July Beekeeping Chores
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This new colony just got a new bottom board to replace the rotting one. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)
July Beekeeping Chores
Where I keep bees in mid-Missouri, July beekeeping chores depend a lot on the weather.
If we’ve had a hot summer with temperatures over 86F, the plants are shutting down nectar and pollen production. That means to me that I can extract honey once bees are finishing putting the wax caps on dehydrated flower nectar.
This year, though, we’ve had an early nectar flow as well as two weeks of rain so the plants may be producing more nectar and pollen. You would think that’s good news only I may be running out of hive parts to give the bees the extra room they need.
Other July chores include:
Monitoring for Varroa mite levels. I use formic acid products to knock Varroa mite levels down if needed.
I also just split several colonies. Keeping the colony size smaller helps to keep Varroa mite levels low.
Hive maintenance is good to do this time of year as well. It gives me time to make, or buy, what I need and cuts down on what I have to do later. I’m inspecting my colonies anyway this time of year so I plan upgrades as needed.
Good month to also plan on when to extract and to have all supplies on hand.
