Weighing the hive - control of food status

After I harvested the last honey I fed the bees with Apivert three times during October. It was quite surprising that the bees were able to move 3-4 kg of Apivert into the hive in just 2 days. Wow - one bee carries a few µl so talk about a major team effort.

This was also the first time I saw that bees actually have a quite long tongue. Never seen that :o)

Anyway, I ended up feeding them 1½ bucket and by the end of October the entire hive weighed 30.5kg

Yesterday, the 24 of November it weighed 26.7 kg a loss of weight of 3.8 kg - so about 4 kg the first month.

I use the "suitcase scale" that is shown in the picture. Great and cheap tool - a "must have".

Throughout the winter I will weigh the hive to see how it develops. The mass should drop slowly throughout the winter. In the spring it should suddenly increase when the bees start collecting nectar and pollen again. Then it is time check on the bees again.