As winter approaches we as beekeepers need to make sure the bee hives have enough food to survive winter. Depending on your location and how bad your winter are the bees need different amounts of food stores. To determine how much you would need your hive to weigh talk to a local beekeeper. Ask them how much weight they get their hives up to for winter. In the northern tier of the states and in Canada no less than 90-100 pounds of food is needed to survive from roughly October to May. In the southern states 65 pounds will usually stretch through winter to the start of spring when nectar begins to flow. In either case winters can be different from year to year. One year it could be a calm winter and other years it may be harsh. So with this being said always play it safe. After you find out the desired weight to get your hive stores too, You should start by weighing your bee hive. This can be done with a set of heavy duty bathroom scales as seen in pictures below. Tilt hive to o...
JCs Bees is a central Ohio beekeeper who share personal beekeeping experiences and advice to help other beekeepers