Last winter I lost 4 of my biggest colonies. They eat themselves to death. 60lbs of stores + fondant and they just never made it. Working 6 days a week means I can't get to them to check stores every week. Super mild winters in my location in recent years means no brood break. Spring is a nightmare as its always freezing cold and lasts until mid May before the bees get chance to fly on a regular basis.
This year I have several stupidly large colonies going into winter, double brood and 4 supers crammed with bees. I know they are going to be in trouble come February no matter how much they have stored. What I need is advice on going forward is what to do next year as its too late now. Should I split them and unite parts to other colonies ? I was thinking of transferring a super of bees at a time.
What do you folk think ??
This year I have several stupidly large colonies going into winter, double brood and 4 supers crammed with bees. I know they are going to be in trouble come February no matter how much they have stored. What I need is advice on going forward is what to do next year as its too late now. Should I split them and unite parts to other colonies ? I was thinking of transferring a super of bees at a time.
What do you folk think ??