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Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology

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Subject:
From:
Allen Dick <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Sun, 22 Aug 1999 09:41:15 -0600
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> I  have two hives that have been  robbed completely of all honey.
> Looking for some ideas on getting them through the winter.

You don't say where you are, so any advice is likely to be pretty general, but
here goes...

Hives that have been deprived of stores at any time during mid-season are very
likely to fail during winter because they will have suffered a severe setback.

By the time you notice that they are completely out of food, they will have
depleted their own bodies of reserves and also ceased brood rearing.  Often any
existing brood will be torn out and/or canibalized.  By then it is too late for
the bees that are currently alive.  Your best hope is that they can replace
themselves with sufficient numbers of well fed young bees before winter, and
that can be tough when coming from behind with no stores of honey or pollen.

If there is good bloom around and you are able to feed them both sugar and
protein, and if you have at least six weeks until first frost (assuming you have
frost), you do have a chance.  As always, this list is not the place to get the
help you need.  You need to contact an experienced local beekeeper to see if you
need to combine the colonies and also learn why things came to this pass in the
first place.

allen

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