Checking on bees in mid January

Yesterday, January 10th, brought warmth and sunshine so I put on my boots and walked over to the beehive to see if there was any activity.  There was.  Bees were flying about, and seemed like they were looking for food...doing what they always do.

But unfortunately, I also saw a lot of dead bees lying in the snow away from the hive...like the bees flew out but never made it back to the hive.  In doing some reading, I learned that this is normal and that if I see bees at all, that's a good thing because they are still alive in the hive.  At least some of them are.

It doesn't look like there are any surviving bees in my little nuc on the left.  I will be surprised if there are any that  make it so if not, I'll need to start another in the spring, hoping that I have enough in the big hive to start another one.  I think it's just too small and they couldn't get warm enough in this Vermont climate.  If I try another Nuc in the future, I may keep them in the greenhouse where they can be warmer.  I was told, however, that the fluctuating temperature might be too much for them. Not sure but the cold getting to them in a small hive doesn't seem to have worked.

Bees getting some fresh air in January

Happy bees venturing outside

Bee in the snow...taking a drink?

Bee looking for nectar or pollen, fruitlessly

 The next day was still warmer, for January in New England, so I went into the larger hive and added some fondant to begin feeding the bees.  I'm told that they begin to get ready for spring during January and begin eating more.  So this supply of fondant should carry them over until the next warm day when I can open the hive to check on them.

It's funny how one begins to worry about them when they've been surviving on their own for thousands of years...well, at least until man began using pesticides.