Starvation

This morning I went and checked on the bees.  I hefted the hives - this means getting hold of one end and slightly lifting the hive to feel how heavy it is.  Heavy is good it means food.  They both felt heavy the
Garden hive was heavier than the Temple hive.  I took the roof off the Garden hive and all the sugar fondant I gave them before Christmas had gone.  The insulation I put in the roof had fallen out on top of the crown board so I removed all of it, I'm not sure insulation is really necessary.   I gave the Garden hive another piece of fondant and closed it up.  The Temple hive hadn't really touched their fondant and the insulation I put in that hive had also fallen out so I removed it completely and checked the fondant.  It still felt soft on the underside where the bees were feeding so I left it with them.  I will check on the bees every two weeks now to see if they need more fondant.  Starvation is a real risk from now on as the weather gets warmer and the queen may start laying eggs.  Since there are no flowers yet for the bees to forage they are completely dependent on their winter stores until March.