It's fair to say it's COLD IN PA! One of my northern PA yards had a -14 temperature this morning, but the bees are buried under a pile of snow. Removing snow from on top of the beehive is not necessary, but some beekeepers remove it from the entrance (not certain it matters for a healthy colony, but it probably doesn't hurt anything). Bees can handle high levels of C02 in the winter, and most beehives are not 100% airtight. The reason for clearing the entrance is usually related to making sure that they can take "cleansing" flights on warm days.
- Spring bee orders are live on the website, with early spring package bees (late March expected) for Carlisle, PA and mid April for Nicholson, PA. These will have 2026 Latshaw Carniolan queens. A limited number of nucs are also available with either Pol-line or Latshaw Carniolan queens. On the next warm day (whenever that is?) you may want to check on your bees.
- Beekeeping classes are also still available, with a hybrid class planned for early May at the Carlisle, PA farm shop and an indoor class for those who want some basics before buying bees is on the schedule for northern PA in February. It is a FREE class which will be held at the Tunkhannock Public Library.
- As the winter goes on, you may want to check your hive weights, as I've noticed some colonies consuming more food this winter than in prior years. If you are wanting something ready to go and not making your own, products like Hive Alive fondant, Hillco Turbo fondant, Golden Barrel fondant, Dadant winter patties, and similar are all fine to use. Ideally colonies have enough honey stored for winter, but there are times when new colonies or certain circumstances prevent that. We have winter fondant (Hive Alive) available in stock at the farm shop, until late February.
- Planning mite treatments for 2026? There are some new mite treatments on the market (and coming this year), including a new oxalic acid dribble (called RTU) which we have in stock for 20 dose. This is different from what you can make on your own and is approved for repeated use, much like you would do with a series of oxalic acid vapor. There is also a new brand of oxalic acid strips (from EZ OX) expected by late summer, a new product called Mite-Bee-Gone expected this year, and a product already released called Norroa. We won't be carrying Norroa because of the cost (around $50 to treat a double deep colony). And, of course, queen genetics are another tool you can use to reduce your number of mite treatments.
- We are stocked up with bee supplies for 2026 and we expect to start wax dipping woodenware in April. We have a 2026 price list posted, with a few changes.
- We will have 2026 queens by late May/early June. We may also bring in some late March/early April queens for those needing queens for early splits (contact us about that if interested).