Getting the bees and Beehiveful ready for winter 🐝

Hey friends,

On my walk out to the bee yard today, I noticed something in the grass. The clover that usually has one or two bees on it had five or six. It made me wonder if they're running short on other places to forage as the season winds down. Today is our last warm day before a cold spell, and they were certainly keeping busy.

I'm feeling good about my bees heading into winter. I'm excited to go into the colder months with strong colonies and see how that pays off when spring gets here. There's still plenty to keep an eye on, but I'm happy with how they're doing.

If you're getting your own hives ready, this is a good time to take stock of food stores, review your mite checks and treatment records, and make sure your winter setup fits your local conditions. What works here in East Tennessee won't be the right answer for every bee yard.

One of the things I'm going to miss going into winter is waking up to those Nectar Flow Day emails from Beehiveful. I always looked forward to seeing some extra traffic at the hive entrance when one came in. With the season winding down, I probably won't see another one until spring.

If you haven't seen one, Nectar Flow Day emails are one of the Pro features. They use local bloom information and weather conditions to flag days that look promising for nectar foraging. The bees still have the final say, of course. I like seeing how the forecast lines up with what's actually happening in my yard.

We've been getting both our bee yard and Beehiveful prepared for the colder season. As things slow down outside, I'll have more dedicated time to work on Beehiveful and make it more useful. I'm looking forward to that part of winter, too.

What would make Beehiveful more useful to you?

Is there something you wish it did, something that's harder to use than it should be, or a tool that would help you get ready for spring? Just reply to this email and tell us. Your reply will go to feedback@beehiveful.com, and our team will take a look. I'd really like to hear what would help you and your bees.

Thanks for being here. I hope your colonies are heading into winter strong, too.

— Bryan
Founder, Beehiveful 🐝

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