To make sure that bees survive harsh winters of Quebec, I always ensure that beehives are very well insulated for the winter and bees are well prepared to survive it.
I have prepared the following checklist which helps me to ensure that I don’t miss anything when inspecting and wintering beehives:
- Leave at least 45 lbs to 65 lbs (20kg to 30kg) of honey to make sure your bees have sufficient food supply to get through the winter
- Inspect heney bees for viruses, bacteria, fungi, parastic mites, insect pests or predators
- Ensure that queen is strong enough to survive the winter. Ideally, you should have young strong queen.
- Inspect beehive to make sure it is intact, properly ventilated and dry.
- Insulate the beehive
My ultimate beehive insulation kit
- Thermal bubble insulation
- Garbage bags
- Small stapler
- Manual stapler gun
- Staples
