The Colony

The queen is surrounded by thousands of her workers.

She is in the midst of their winter cluster. There is little activity except on a warm day when the workers will take the opportunity to make cleansing flights. There are no drones in the hive, but some worker brood will begin to appear in the hive. The bees will consume about 2.5 Kg (6 lbs) of stored honey this month.

The Beekeeper

This is a quiet month in the apiary. Tasks at this time of the year continue to be all about protecting the hives, checking the entrance is clear and ensuring our bees survive the Winter which requires warmth and sufficient food. If you intend treating the colonies with oxalic acid to reduce varroa do it early in the month to avoid damaging the new brood if the queen does start laying.

Feed fondant if necessary.

Time

< 1 hour

The Colony

Although this is usually the last of the quiet months for the beekeeper, things are stirring in the hive as the bees begin to respond to the longer daylight hours. The queen, still cosy in the cluster, will begin to lay a few more eggs each day.

It is still ‘females only’ in the hive. Workers will take cleansing flights on mild days. The bees will again consume 6 lbs or more of honey this month.

The Beekeeper

Caretaker activities are important. February is all about making sure that your bees have sufficient supplies to eat and drink and protecting your hives from the continuing effects of cold wet wintry weather and animals.

Time

< 1 hour

The Colony

This is the month when colonies can die of starvation. With the days growing longer, the queen steadily increases her rate of egg laying. More brood means more food consumed.

Because of the rapid expansion of the brood nest more colonies starve in March than at any other time of the year.
The bees will continue to consume honey stores.

We are now in a critical phase, colony populations are at their lowest and most of the bees in the hive will be old bees that have overwintered. These old bees will not survive very far into the Spring.

The Beekeeper

Any setback at this stage can be fatal to the colony, so we must ensure that they have sufficient food - which must be close to the cluster - and that there is as little disturbance as possible so that they can get on with the important work of breeding new bees and growing the colony.

But early in March, do not inspect (as opposed to checking) the bees unless you have a very good reason, and remember the wise advice “do not open the brood box until the Apple is in bloom”.

If the weather is warm (above 15°C), you can quickly lift the crown board and check the stores. If the colony needs feeding, ie less than two frames, then there are three options: provide fondant, sugar syrup, or a frame of honey. If it is still very cold stick with fondant, syrup should only be given if flying is possible.

If the weather is mild the bees will use a rapid type feeder, otherwise a contact feeder is better.

Remember, once you start, you should not stop until they are bringing in their own food supplies.

Time

2 hours

The Colony

The weather begins to improve, and the early blossoms begin to appear.

The bees begin to bring pollen into the hive. The queen is busily laying eggs, and the population is growing fast.

The drones will begin to appear.

The Beekeeper

On a warm and still day do your first comprehensive inspection. Temperatures should be at least 15°C, preferably warmer, with little wind.

Have everything to hand, including a few frames of good comb or foundation, in case any old combs must be replaced.

Can you find evidence of the queen? Are there plenty of eggs and brood? Is there a nice pattern to her egg laying?

Time

3 hours

The Colony

Now the activity really starts.

The nectar and pollen should begin to come into the hive thick and fast.

The queen will be reaching her greatest rate of egg laying. The hive should be bursting with activity.

The Beekeeper

Add a queen excluder, and place honey supers on top of the brood box.

Watch out for swarming.

Inspect the hive weekly.

Time

4 - 5 hours

The Colony

Colonies should be boiling with bees, and if they haven’t already they will try to swarm.

The queen’s rate of egg laying may drop a bit this month.

The Beekeeper

The advice for June is to 'be prepared' … for several events and situations, including:

• the 'June Gap'
• Varroa Treatment
• Removal of Rape Honey for Extraction
• Swarming.

These things can need to be done in a bit of a rush, so make sure that you are prepared.

The so-called ‘June Gap’ is when there may be a gap between the spring flowers such as sycamore, blackthorn, hawthorn, and oil seed rape and the start of the summer flowers such as lime, clover, blackberry and sweet chestnut.

So be vigilant and ensure your bees have enough food to get the colony through any period of bad weather.

Honey from oil seed rape will need to be extracted before it sets in the comb.

Time

2 - 5 hours

The Colony

Our bees should be at their maximum strength to take full advantage of the summer flowers.

The Beekeeper

Although we are now past the longest day and the queen will be reducing her rate of laying eggs, we still need to ensure that the queen has space to lay and our colonies have enough space to store nectar and pollen.

Continue inspections to ensure the health of your colony and continue to check for queen cells.

Add more honey supers if needed. Keep your fingers crossed in anticipation of a great honey harvest.

Check your varroa count.

Time

2 - 3 hours

The Colony

The queen’s rate of laying will begin to slow, and the colony size will begin to decrease.

Drones are still around, but outside activity begins to slow down as the nectar flow slows.

The Beekeeper

August is the month when the main extraction of honey takes place. Some beekeepers suggest no honey is removed until one week after the main flow has ceased, which they say allows the bees to settle down and become less aggressive.

Lower chance of swarming but continue to check for queen cells.

Watch for honey robbing by wasps or other bees.

Time

3 - 4 hours

The Colony

The drones may begin to disappear this month.

The hive population is dropping.

The queen’s egg laying is dramatically reduced.

The Beekeeper

September is the month when the normal beekeeping season ends, and you need to start preparing for Winter.

Feeding needs to be completed before the end of the month, allowing the colony to process the stores into a state that remains suitable for them to use over the Winter.

Check the bees are disease free. If not already done, take samples and test for Nosema. Check for varroa. Treat where necessary with such as Apilife Var.

Check your colonies are ‘queen-right’.
The brood nest may not be large, but there should still be some eggs, larvae and sealed brood.

Protect your colonies by reducing the hive entrance size and protect from Autumn gales.

Time

2 - 3 hours

The Colony

Not much activity from the bees. They are slowing up and will be hunkering down for the Winter.

The Beekeeper

October is the month when you should complete your hive preparations for the Winter.

By now you should have completed feeding your bees to ensure they have sufficient stores going into the Winter, if your bees do need any further feed, use fondant.

Generally, the recommended stores required for the Winter is 40-50 lbs (18-22 kg), and a BS brood frame contains 5 lbs (2.2 kg) of stores, so your bees require at least eight to ten frames of stores.

Continue to Monitor the varroa fall, and if necessary treat with thymol (Apiguard) or preferably organic (Apilife Var). The smell from Apiguard may inhibit the bees from taking the feed.

Watch out for robbing. Install mouse guards and consider winter insulation measures.

Time

2 hours

The Colony

Even less activity this month. The cold weather will send them into a cluster. It is all about the bees surviving the Winter, so they need to retain heat in the hive and have sufficient stores to get them through the cold months.

The Beekeeper

Store your equipment away for the Winter.
From now on and until the early Spring you should only open your hives if you are giving the bees additional feed.
Heft your hives to check for stores.

Time

1 hour

The Colony

The bees will be huddled in a tight cluster to keep warm, however, they may fly out even on cold days.

The Beekeeper

There’s nothing you can do with the bees.

Tasks at this time of the year are all about protecting the hives and ensuring our bees survive the Winter.

Time

None