As the chill of autumn settles in, beekeepers know that this is the last chance to ensure their hives are ready for winter.

A critical part of this preparation is checking the honey stores.

Bees need ample honey supplies to make it through the cold months, and it’s up to us to make sure they have enough to stay fed and warm.

Why Honey Stores Are Crucial for Winter

Bees rely on their honey reserves to generate the energy they need to survive during winter.

Honey is their fuel, allowing them to cluster together and keep the hive at a stable temperature.

Without enough reserves, the colony risks starvation or could fail to maintain the necessary warmth to stay alive.

This makes it absolutely essential to conduct thorough checks in the fall.

How to Check Your Hives

Inspecting your hives involves gently opening them up and assessing how many frames are full of capped honey.

Ideally, a hive should have all the available frames fully packed with honey.

Keep in mind not to leave any empty frames inside your hives and remove all frames that are not covered by bees in a proportion of less than 60%.

When you find that the bees have insufficient stores, you need to take action:

Add Full Honey Frames: If you have extra frames filled with honey from other hives, this is the best solution.

Simply swap out empty or light frames with these full ones.

Feed Honey: If you don’t have extra honey frames, feeding your bees with some honey is a good backup.

I wouldn’t recommend you to feed them with sugar at this point since sugar syrup will crystalize badly and it lacks all the other important components that honey has.

Tips for Feeding

Feed Early in the Fall: Feeding should be done early in the autumn while temperatures are still mild, allowing bees to process the honey and store it properly.

Avoid Overfeeding: Too much syrup (ideally no sugar is present at this time) too late in the season can cause excess moisture in the hive, leading to mold or other issues.

Make sure the bees have enough time to dry out and cap the fresh-fed honey before winter fully sets in.

Prepare Them for Success

Ensuring that your bees have enough honey before winter arrives is key to a successful spring.

A well-fed colony will have enough strength to stay warm, protect the queen, and start foraging again when flowers bloom in the spring.

Taking the time now to check and, if necessary, supplement their stores will make a world of difference for your hives.

Remember, autumn is your last chance to make sure your bees are set up for success through the long, cold winter ahead.