• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to after header navigation
  • Skip to site footer
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
  • [Français]
  • Sign Up and Stay in Touch!
Canadian Food Focus

Canadian Food Focus

#loveCDNfood

  • About
  • Podcast
  • Courses
  • Contributors
  • Ask Us
  • In Your Kitchen
  • Recipes
  • Health
  • Canadian Food Stories
  • On The Farm
  • What’s in Season
  • Learn to Cook
How do bees survive the winter

How do Bees Survive Canadian Winters?

How do bees survive the winter

One of the many questions I get about keeping honeybees in Saskatchewan is “How do they survive the winter?” Well, for winter, I wrap them up snug as a bug in a rug. Literally. The bees get a fall health check (bees can get sick too). I check and treat them for a nasty parasite called Varroa mite as well as a disease called American Foul Brood. To make the winter easier for the bees, we feed them a sugar syrup, sometimes with probiotic supplements, to keep them healthy over the winter. Bees don’t sleep, but they stay in their hive for the winter unless the weather is warm enough for a “cleansing flight” to go #2. Otherwise, the bees stay in clusters for warmth and feed off their honey stores. The best thing for a hive in winter is to be left alone. In the springtime when the temperatures start to warm up, the queen starts laying again and we start a new bee year. I unwrap my hives once the evening low temperatures are consistently above freezing, usually at the end April. May the odds “bee” in their favour!

Fall health program to prepare them for winter.

Wrapping bees for the winter.

Wrapping bees for the winter Part 2

Julie-Anne Howe

Julie-Anne Howe

Julie-Anne is a rancher and beekeeper from Moose Jaw, SK. She is proud to be a 3rd generation farmer with her husband and 3 children as well as a consultant in the livestock industry though her company Bar Over 3H Livestock. The Howes raise 300 cows and a have a small scale apiary (bee farm) and are happy to share the buzz about bees and bovines on their farm.

Contributor PostsJulie-Anne Howe
Previous Post:One-Pot Beef Stroganoff feature5 Easy Dinner Meals for Winter with Shopping List
Next Post:Canadian Ingredient Spotlight: Oatsoats-ingredient-spotlight

Sign Up and Stay in Touch

You can unsubscribe at any time by emailing info@canadianfoodfocus.org, or by using the UNSUBSCRIBE link provided in every email.
For more information, see our privacy policy here.

Canadian Food Focus
  • In Your Kitchen
  • Recipes
  • Health
  • Canadian Food Stories
  • On The Farm
  • What’s in Season
  • Learn to Cook
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Courses
  • Ask Us
  • Contributors
  • Newsletter
  • Privacy & Legal
  • [ Français ]
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
Canadian Agricultural Partnership
Government of Canada

Copyright © 2023 · Farm & Food Care Saskatchewan · All Rights Reserved ·

Scroll Up
Sign up for our Newsletter!

 

You can unsubscribe at any time by emailing info@canadianfoodfocus.org, or by using the UNSUBSCRIBE link provided in every email. For more information, see our privacy policy here.