Beekeeping Year

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THE WORKER BEES ATE WORKING ON THE CONTENT OF THIS PAGE

August

  • Remove Honey
  • Start Verroa Treatment

September

October

  • Brood rearing ceases
  • Stop liquid feeding
  • Reduce entrance size and fit mouse guard
  • Clean honey extracting equiment

November

  • make sure the hives are wind and water tight

December

  • Verroa treatment

January

  • Add fondant if required
  • Check hives are still wind and water tight

February

  • Queen start to lay
  • Check floor for verroa

March

  • The colony will be developing a a large brood nest. This is a critical month for the colony as many colonies starve during March because they where unable to put down enough stores in the autumn
  • Heft the hive to check that there is sifficent stores and add some feed if requied
  • Remove any mouse guards
  • If the weather is right you will start to see some bee flying gather pollen from the early flowers e.g. snow drops, crocus etc.

April

  • Brood rearing increases and the bees are more active
  • First detailed hive inspection (only on a warm calm day)
  • Spring clean the hive
  • Mark any un marked queens

May

  • There maybe the opportunity to gather some honey
  • Ensure hat there is enough room for the queen to lay
  • Add queen excluder and add supers
  • Start of the swarming season to start weekly inspections

June

  • Be prepared to add some feed to get the colony through the June gap i.e. the transition from spring to summer flowering plants
  • Make sure the bees have access to water
  • Hight of the swariming season

July

  • Watch out for robbing
  • The likelyhood of swarming is reduced  but if a colony does swarm it will need help  to establish its self if it is to get through the winter
  • Start to take off surplus honey from thesupers
  • Good month to re-queen