# My bees



## turpelzoo (Jul 4, 2009)

I live in southeast Nebraska, it's been well below zero and we've had a ton of snow. I opened my hives briefly to put bee candy boxes on them today and there was absolutely no movement or sound from either hive. Do you think there's still a chance there are some live bees in there? Or should I consider them a loss? Thank you.


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## indypartridge (Oct 26, 2004)

turpelzoo said:


> I live in southeast Nebraska, it's been well below zero and we've had a ton of snow. I opened my hives briefly to put bee candy boxes on them today and there was absolutely no movement or sound from either hive. Do you think there's still a chance there are some live bees in there? Or should I consider them a loss? Thank you.


Likely a loss, but you never know for sure until you open them in the spring. I remember one spring I went out to clean up a hive I was certain was a winter deadout, and it was full of bees. I'm hoping I'll get lucky again, because a number of my hives are deathly quiet.


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

It is still January the bees should still in the bottom deep even though maybe near the top. Also since it is so cold they have slowed down their motablizim so they are not eatting as much.

Even if they were alive you may have just killed them when you opened the hive up in the cold. Why on earth didn't you put the candy board on when it was warmer or wait til it warmed up.

 Al


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## turpelzoo (Jul 4, 2009)

This is the time I always put the candy boards on. I didn't "open up the hive", I lifted off the inner and outer covers for a few seconds and put the candy board on quickly.


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## Michael Bush (Oct 26, 2008)

I'm also in Southeast Nebraska. I wouldn't be opening them in this kind of weather. I'd put the candy boards on in February IF I got a warm day or March.

As for whether they are alive, they might be. Heat would be a better indicator than movement as the cold makes them pretty slow and there may be live bees inside a ball that has some dead ones on the outside. I'd wait for a warm day and see what is flying.


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## turpelzoo (Jul 4, 2009)

Well, I got them from Charlie Simonds and he told me to go ahead and put them on yesterday and doing what he tells me to do has done well for me so far. Thanks, though.


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

If you take the lid off a jar you opened the jar. 
Since you took both the inter and outer cover off you opened the hive. Heat rises so the hive lost heat.

Maybe you'll be getting more bees from old Charlie in the spring.

 Al


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## copperkid3 (Mar 18, 2005)

My thoughts exactly Al......either Charlie has told his customers 
that this is the time to do this (but may have neglected to 
mention that it should only be done if weather permits), 
but he may have a "pressing need" to sell more packages? :grump:


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## Michael Bush (Oct 26, 2008)

Charlie is a very knowledgeable beekeeper, and honest as anyone I've ever known and odds are putting the candy boards on is not the cause of your issues. I still wouldn't have done it in this weather. But still I would say they may or may not be fine.


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## stormwalker (Oct 27, 2004)

Couldn't you put a hot water jug under the hive?


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

Wasn't ment as a cut to old Charlie by any means.

Some times the bee keeper just does not listen to what the mentor has to say and they don't read any thing because they have the mentor to tell them what to do.

Case in point I tell the lady I was teaching to feed her bees in the spring. I call her up the second year she has them and tell her it is time you get the honey supers on. I stop in a week latter to see if wshe did as I told her to find the honey supers on whit a jar of syrup on top. she did it again the 3d year. Then this fall I stop in to see how she was doing with then to find she still had two colonies in single deeps.
Truefuly she doesn't really want the bees for any thing other than to be able to say she has bees.

YA I can see me running out to the freezeing bee yard every half hour to put a hot water jug under the hive. 
Why not run 600 feet of extention cord and installing a heat lamp?

 Al


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## stormwalker (Oct 27, 2004)

YA I can see me running out to the freezeing bee yard every half hour to put a hot water jug under the hive.
Why not run 600 feet of extention cord and installing a heat lamp?
:D Al[/QUOTE said:


> Well I wasn't asking you to open the hive every half hour, was I?
> LOL
> I was just thinking about the chill if you had to open the hive in cold weather. I thought it might be an easy way to give them back some of that heat.
> P.S.
> I wish I had that much extension cord.


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