NORTH SOMERSET BEEKEEPERS
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Seasonal Advice 

Advice through the changing seasons suited to local conditions in North Somerset

Advice for January


  • Check entrances are clear so bees can fly in and out
  • .
  • Heft your hives, add slab fondant if needed

  • Clean and prepare spare equipment, buy new at Winter Sales
  • (Supers, Nuc boxes, Replacement brood frames, Spare brood boxes, Queen excluders)

  • Plan your activities for the new year
  • (Increase, maximise honey crop, queen replacement, queen rearing, new techniques)

  • Enter NSBK club events for the year in your new diary

  • Print off new hive record cards

  • Read your christmas beekeeping books


Advice for February


  • Watch the bees for pollen intake
  • (Crocus, Salix, Viburnum, Blackthorn….)

  • Heft hives, consider feeding with syrup and pollen patties

  • Tidy up the apiary whilst the bees are not flying much

  • On a nice day, open the hives, find and mark the Queens


  • Organise your swarm collection kit for quick access

  • Collect and dry smoker fuel

  • Clean (& repaint) varroa monitoring boards


Advice for March


  • Ensure beekeeping tools and clothing are clean and ready for use

  • Arrange a bucket of washing soda to clean tools and gloves between hives

  • First quick inspection on a warm day
  • Look for Q, eggs & brood, sufficient stores (10 lbs), diseases.

  • Remove mouse guards and winter insulation


  • Start assessing mite fall every month (less than 4/day is OK)

  • Go to Branch apiary practice meetings

  • Take the BBKA module exams!

  • Go to Avon AGM and Spring Day School


Advice for April


  • First full inspections when warm enough (Shirt sleeve weather)

  • The 5 concerns of all inspections:

    • Check for eggs & healthy brood

    • Space to lay eggs and expand colony

    • Stores ‘til next inspection

    • Building up well

    • Diseases


  • Start weekly inspections

  • Assess temperament for later queen replacement

  • Remove old brood combs and replace with new

  • Consider doing a Shook Swarm or Bailey Frame Change procedure

  • If 7 frames of brood, put on super(s) with Queen excluder

  • Watch out for Queen cells preparatory to swarming. If Q cells present:
    • Read and consider: [Queen Cells - WBKA]
    • Consider making up a small nuc to raise a fresh Queen
    • Consider doing a Pagden split or Demaree stack
    • (Important to keep Queen laying but stop colony swarming)


Advice for May


  • Continue weekly inspection looking for Queen cells

  • If 7 frames of brood, put on super(s) with Queen excluder

  • If Q cells present

    • Read and consider: [Queen Cells - WBKA]
    • Consider making up a small nuc to raise a fresh Queen
    • Consider using a Snelgrove split or Demaree stack
    • (Important to keep Queen laying but stop colony swarming)


Advice for June


  • Continue with weekly inspections, watching for Queen cells

  • Continue swarm control measures

  • Collect swarms (get help if needed)

  • Ensure sufficient supers for main flow

  • Extract full supers

  • Mark (and clip?) new queens once sealed worker brood present


Advice for July


      Continue weekly inspections, watching for Queen cells

      Watch for swarms

      Add supers (up to 1 a week)

      Prepare extraction equipment and storage containers

      Move nucs into full hives, or combine with current colonies, when ready

Advice for August


  • Clear and remove full supers for extraction

  • Extract, filter and store honey (Check water content)

  • Clean wet supers on hive, possibly use Certan against wax moth

  • Clean or replace old, dirty super frames

  • Move old brood frames to the edge of hive ready for replacement
  • Ensure the colony is left with space to hold ~35 lbs honey for the Winter

  • If you plan to use Apiguard, now is the moment

Advice for September


  • Feed colonies that need it
  • Deep National, 14x12, wooden hive weighs 15kg empty, requires 20kg stores)

  • Reduce hive entrance size to deter wasps

  • Full brood disease inspection, shake off all bees

  • Reduce apiary to planned number of colonies

  • Reduce inspections to fortnightly

Advice for October


  • Add mouse guards and protect from wood peckers etc.

  • Check stability of the hives, strap down ready for winter gales

  • Heft hives, final syrup feed if needed

Advice for November


  • Clean up apiary, tools and equipment

  • Join a study group to prepare together for a BBKA exam in March

  • Go to Branch AGM

  • Leave bees alone - Go on holiday!

Advice for December


  • Relax!

  • On a nice day, treat colonies with Oxalic Acid vapour, after sacrificing any extant capped brood

  • Monitor total mite fall (~2-300), in 3 days time, treat again if still too high

  • Insulate hive roof


 Weather Updates:  we recommend checking the weather forecast for the local area before looking at the relevant advice:
BBC Weather Forecast

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Latest News
    • Our Blog
    • Social Media Pages
    • Club Newsletters
    • Committee Meeting Minutes
  • Events & Courses
  • Members Section
    • Introduction
    • Apiary Rota 2022
    • Become a Member
    • Membership Renewal
    • Group Purchase Scheme
    • Extractor hire
    • Members Facebook Group
    • Christmas supper
    • Hive Record Card
  • Education & Advice
    • For Beekeepers
    • Children, Youth groups and schools
    • Teachers and Youth group leaders
    • Seasonal Advice
    • LibraryBooks
  • Swarm Collection
  • Contact Us
  • Committee Meeting Minutes