March Beekeeping Jobs

Check under the supplemental sugar patties, bees will core them out. (Charlotte Ekker Wiggins photo)

March Beekeeping Chores

One of the biggest jobs beekeepers do in March is - well, get excited. Where I live in USDA Hardiness zone 6b, the weather is starting to warm up. It’s not a reliable progression, though. It can be 69F one day and a high of 17F the next, tough on plants and bees.

On the warm days, bees are busy visiting bird baths and scouting for food. Not busy enough, though, to qualify for full hive inspections so as beekeeper we have to wait for the right conditions; consistently warm temperatures preferable over 70F.

Some of the other things beekeepers can do in March:

1. Air out wax frames stored in plastic containers with Para-Moth crystals before they are placed in a hive.

2. Add sticks and rocks to “bee bar” birdbaths to make sure bees have easy access to water within a quarter mile of their home hives. Training your bees to find what they need close to home will reduce their tendency to look for water in your neighbor’s swimming pool.

3. Monitor colonies for supplemental food needs; feed as necessary.

4. Order extra queens if planning to split colonies later. When to split? When you start seeing drones so the new queens can breed.

5. If you want to catch swarms, register on swarm-catching lists.

6. And put on your roller skates because next month should be even busier!

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Charlotte

January Beekeeping Jobs

Plastic wrap keeps wind out of my USDA Hardiness zone 5 hillside bee hives. (Charlotte Ekker Wiggins photo)

January Beekeeping Chores

We’ve had 2 inches of rain in the last 24 hours; ice and snow are in the forecast as temperatures in this USDA Hardiness zone 5 garden continue to drop. My bees are warm inside their hives, clustering to keep warm and eating their stored honey. For the bees, the beekeeping year starts with the winter solstice, when daylight starts to get longer and the queen bee starts very slowly to start to lay.

Well wait, for bees the beekeeping year starts in August. That’s when winter bees, different than summer bees, are born and take the colony through winter.

Although the bees are not around the garden, I have a lot to do this month to get ready for a new beekeeping season.

1. Review my notes from last year. What worked, what didn’t, what do I need to learn more about this winter.

2. Research, take online classes, read - this is the time to learn more about what didn’t go well last year,

3. Catch up on current beekeeping research. Reliable clubs now offer meetings online so its easier to stay on top of the latest developments.

4. When temperatures are between 30-40 F, it’s a good time to give my broodless colonies oxalic acid vapor treatment. Temperatures this winter have been record warm so there have been few days when the temperatures were at optimum vapor application. Applying oxalic acid vapor is one of the many options to try to manage Varroa mites.

5. Check food stores in the hives. I placed supplemental sugar cakes on top of all of my colonies a week ago prior to the latest snow storm. I will check them in another week by peeking under the lid; I want to make sure they are not running out of food.

6. This is also the month I should do an inventory of my existing beekeeping equipment and order what I am missing. Once the growing season has started, there usually is very little time to place an order and get what I need before I need it. I prefer to be prepared.

7. Once I have the equipment inventory done, it will be time to get it all organized so I can easily find it.

8. I have some hives I need to paint sitting in my garage from last year. Those need to get finished this winter.

9. While I have the paint out, I also need to paint my nucs, I didn’t get to those last year, either. Bees didn’t care but I do.

10. I plan to split some colonies this spring. I will be ordering queens to make sure I can successfully get new bee colonies established.

11. Wash my bee suits and gloves.

12. Enjoy honey in hot tea!

Charlotte

May Beekeeping Jobs

Introducing a new queen bee can be among May beekeeping jobs. (Charlotte Ekker Wiggins photo)

May Beekeeping Jobs

Oh, my, how busy May can be for beekeepers. Usually the month when the nectar flow kicks into high gear, May can also be a very busy month helping bees get ready for the three months of flower nectar collection.

1. Beekeepers should have completed at least one full inspection to determine how well the bees came out of winter; how well the queen is laying and benchmarking Varroa mite levels with either an alcohol or sugar shake.

2. Colonies also need to have added space in the brood both so the queen has room to lay. Lack of space prompts the colony to build swarm cells.

3. Adding hive space is also helpful this time of year. As the colony grows, it will need space not only for brood but for storing pollen and nectar.

4. Wintered-over wax frames need to be checked and aired. Especially frames stored in ParaMoth crystals, those frames should be exposed to sun and air for a good week. ParaMoth crystals deter wax moths but will also kill bees.

5. Frames getting repurposed can be refreshed by replacing the foundation with new foundation.

6. Wax frames in use for more than 3 years should be replaced with fresh frames.

7. Old wax frames can be used in swarm traps to entice colonies looking for a new home.

8. Beekeepers will be doing an inventory of existing equipment to make sure they have enough woodenware for the nectar-collecting season.

9. Varroa mite management plans this time of year may include splitting colonies, removing drone comb and re-queening with varroa sensitive queens.

10. Planting native trees, shrubs and perennials are also added this time of year.

Charlotte

March Beekeeping Jobs

Check under the supplemental sugar patties, bees will core them out. (Charlotte Ekker Wiggins photo)

March Beekeeping Chores

One of the biggest jobs beekeepers do in March is - well, get excited. Where I live in USDA Hardiness zone 5, the weather is starting to warm up. It’s not a reliable progression, though. It can be 69F one day and a high of 17F the next, tough on plants and bees.

On the warm days, bees are busy visiting bird baths and scouting for food. Not busy enough, though, to qualify for full hive inspections so as beekeeper we have to wait for the right conditions; consistently warm temperatures preferable over 70F.

Some of the other things beekeepers can do in March:

1. Air out wax frames stored in plastic containers with Para-Moth crystals before they are placed in a hive.

2. Add sticks and rocks to “bee bar” birdbaths to make sure bees have easy access to water within a quarter mile of their home hives. Training your bees to find what they need close to home will reduce their tendency to look for water in your neighbor’s swimming pool.

3. Monitor colonies for supplemental food needs; feed as necessary. I checked my bees yesterday and they had worked through all of their sugar patties from three weeks ago so monitor closely. And check under the sugar patties, they may appear to be full. Bees core out the sugar from underneath so all that may be left is a shell and need to be replaced. There is no need for colonies to die of starvation.

4. Order extra queens if planning to split colonies later. When to split? When you start seeing drones so the new queens can breed.

5. If you want to catch swarms, register on swarm-catching lists.

6. And put on your roller skates because next month should be even busier!

Charlotte

January Beekeeping Chores

Plastic wrap keeps wind out of my USDA Hardiness zone 5 hillside bee hives. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

January Beekeeping Chores

We’ve had 2 inches of rain in the last 24 hours; ice and snow are in the forecast as temperatures in this USDA Hardiness zone 5 garden continue to drop. My bees are warm inside their hives, clustering to keep warm and eating their stored honey. For the bees, the beekeeping year starts with the winter solstice, when daylight starts to get longer and the queen bee starts very slowly to start to lay.

Although the bees are not around the garden, I have a lot to do this month to get ready for a new beekeeping season.

1. Review my notes from last year. What worked, what didn’t, what do I need to learn more about this winter.

2. Research, take online classes, read - this is the time to learn more about what didn’t go well last year,

3. Catch up on current beekeeping research. Reliable clubs now offer meetings online so its easier to stay on top of the latest developments.

4. When temperatures are between 30-40 F, it’s a good time to give my broodless colonies oxalic acid vapor treatment. Temperatures this winter have been record warm so there have been few days when the temperatures were at optimum vapor application. Applying oxalic acid vapor is one of the many options to try to manage Varroa mites.

5. Check food stores in the hives. I placed supplemental sugar cakes on top of all of my colonies a week ago prior to the latest snow storm. I will check them in another week by peeking under the lid; I want to make sure they are not running out of food.

6. This is also the month I should do an inventory of my existing beekeeping equipment and order what I am missing. Once the growing season has started, there usually is very little time to place an order and get what I need before I need it. I prefer to be prepared.

7. Once I have the equipment inventory done, it will be time to get it all organized so I can easily find it.

8. I have some hives I need to paint sitting in my garage from last year. Those need to get finished this winter.

9. While I have the paint out, I also need to paint my nucs, I didn’t get to those last year, either. Bees didn’t care but I do.

10. I plan to split some colonies this spring. I will be ordering queens to make sure I can successfully get new bee colonies established.

11. Wash my bee suits and gloves.

12. Enjoy honey in hot tea!

Charlotte

November Beekeeping Chores

Feeding bees thick sugar water inside the hive to help them get ready for winter. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

November Beekeeping Chores

The beekeeping season is winding down in mid-Missouri but there are still some important things for beekeepers to do.

Since our fall nectar flow was poor and my bees consumed some of their stored spring nectar, I am feeding a couple of colonies sugar water so they can save their honey for winter. Because it is so late in the season, I am giving them two parts sugar to one part water, a thicker syrup than I would feed in spring.

All entrance reducers have been turned to the smallest entrance, more to keep mice out of the hives as temperatures fall.

They will also get an insulated wrap to help cut any winter winds that may hit our hillside.

Once we have our first hard frost, I will have a small window of about 2 months where I can apply oxalic acid vapor to the colonies to knock down Varroa mite levels. This is a period when the queen is not laying so there’s a bigger chance to kill off Varroa mites that don’t have nursery cells where they can reproduce.

This is also the time of year to add supplemental food at the top of the hive. I make sugar cakes to provide my bees with emergency food in case they run out of their stores. A lot can happen to my bees I have little control over but I can make sure they don’t die of starvation.

And for beekeepers this is the beginning of the reading season, catching up on all off those magazines they didn’t read earlier.

If you are a new or imminent beekeeper, this is a good time to read A Beekeeper’s Diary Self-Guide to Beekeeping. It includes a first and second year calendar so beginning beekeepers have a better idea of what to expect month to month.

Charlotte

March Beekeeping Chores

March Beekeeping Chores

One of the biggest jobs beekeepers do in March is - well, get excited. Where I live in USDA Hardiness zone 5b, the weather is starting to warm up, which means bees are getting busy. Not busy enough, though, to qualify for full hive inspections so as a beekeeper we have to wait for the right conditions before checking how our colonies pulled through winter.

Some of the other things beekeepers can do in March:

1. Air out wax frames stored in plastic containers with Paramoth crystals before they are placed in a hive.

2. Add sticks and rocks to “bee bar” birdbaths to make sure bees have easy access to water within a quarter mile of their home hives.

3. Monitor colonies for supplemental food needs; feed as necessary.

4. Order extra queens if planning to split colonies.

5. If you want to catch swarms, register on swarm-catching lists.

6. And put on your roller skates because next month should be even busier!

Charlotte

Educational Signs

Some of the signs on my Missouri property. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Educational Signs

So you’re getting ready to keep honey bees on your property? Congratulations and welcome to the club, this has been the best of all of my life experiences so far!

As you check your list of equipment, you may want to consider adding a sign. I found these fun “honey bees at work” signs on Amazon and have them posted where our local delivery trucks stop and where my neighbors walk. The signs may be among the reasons why I’m now called the “bee lady” in the neighborhood.

Why signs?

If you live inside city limits, check your local ordinances on any provisions that impact beekeepers. If you have close neighbors, make sure your hive locations minimize bee impacts. By that I mean have a water source close to your hives to keep your bees out of your neighbor’s pool; place the hives where the bees will fly above the head of pedestrians and away from high traffic areas.

And provided your neighbors are interested in your new adventure, put up a sign to remind them.

Not everyone thinks putting up a sign is a good idea. Some beginning beekeepers have told me the sign just brought attention to their new hobby and made people afraid of bees even more afraid so carefully deliberate before you do this.

The bottom line is that now that you are learning to keep bees, you will become an ambassador for these marvelous pollinators and the more chances you get to educate others about what you are doing, the better.

Charlotte

Getting a Drink

Some of the honey bees in my garden getting a drink out of a bird bath. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Getting a Drink

We had a couple of days early February 2020 with temperatures in the 70s. Record warm temperatures for mid-Missouri that time of year, and only a couple of days before another winter storm was forecasted.

As I walked through my limestone hillside garden, I enjoyed watching my honey bees doing what they normally do during a warm week, which included taking a drink. All of the bird baths I have scattered close to their hives were busy. Most still had water, and the ones that didn’t were quickly refreshed. As I filled up the bird baths, it reminded me of the set of the Days of the Week kitchen towels featuring bees. I couldn’t remember if one of the days featuring water carrying.

Honey bees need water close by. They use water to mix with pollen to make bee bread among other things. Seeing the water carriers lapping up the moisture confirmed that they may be making bee bread for to feed baby bees, or brood.

And yes, the water is not “clean.” Dr. Dale Hill confirmed at a conference a couple of years ago that honey bees prefer aged water. That’s where they pick up minerals that they need to stay healthy.

This particular bird bath has leaves and small sticks for safe landing spots. I also place rocks in the center of the bird bath to give them a safe landing spot.

Bird baths are usually available at most home and garden centers. The concrete ones tend to stay in place on my Missouri hillside a little better than the plastic ones although both can be susceptible to the ground heaving and thawing. One of my early spring jobs is to make sure they are all level and, if not, get them back to that condition.

But I confess, I wait for the bees to get their drinks first.

Charlotte