Fall Preparation for Beehives in Temperate Climates

Winter is a difficult time for animals- bees included! For honey bees, they stop raising brood around October in the Midwest and don’t start up again until about March. That means that the bees that are alive in October have to make it through the extreme cold for about 5 months otherwise the whole colony dies. Due to this stress, wintertime is usually when beekeepers see the majority of the annual losses. Therefore, we have put together some preparation tips for novice beekeepers to consider when preparing their colonies for the arrival of Jack Frost

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What is Honey?

Honey contains more than 180 different substances (El Sohaimy et al., 2015), including various sugars, water, acids, minerals, and other organic compounds. Honey usually has from a dark golden color to a light cream color depending on the floral source, and its color is quantified using the Pfund scale. Honey is an acidic substance, and generally has a pH between 3.2-6.1 (Codex Alimentations, 2001).

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