Showing posts with label remove hive wraps in stages prevents confusion for the bees. Show all posts
Showing posts with label remove hive wraps in stages prevents confusion for the bees. Show all posts

Sunday, May 17, 2015

Removing Winter Wraps - In stages

 Here's photos to show how I try not to confuse the bees by removing the wraps all at once.
 
I've watched them when they come back and a lot of bees get confused with the sudden change from a black hive with a the wrap pulled low to a suddenly colourful hive.
 
I can do this because I'm a hobby beekeeper and I know this isn't practical for commercial beekeepers.
First I pull up the wrap and tuck it under to expose the entrance, often the entrance reducer is still in place.
 
This year when doing the formic acid mite treatment I removed the entrance reducers but left the wraps on and pulled them up so it wasn't blocked.
 
Then as the weather got warmer I came back to strip off the wraps.  Leaving them on longer won't hurt the bees and can help them to keep the brood warm.