# Fall prep on Top Bar splits



## biggraham610 (Jun 26, 2013)

Cant answer TBH question, but can say, you picked a nice queen to raise daughters off of from the looks of that pattern. Well done and Good Luck. G


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## Cub Creek Bees (Feb 16, 2015)

You, and Ruthie down in Tidewater have done wonders getting me this far. My hat's off to both of you.
-Glen


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## Delta Bay (Dec 4, 2009)

10 to 12 fully drawn combs is what I winter colonies on. As Wyatt says." have the bees clustered low on the combs for winter". Other words have a good honey band above the cluster. Don't know your area and can only say that you may need to feed to have them store enough above them.


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## Apismellifera (Oct 12, 2014)

Sounds as if you've done yourself proud with those 4 hives. I'd call 'em real hives and get fullsize boxes ready for them in the spring so's they can explode.

With no stores going into fall, maybe you should start feeding in the hives if you've got the room. You COULD wait to see if they will build up stores in a fall flow, or be prudent and just make sure they're at capacity now in case there is no fall flow or the weather turns nasty suddenly. I'm on the other side of the country, no clue about your weather.

A chick waterer with a donut of darice plastic canvas in the tray makes a great non drowning feeder, but the downside is refilling them. Get the plastic canvas at walmart or craft store, it's made for needlepoint kinda stuff. Cheap and virtually indestructible.

I'd think that might help to trigger slowdown on brood as they backfill with syrup. When brood is minimal, you can do an oa dribble to easily ensure the mite loads are knocked down going into winter.

Then you've set them up for the aforementioned spring explosion.

Good luck whichever route you take!


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## ruthiesbees (Aug 27, 2013)

my 3 nucs last year didn't put up the stores that I had wanted them to, so I added a sugar brick to each nuc/hive in November. Bees ate it all by December so I added another one and that lasted all the way through to spring. Just be sure to provide a close by the hive water source for the winter so they can dissolve the sugar. I did the fondant thing first. Too much work. Sugar brick is just enough water to wet the sugar and poured into a disposable aluminum pan. Let it set up for a few weeks and carve into the desired size for the hive. My topbar nucs overwintered in 5 frame Langstroth boxes so the brick went on top of the deep box, and was covered with a medium box. I also used the sugar bricks in the full size hives. For those, I just laid it on the screen floor where the comb didn't come all the way down to the floor of the hive. In this part of VA, the bees don't stay in a tight winter cluster so I just needed to get it close by. All hives came through winter with plenty of still capped stores to use in early spring. I will repeat the sugar blocks again this year in November. I don't want to wait until they are starving to give them carbs, although I'd prefer if they could gather their own nectar to store instead of me feeding them sugar.


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## Life is Good! (Feb 22, 2013)

You should start seeing more nectar coming in as the fall dearth stops. They'll put honey in a band above the brood, and on bars on either side of the broodnest. 
Should you go in later in the season (say late Oct/early Nov) and find them low on stores - take a bar and staple a regular paper file folder to the bar sides (or even over the top if necessary). Trim folder to fit your hive shape. Staple up one side completely. Place crystallized honey or liquid honey (your own is best) inside file folder, as much as you can. Staple up the side. Cut slashes (like three or so). Hang folder bar just to the edge of the broodnest. (I always pick the back edge....less disruption to the hive that way). This provides the bees their natural food source in the location they need it. Easy to make, easy to fill, easy to do!


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## Cub Creek Bees (Feb 16, 2015)

I spaced in two blank bars in all four. They are loaded with bees. I'm running out of room for the feeders. May be knocking together the long boxes sooner than I thought!

Tried to take pics of wax moths testing the entrances tonight... there were guard bees flying in the moonlight. I wasn't suited up so I backed on out of there.

Several other guys in my neck of the woods are feeding too, they left a medium of honey on after the harves and that's all gone since July. Guess that qualifies as a summer dearth.


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