KBBA 
Bulletin

Frigid temperatures, long nights and freezing fog! The winter holidays are upon us. Our bees are tucked in for the season and keeping their queen warm. We will have a few sunny and "relatively" warm days here and there. That's a good time to make sure the entrances to their hives aren't blocked by snow, ice or little dead bodies. You may need to pull offf the entrance reducer and use your hive tool to scoop out the little bodies. Sometimes housekeeping gets to be too much of a task for the bees and we have to help out a little. Don't be surprised on a 40 degree day to see bees out taking cleansing flights and carting off the dead.

It's also a good time to check to make sure your bees have enough food to sustain them. If the hive feels light, you can supplement them with drivert sugar or fondant. KBBA has drivert sugar available. You can add it to the hive using the mountain camp method. A piece of newspaper directly on top of the frames with slits cut in it and on top of that a cup or two of sugar. It only takes 30 seconds to get it in there, especially if you have a helper, and it may save their lives. If you want to use fondant there are internet resources for a simple recipe.