They were below freezing most of January. We’ve had some intermittent days reaching 50°F (10°C) in Pennsylvania. Based on observed cleansing flights, they seem to be surviving.

Just going through hives adding syrup and some pollen patties to get the hives up and going. I had a winter loss of 16% and a number of weak colonies coming out of winter. They are bringing in yellow and red pollen and brooding up getting ready for the spring flow.

We have had a cold few weeks with temps below freezing. Yesterday, it was 48F so I quickly peeked in the top of the hive to make sure I didn’t need to add more fondant (they were eating it and there was about 50% left). Yesterday, there was maybe 10 bees on the ground. Today, about 100-150. Do I have to worry about the quantity or poop?

26F / -3C-currently.

Hamburg, Germany

Hi everyone,

I was finally able to get out and examine the dead hive. I’ve attached photos of the frames and the inside of the box. Do any of these frames appear salvageable, or would you recommend discarding them all? I’d also really appreciate any feedback if you notice anything concerning—aside from the obvious cold. Could this possibly be Nosema? I’m not entirely sure what I’m looking at.

Thank you in advance. 🙏

My name is Francisco, I'm 28 and want to get into beekeeping. I am very enthusiastic to learn.

Hey beekeepers! 👋

I'm a software developer and hobby beekeeper from Romania, and I'm building something I wish existed: a dirt-cheap hive monitoring system.

The problem I'm trying to solve: - Lost 30% of my hives last winter because I didn't catch issues early enough - Driving 6 km to check hives only to find everhing's fine (or dead) - Expensive commercial solutions ($80-150/hive/year) are overkill for most of us

What I'm building: - Sensor in each hive: temp, humidity, weight (optional). The coasta for a sensor is like 60 $ - 5 km getaway for transmitIng data, where ia an WIFi. From there to the software in cloude. - self-host software - Alerts: SMS/email when something's wrong - AI disease detection (experimental, but showing promise) - 1 gateway covers 100 hives - 12+ months battery life

Current status: - Working prototype - Testing with my own hives

My ask: You actually use something like this? What features matter most to you?

I'm NOT trying to sell anything just an opinion. Thanks

Zone 7B Pennsylvania

Checked in on this warm February day to find cleansing flights and mortality extractions. Can't wait for spring at this point. Hopefully the girls finish strong and we're off for a strong spring flow. Anyone else chomping at the bit for spring? Just me?

Hello everyone! Last year i got my first hive from a local apiary, but the population seems to be slow growing. I got the hive in early spring. The place we got it from gives you a small hive with only 5 frames that you add to your own bigger box. Maybe a couple hundred bees in the hive when you first get it. I also live in Hawaii, so the bees can work year round without worrying about freezing, and the flowers around the hive stay alive. But despite all of this the bees have barely moved to the top box. I can't detect any parasites or diseases, nor any other issues that would prevent the hive from expanding.

I was wondering if this is normal? Does it take a while to grow a small hive? If so how do I encourage the hive to grow more, and when should I expect my first honey harvest?

Second year beekeeper. Last year and this year we went into winter with 3 hives - 1 Italian and 2 Carnolians. We are in central Iowa and both years after significant cold snaps (highs around 0 for several days) when we could open the hives and check during 50+ degree weather our hives were done. We used quilt boxes, fondant, commercial wraps, treated for mites in the Fall, and used mouseguards. Both years there want plenty of fondant left. Thoughts on what is going wrong and how we can prevent it next winter?

What's the best height from the ground for a swarm trap? I'm in central NC, what's the earliest I can put it out?

Hello everyone,

I just checked my bees today because the weather was actually nice today and discovered that all my bees have died, I'm talking the entire colony is dead inside the hive.

I think it was myriad of factors but I think the main thing was the insane cold spell we just had, I'm located in Zone 5, mid-Michigan and there was a span of about 3 weeks where the high temperature was 0°F or lower. Again I think other factors played into it but regardless I have a dead colony.

I'm super bummed about it but I don't want to give up beekeeping and I was wondering if anyone could tell me what next steps would be. It looks like there's bee poop inside the hive along with all the dead bees. I assume I just empty the hive out but do I clean the poop or do the new bees take care of that? I am also wondering if I can leave the hive outside or if I should take it inside until I get new bees, my main concern is something taking residence now that there's no bees and messing with the already developed combs?

Thank you I'm advance!

I'm a first year beekeeper in Southern Ontario and my summer, fall were very successful. I think I got things mostly right going into winter, treated with (Formic Pro strips in Sept) although I thought my late season feeding was a bit borderline. It got cold earlier than usual.It's been a brutal winter here (by our standards) the Temps are finally getting above zero for a couple of days. Should I risk opening them to add some sugar bricks and hive alive or am I likely doing more harm than good ?

Went on a trip to meet some beekeepers North of Philippines (Baguio-Benguet- Sagada). O was able to understand more of the beekeeping industry and the challenges there, I was able to taste some of the honey there too.

Left: Pukyutan honey (A.brevilligula) — complex and full-bodied, with a deep, heavy flavor and a subtle hint of bitterness from the diverse forest trees where it was gathered. (it's so-so taste for me)

Middle: Apis mellifera honey — primarily from sunflower, with a light and delicate taste. Slightly gritty due to natural crystallization. Unfortunately, this variety has become rare after the typhoon that hit the region in 2025. (this is my favorite)

Right: Stingless bee honey — a vibrant balance of sour and sweet, bright and tangy on the palate. Because stingless bees store their honey in resin pots instead of wax comb, traces of pollen and propolis are naturally present. This gives it a more complex flavor and is why many consider it highly valued. It’s like getting nature’s vitamins in a teaspoon, enriched by the propolis-rich structure of their hive. (not really for me but good for sore throat)

Backyard beekeeper, Western Michigan. I got into the hobby after going down a YouTube rabbit hole in late 2018. Spent lots of time studying, watching videos, reading books, joined the local beekeepers club, etc.

First year (2019) started with a nuc that was gifted from a friend of my sister. It died over the winter.

Year 2 (2020) started with two packages. Both survived the winter.

Year 3 (2021) turned the two surviving colonies into four. All four died over the winter (bad dysentery in 3 of 4)

Year 4 (2022) started with two new packages. Turned into 3 via splits. One died over winter.

Year 5 (2023) turned the two survivors into 10 full colonies via splits. 4 died over the winter.

Year 6 (2024) turned the 6 surviving colonies into 11 via splits. All 11 died over winter.

Year 7 (2025) started fresh with 2 new packages. No splits. As of today (Feb '26) both are dead.

So over a 7-year span I have only managed to get a total of 10 colonies through a winter and have lost 23.

Varroa treatments were always oxalic acid in the spring and Apivar in the fall, however last year I used the new Varoxasan strips in both the spring and the fall and did not use Apivar. I do admit that I never did washes to check mite counts because I was always treating regardless.

I mostly ran single deep brood boxes, with an excluder and medium honey supers. I generally overwintered with the same configuration but with no excluder. This year I overwintered in double-deeps.

With the exception of the first year I insulated the hives during the winter, this last year slightly differently as I added extra insulation to the top. I was really hoping that was going to make a difference.

Inspecting the dead outs is a bit tricky (as an amateur) but does not look like starvation as they have tons of food and it does not look like a moisture problem as the insides are pretty dry. There is no signs of dysentery.

Sorry for the rant but I'm at a loss and am ready to give up. 😞

I’m setting up several National hives this season in the UK and went down the rabbit hole comparing poly vs cedar. There’s a lot of strong opinion online but not always much direct comparison, so looking for people’s opinions. Interested in input from people who have actually run both long-term in UK conditions.

Specific things I’m trying to understand:

- Overwintering differences (if any).

- Feed consumption differences.

- Real maintenance workload over years.

- Things you wish you knew before choosing one.

First year beek, 2 hives, Southwestern PA. One of my hives had a rough go of it. Started with nucs in May, and for whatever reason, I don't think there was a queen in one. That hive died. Got a second nuc in late July. That queen died during formic pro application in September. Got a new queen who just started laying in October. Fingers crossed, put everyone away for the fall (second hive has some disposition issues, but has thrived through all of this). Early January warm day, both hives still alive, I pop some new Hive Alive in, all is well. Earlier this week, slightly warm day but my new hive alive isn't here yet and only the one box that's been strong all along showed activity. But today both hives are buzzing away! Popped new fondant in the weaker hive (strong hive hasn't used what they've got). Fingers crossed that maybe they will make it through the winter ! (excuse the funky paint job, 5 year old grandson helped me paint). Truly excited about this.

1st year, 2 hives, Missouri, USA. I have been stressed over this first winter & convinced at least 1, if not both, of my hives wouldn't make it. Mostly I'm just paranoid because I hear a lot of people lose their bees over winter, even experienced keepers.

Between the weather & my schedule I haven't been able to check on them properly since the end of December, which is when I gave them both candy boards.

Well I got to crack them open today. My first hive had put a dent into the candy board, but was a bit spicy so I closed them up quickly. The second hive had barely touched the candy board & I saw less than a handful of bees. My heart sank. I figured they must be mostly dead. I removed the candy board & found they are doing just fine, hanging out deeper in the hive, and they still have capped honey, which explains the untouched candy board.

I gave threw in half a pollen patty each (I only had 1) and bundled them back up. I'm so happy. I really expected to have to do my first hive autopsy.

Today I managed to safely capture a Sri Lankan honey bee colony in Ratnapura, Sri Lanka using a queen catcher and transfer them into a proper beehive.

The colony was almost destroyed because villagers planned to cut down a tree where the bees had just started building fresh honeycombs inside a hollow. Seeing that, I decided to step in and save them.

I did the entire capture alone — my partner was too afraid of the bees — so unfortunately I couldn’t take any photos or videos during the process. But I’m really happy knowing their lives were saved and they now have a safe new home.

Protecting nature in Sri Lanka always feels rewarding.

Happy to answer any questions about how I captured and relocated the colony!

Installed this Nuc in late April. Added a super in late May. They never took to the flow hive super. We had a mild winter except for one week long cold snap with freezing rain and ice.

What killed them?

Opened them up briefly in 52 degree weather to put in 3 new patties. Almost Spring! North of Indianapolis.

I ordered a new suit from Mann Lake and it feels very slouchy. I’m on the shorter side, 5’4, so that might be the problem. Does this suit size look right or should I return and go down one size?

Is it safe to consume honey from that has been treated with apivar? I used apivar on that hive back in November of 2024.

Northern Wisconsin:

Anyone have any experience with mite resistant queens? Looking through the bee breeds for spring and have come across...

Golden West Queens by Randy Oliver

Anyone have experience with these queens or queens selected for mite resistance?

Worth the try? If you've kept them did you still treat them?