When I checked the bees after this past cold snap, I noticed one hive had an odor I would describe as like bread dough. Temp lows were down in the 20s for 4 days and one day was 19. The bees looked healthy, but the propolis on the frame rims was super gooey. This was the hive that exploded with brood a few weeks ago. Back then I vertically rotated the boxes to eventually get rid of a bottom 10 frame deep that I can’t lift safely and threw a blanket over that “now top” 10 frame deep box as it was separated from the queen and contained brood overnight when temps were SO cold. All the brood in that top excluded box is now capped and soon I can swap it with an 8 frame medium.
This is the first year I’ve had hives make it through winter. What is up with that smell and gooey propolis?
This is the first year I’ve had hives make it through winter. What is up with that smell and gooey propolis?
Comment