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

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

BBC Weather Forecast

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