How to Keep Your Bees Warm

During the cold winter months, most bee breeds hibernate except for honeybees. Honeybees remain active all winter and keep warm by huddling in a circle around the queen bee and vibrating their bodies. Staying warm takes energy and thus the bees must have plenty of stored honey from which to feed. If there is not enough stored honey, the bees slowly start to die, and eventually the entire colony dies. To ensure your bee colony makes it through the winter, use hive covers and supplement their honey supply.

Things You'll Need

  • Black tar paper
  • Pollen substitute
  • 1 1/2 cups soy flour
  • 1 cup brewer's yeast
  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup hot water
  • Polystyrene beehive cover
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Instructions

    • 1

      Wrap black tar paper around all the sides of your hive and staple it to the hive. The black tar paper warms the hive by absorbing energy from the sun.

    • 2

      Replace the standard wooden beehive cover with a polystyrene beehive cover, which allows for ventilation. Without ventilation during cold weather, warm air created by the bees condenses, collects at the top of the hive, and falls down on the bees in the form of cold water.

    • 3

      Feed your bees. Bee colonies do not always produce enough honey to last them the entire winter and therefore should be fed pollen substitute or pollen patties. Pollen patties can be made from mixing soy flour and brewer's yeast with a syrup created by dissolving granulated sugar into hot water. The mixture should resemble stiff bread dough and be pressed into 3-inch patties.

    • 4

      Place either pollen substitute or pollen patties as close as possible to the bees.