Adequate winter food stores

Ensuring adequate winter food stores is crucial for colony survival through winter. Honeybees rely on stored honey as their primary food source during cold months when nectar is unavailable. Beekeepers should assess honey stores in late fall and supplement with sugar syrup or fondant if honey stores are insufficient to last through the winter. Providing adequate food stores ensures bees have enough energy reserves to survive the winter and emerge strong in the spring. Winter feeding should be done in late fall or early winter before bees cluster tightly and become inaccessible.