mn_newbee · Minnesota, US · Beginners · Oct 5, 2026

First Minnesota winter — what should my two hives weigh, and is it too late to give them a frame of honey?

First year, two colonies in a double deep each, just outside the Twin Cities. I got my mouse guards and my nerves ready but I have no feel yet for what "heavy enough" means. Tipping the back of each hive off the stand, one feels like lifting a bag of cement and the other feels like a bag of potting soil. That's the extent of my measuring so far. The club talk last month said aim for the high end here because our winters are long, but nobody would give me a number. Syrup uptake has basically stopped — nights have been 1-3°C and the days barely get to 11. I do have three capped frames I pulled in August and kept in the freezer. Is it too late to put one into the light hive? And if I do, does it go right against the cluster or at the outside wall? I'd rather do one slightly clumsy thing now than find a starved hive in February.

#winter-stores#hefting#feeding#minnesota

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1 reply

QuebecBees · Oct 5, 2026 · ✅ Accepted answer

Quebec, so colder than you again. Here we want a double deep somewhere around 30-35 kg of stores going into the freeze; for your latitude most people say the equivalent of 60-90 lb of honey. A single frame won't change much, but it won't hurt either — and yes, put it in the second position from the cluster edge, not out at the cold wall where they'll never reach it. Let it come to room temperature first so it isn't a block of ice in the middle of their nest.

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