the bees through a
long period with little or no brood rearing. Some of this may be because of
 the quality of the honey itself or the lack of pollen during these good
extra floral flows. In some cases even small amounts of honeydew can cause
the bees gastro intestinal problems if they can not fly and relieve
themselves.
 
Here in California our first spring pollen comes early enough to make up
for some of this, but I am sure in areas that the bees do not get out early
but start brooding about the same time with what pollen and honey is stored
in the hive, that these hives do have problems and end up an unexplained
deadout with lots of stored honey. Because of our open winters here gastro
intestinal problems seldom are seen except as expressed in yellow rain. The
only spotting inside or outside the hive I have seen is in bees from out of
state that were already in trouble and in one newbee who fed his bees prune
juice and other juices for his own personal reasons.
 
>So I wonder if they will winter well? Lots of stores though. Anyone else
with smaller clusters?
 
In my own efforts to perfect the benign neglect methodology of keeping bees
I have found the single most detrimental effect is from leaving too much
honey on them for what ever reason. Yes they look good and its nice to heft
a heavy hive in the fall but as you report there can be less young bees in
the dormant cluster and it seems to me that the efforts the bees make to
keep warm are made more difficult when the hives is blocked out with honey
that normally would have been extracted.
 
Every area is different as every year seems also but the most productive
commercial beekeepers today appear to be the ones who feed the most sugar
syrup and protein supplements. Admittedly this goes against my own benign
neglect system but I have found that some compromise may be necessary if
success is the goal even in keeping bees.
 
So my advise is take off the honey even if you are going to keep it for
feed at a later date, and feed the bees to increase brood rearing during
the times they will respond to that diets, does no good to feed them in the
dead of winter and may do harm, but in the fall and early spring it can
make a big difference. All feeding should include some kind of protein as
well as sugar un less one or the other is available naturally.
 
ttul, the OLd Drone
http://beenet.com