Summer Hive Management
As summer progresses I will update as often as I can. Spring, Summer and Fall are a busy time for me, so the greater updates will be done in the winter while I sit dreaming of warmer weather. I will try not to neglect the site when I get busy, so check back often!
As summer rolls in, the worry of having hives swarm begins to fade. The once a week inspections can be relaxed to two weeks.
Stepping back is a good thing. Let the hives build and grow. Summer splits for overwintered nucs is covered in its own section from this pages tab.
By the time summer hits, you should know if your queens are doing well. Hives that are small should be re queened NOW so they have time to build up and be ready for winter.
I treat my bees for mites in August to insure the next two generations of bees will be as strong and healthy as possible to raise the generation of bees that will be going into winter. Summer is when you insure the health of your hives, so that you have the best possible chance of getting those hives through to spring again.
Summer is also the time to pull those supers and extract honey. The reward for all of that hard work, the reward for being diligent in keeping your bees healthy and strong.
Depending on when your swarm season is/ends, you can finally step back from peeking in at the hives every week. drop back to a longer schedule. Some keeps try not to disturb their hives any more than they must once swarm season ends.
As the honey flow from spring ends and youi transition into summer, it is time to extract the honey the bees have gathered. Weather you crush and strain, or you have an extractor, it is both FUN and work! Once you have tasted your first harvest, honey will never be the same to you again. NO honey will ever taste as good.
Your bees are now in winter prep mode.. Meaning, everything they do from this point forward is to survive the winter.
YOU need to take some responsibility now. If you have a nice fall flow, you may need to do nothing. If, on the other hand, there is NO fall flow... well, you TOOK their honey!!!
It is up to you to replace it!
If you saved a few frames in your freezer, JUST IN CASE well, good for you! That was thinking ahead!
Split up what you saved between your hives, and then get the 2/1 syrup on them. Add the Fumagillin B. Feed them FAST.. You want them to store as much as possible, so let them take the syrup just as fast as they possibly can!
In this area, the peak for Varroa Mites is around August.. I treat as mentioned on the treatments page.. This will insure the next generations of bees will have less stress to deal with, less virus's and less of the parasitic mites.
Strong healthy bees is the goal of every beekeeper!
Stepping back is a good thing. Let the hives build and grow. Summer splits for overwintered nucs is covered in its own section from this pages tab.
By the time summer hits, you should know if your queens are doing well. Hives that are small should be re queened NOW so they have time to build up and be ready for winter.
I treat my bees for mites in August to insure the next two generations of bees will be as strong and healthy as possible to raise the generation of bees that will be going into winter. Summer is when you insure the health of your hives, so that you have the best possible chance of getting those hives through to spring again.
Summer is also the time to pull those supers and extract honey. The reward for all of that hard work, the reward for being diligent in keeping your bees healthy and strong.
Depending on when your swarm season is/ends, you can finally step back from peeking in at the hives every week. drop back to a longer schedule. Some keeps try not to disturb their hives any more than they must once swarm season ends.
As the honey flow from spring ends and youi transition into summer, it is time to extract the honey the bees have gathered. Weather you crush and strain, or you have an extractor, it is both FUN and work! Once you have tasted your first harvest, honey will never be the same to you again. NO honey will ever taste as good.
Your bees are now in winter prep mode.. Meaning, everything they do from this point forward is to survive the winter.
YOU need to take some responsibility now. If you have a nice fall flow, you may need to do nothing. If, on the other hand, there is NO fall flow... well, you TOOK their honey!!!
It is up to you to replace it!
If you saved a few frames in your freezer, JUST IN CASE well, good for you! That was thinking ahead!
Split up what you saved between your hives, and then get the 2/1 syrup on them. Add the Fumagillin B. Feed them FAST.. You want them to store as much as possible, so let them take the syrup just as fast as they possibly can!
In this area, the peak for Varroa Mites is around August.. I treat as mentioned on the treatments page.. This will insure the next generations of bees will have less stress to deal with, less virus's and less of the parasitic mites.
Strong healthy bees is the goal of every beekeeper!