Beekeeping Calendar

Beekeeping Calendar

Introduction

I’m continually updating this page with the latest advice in the BBKA journal and scientific evidence in order to create the ultimate beekeeping calendar. My aims are to increase colony survival rates through reducing varroa (I’m aiming for very low numbers), feeding, hygiene, re-queening, ventilation, insulation and protection and to maximise honey production through good swarm management and hive manipulations.  Not easy!

It’s worth noting this calendar is based on the following:

  • I am a novice & improver, hence the techniques are simple
  • I use 14×12 brood boxes, hence this means some techniques involving double brood boxes are not possible
  • I live in Gloucestershire, in the South of England, hence it gets warmer here earlier than in the North
  • The calendar will vary slightly depending on how long the winter lasts, the weather and my ability to get to my hives

January

  • The bees will consume about 24lb (11Kg) of stores in January – so check they have enough by hefting hive (don’t open the hive)
  • Read books, study for March BBKA exams
  • Build hive parts
  • Get all you DIY and other jobs out of the way in advance of the beekeeping season kicking-off

February

  • The bees will consume about 24lb (11Kg) of stores in February – so check they have enough by hefting hive (don’t open the hive)
  • Undertake varroa count and plan treatment as necessary
  • Read and plan the next 6 months, especially Feeding, Swarm Control and Varroa Management
  • Order equipment and bees (from reputable supplier … or a mate), as required

March

  • Take BBKA exams
  • Observe hive entrance for flying bees bringing in pollen
  • This is the month when colonies often die of starvation. Weigh hives and feed bees if necessary (Read: Feeding Bees)
  • When weather warmed up:
    • Remove chicken wire
    • Remove mouseguards when the weather has warmed up and the bees are no longer in a cosy cluster
  • Start new seasons Hive Record Cards

April

  • Easter Weekend: Plant Bee-Friendly Flowers
  • Spring feeding (Read: Feeding Bees)
  • Spring cleaning (Read: Bee Hygiene)
  • Varroa Management: Either cut off drone brood below shorter frames you are using in the brood box or insert drone brood foundation into the brood chamber next to the outer frame of brood.  In 2014 I used the former effectively, but I will start using the later method in 2015
  • Change brood box and floors for clean ones (if you have spares that you disinfected, read: Bee Hygiene);
  • Understand what healthy and diseased comb looks like: Brood comb photos
  • Inspect bees as follows:
    • Inspect every 7-9 days for disease, swarming intentions, status of Queen, brood pattern and stores (9 days is the time it takes the bees to create and cap a Queen cell and decide to swarm).  Temperature must be above 15C
    • Practice good apiary hygiene (Read: Bee Hygiene)
    • Undertake varroa counts
    • Use MAQ strips if required for Varroa Management
    • If bees show intention to swarm then create artificial swarm
    • Super-up (when bees cover 7 of the 10 frames, add a super)
    • Remove supers for extraction as required – essential if your bees are bringing in oil seed rape
    • To understand nectar flows, read: Harvesting Honey
    • Unite weak colonies where necessary
    • Make sure there is enough space for the bees
  • This inspection is a good time to find and mark the Queen before hive gets too busy

May

  • Start of May – Set up Swarm Traps / Bait Hives
  • Inspect as above
  • Add super, preferably one that needs drawing out.  Thinking: they will produce wax and this might reduce their intention to swarm

June

  • Inspect as above
  • Install Asian Hornet Traps (more about: Asian Hornet)
  • If have Queen in her 3rd year then create a nuc with her. As I am doing this in mid-June it will not reduce the number of bees available in the Queen-less colony for the July nectar flow. Having a nuc means that if things go wrong you still have the old Queen if the old colony has a problem raising a new Queen. Also – now is a good time to requeen if necessary (e.g. aggressive bees).

July

  • Inspect as above
  • Watch out for robbing
  • This is a good month to requeen (with mated queen)
  • Late July or early August (whenever the nectar flow stops):
    • Remove supers, harvest honey, put wet supers back on and then remove a few days later when dry (taking honey now, i.e. quite early gives the bees time to create stores for winters and means you might not have to feed them for the winter)
    • I put any frames with uncapped honey into one super and put this below the brood box. This gives them a bit of extra food and the extra height keeps them a bit further from the cold ground (I leave it like this till the spring)
    • Queen Excluder should be at the top above the brood box
    • If medium/high varroa count then add Apiguard – temperatures need to be above 15C for 4 weeks. Varroa counts can be inaccurate – so you might just want to add Apiguard whatever the circumstances

August

  • Inspect as above
  • Add entrance narrower
  • If required start feeding (Read: Feeding Bees (how-to guide).  Also, read Starving Bees (a post I wrote when my bees had starved by 18th September)

September

  • Inspect and look for:
    • Weak colonies.  Colonies need to have bees over at least 5 frames to survive the winter.  Weak colonies need to be either (A) overwintered and fed in a nucleus box or, (B), better to unite weak with strong colonies, as long as they don’t have any disease. I have read only 50% of nucs survive the winter (Read: combining hives)
    • String colonies are also queen-right and disease-free
    • Food stores – they need 18Kg of stores to get them through winter (15Kg with Bee Cosy). Each standard national brood frame holds 2.5Kg of honey (and each 14×12 holds nearly 3.75Kg). Hence you need 8 (or 6) frames of honey
  • Feed colonies as required (see above), further notes:
    • Use thick sugar syrup (2:1 sugar:water)
    • 1Kg of sugar will create 1.25Kg of stores in the brood box
    • I have queen excluder between the feeder and brood box so the Queen doesn’t get into the syrup and possibly drown
    • Don’t overfeed – you are aiming for spring balance to record a weight of 15Kg each side of the hive (less the roof) by the end of October. Allow for the bees bringing in nectar from ivy.
    • Read Feeding Bees for more information
  • Clean equipment prior to storage.  Store and protect brood box, supers and comb from rodents and wax moth (Read: Bee Hygiene). I have started using B401 to protect from wax moth
  • For further information Read Top Tips For Preparing Bees For Winter

October

  • Keep feeding until spring balance records a weight of 18Kg each side of the hive (less the roof) at the end of October.
  • Remove queen excluders
  • Configuration for the winter:
    • Adequate ventilation in order to get the moisture out of the hive (bees will get wet and cold otherwise):
      • If you have solid floors – then top ventilation required
      • If you have open mesh floor – then no top ventilation required and could cause too much draft
      • Read more: Hive Ventilation & Configuration
    • Insulated roof (means the warm air rising does not condense and drip down due to a cold roof). Some people have 5cm plus of insulation.
    • I have 2.5cm insulation in roof plus a Bee Cosy
    • Put hive at slight angle so drips of condensation on the crown board go down side of hive rather than drip into the winter cluster
  • Add mouseguard – I have read that 50% of hives would have a resident mouse if it were not for a mouse guard. Put them on at the end of October (when bees are starting to cluster and not strong enough to defend themselves)
  • Add chicken wire to protect hives wood peckers (Bee Cosy should be adequate)

November

  • Take varroa counts
  • Make sure hives are secure against the weather
  • Take BBKA exams

December

  • Dead bees might start to block the entrance. Take out the entrance narrower, sweep out the bees with the mouse guard and then replace the entrance narrower but with the entrance at the top, this means that the dead bees should not block the entrance as the entrance is now higher
  • Oxalic acid treatment (Read: Varroa Management). In the UK research has shown that 10-25 December is the optimal time to apply Oxalic Acid.  I like to do it on the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, which occurs around the 22nd December.
  • Feed fondant if required (Read: Feeding Bees)
  • Check stack of stored brood boxes and supers for signs of rodents or wax moth

Please comment below if there is anything I should add.

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22 thoughts on “Beekeeping Calendar”

  1. Hi Roger,
    thank you so much for sharing and all the effort you document (and in funny way too). I am entertained and found loads of interesting info – beginner myself – starting right now. I am from a colder climate (southern Finland) and hope to live up to the challenge. keeping the thumbs up for you – if I ever show up in your region, will surely buy a jar or two of Talking with Bees. 🙂
    Niki

  2. Hi Roger,

    Thanks for your website. I like the way you explain things simply but in an organised way making this site very useful for novices.Tremendously helpful for someone like me struggling through their first swarming season.

    Patrick.

  3. I also live in the south in Dorset actually and started with bees this year, I find your website really helpful thanks. A good guide and rule of thumnb, had I known some of this information earlier I may not have had the swarms! thanks

  4. I tried three times in 2014. I’ll give it one more shot this spring. Perhaps in the Colony of North Carolina we rednecks catch on more slowly. Thanks for the advice and humor. Bill

  5. Thanks a lot for documenting the whole year and seasons so well. I am going to do this myself this year. It is Spring now here in Australia so I’m going to get started in a couple of weeks and have a few beginner workshops lined up as well. Will be following your work on Facebook if you are active there. -Bec

  6. Hi roger
    I’m a complete novice but and would love to come and see what you do, do you run any workshops or beginner courses
    Josie

    1. Hi Josie,
      I would love to do this kind of the thing in the future … but right now I’m too busy with my regular job, kids and looking after the bees.
      If/when I do get into the position where I can teach others about honeybees and beekeeping, I’ll let everyone know via a blog post.
      Roger

    1. Hi Paul. Good shout. BBKA says hive needs minimum 20 to 30lb to survive average winter. We can’t predict how bad winter is going to be. Other UK websites say 30 to 60lb for the winter depending where you are. USA hives need up to 80lb in the north. I take my crop and July and heft in October. Most Octobers the hives feel heavy enough and I haven’t had a winter loss due to starvation for a while now.

  7. Thx, good article…if you treat for varroa and have an uncapped super below, doesn’t it taint your honey?

  8. Maybe a good tip: instead of using B401 against wax moths. you can also put the frames in the freezer for a few days. then all moths + larvae/eggs will also die.

  9. Brilliant thank you so much. Just the right level of detail. I’m new so a question is do you always use veroa treatment in spring rather than autumn

  10. Wasp and Hornet traps should not be used. Wasps are only a threat to weak hives so actually help the beekeeper to identify these. They are good pollinators and also remove many garden pests.
    European Hornets are even less of a threat to honey bees. They have a bad reputation but are in fact far less aggressive than wasps and are great pollinators. Please do not kill these valuable pollinators. Biodiversity needs all the help we can give it.

    1. Hi Paul. Becoming more aware of nature and the environment since I started beekeeping, I agree with you. We shouldn’t be supporting honeybees to the detriment of wasps, European hornets and other species of bees.

  11. Hi, With me being in the southern hemisphere, I may be an idea to do a bee calendar with the needed information. If I get tiem in the next few weeks I may help and redo your to reflect the southern hemisphere.

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