Starvation remains the most common—and most preventable—cause of winter colony loss. But here’s the cruel irony that every beekeeper should understand: hives frequently starve to death with honey still present in the hive, sometimes mere inches from where the cluster died.
The winter cluster can move gradually across frames and upward to access nearby honey stores. But during extended cold periods, the tightly packed cluster cannot break apart to reach distant honey without individual bees freezing. If stores aren’t positioned where the upward-moving cluster can access them—typically in the upper boxes directly above the cluster—the colony starves while surrounded by food.
This is why food assessment isn’t just about total honey quantity. Store location matters enormously. Understanding both how much food your bees need and where that food needs to be positioned can mean the difference between survival and loss.
Assessing Your Hive’s Food Stores
Three practical approaches help you evaluate whether your bees have adequate winter stores:
- The Heft Test – your quickest assessment tool.
- Stand at the back of the hive and lift gently from the bottom board’s rear edge—just enough to sense the weight. A hive with adequate winter stores feels surprisingly heavy. Deep frames full of capped honey weigh about 8-10 pounds each. With practice, you can estimate total stores within 10-15 pounds using the heft test alone.
- Visual Frame Inspection – for precise measurement.
- On a warm day (above 60°F), examine frames in your upper boxes. Count frames with at least 80% capped honey as “full frames.” A fully capped deep frame holds roughly 8-10 pounds of honey; a medium frame holds about 5-6 pounds. Don’t count uncapped nectar as reliable winter stores.
- The Eight-Frame Rule – a quick regional guideline.
- A colony needs approximately eight deep frames of capped honey (or equivalent in medium frames) as a minimum for winter survival in most climates. This translates to roughly 65-80 pounds of honey and works reasonably well for moderate winter climates (zones 6-7). Northern beekeepers in zones 3-5 should plan for 10-12 deep frames equivalent (80-100 pounds) for longer winters. Southern beekeepers in zones 8-9 might succeed with 6-7 frames (50-60 pounds) for milder conditions.
*These numbers assume standard Langstroth equipment; top-bar or horizontal hives require equivalent total stores by weight rather than frame count.
Assess in late summer through early fall—typically August through September. This timing gives you opportunity to supplement feed while temperatures remain warm enough for bees to process sugar syrup.
When and How to Feed
If your assessment reveals inadequate stores, supplemental feeding becomes necessary. The timing and method depend on when you’re assessing and your local temperatures.
Late summer and early fall (August-September) provides the ideal feeding window. Feed 2:1 sugar syrup (two parts sugar to one part water by volume), which bees readily convert into stored honey. Feed heavily and consistently until hives reach the target weight or temperatures drop too low for syrup processing.
Late fall (October-November) offers limited options. If daytime temperatures still reach 50-60°F regularly, 2:1 syrup feeding may work, though bees process it more slowly. Watch weather forecasts—don’t feed syrup immediately before cold snaps that prevent processing.
Winter feeding requires different approaches. Once winter arrives, liquid feeding becomes impractical. Emergency options include candy boards, fondant, or dry sugar placed directly above the cluster. Other articles in our Overwintering Guide address winter emergency feeding in detail.
Store Positioning: Location Determines Survival
As you assess or supplement stores, remember that positioning determines accessibility. Ideally, the cluster begins in the lower boxes, with heavy capped honey directly above for easy upward access through winter. As the cluster moves upward throughout winter consuming stores, it finds food consistently available.
Honey stored in the lowest boxes (below the cluster’s starting position) or in outer frames far from the cluster’s core has limited value during the coldest periods. If inspection reveals heavy outer frames but empty center and upper boxes, consider redistributing stores. Move heavy frames into the upper box’s center positions, where the cluster will naturally access them.
When Weak Colonies Need Help
Very weak colonies—typically those covering fewer than 5-6 frames of bees in early fall—face compounded winter challenges. Small clusters generate less heat, consume stores less efficiently, and have poor survival odds even with heavy feeding.
Many experienced beekeepers recommend combining weak colonies with stronger ones rather than attempting to winter them independently. Combining gives those bees a chance to contribute to a colony with better survival odds. If you choose to winter a weak colony independently, feed heavily, reduce hive space to match cluster size, and understand that survival odds are lower, even with your best efforts.
Moving Forward
Food assessment is empowering because it’s concrete and measurable. Learn the heft test. Count frames. Calculate your region’s needs. Feed when necessary. Position stores where your cluster can reach them.
A well-fed colony with properly positioned stores has eliminated the most common cause of winter death. Your bees now have the fuel they need to generate heat, maintain the cluster, and survive until spring’s return.
With strong food stores in place, you’ve built the first pillar of successful overwintering — giving your bees the energy they need to make it through to spring.
