This month In the Hive

SEPTEMBER 2010

Varroa treatment should have begun by now and an idea of mite levels ascertained by inserting trays below the mesh floors on the hives. Mouse guards should also be put in place. The hives should be checked to ensure that they are in the best possible condition for the coming winter. There may still be income from Water Balsam and later on Ivy to help stock the larder for the bees, but a feed should still be put on: I use fondant and each hive has an eke above the crown board to house the block (this can vary in size depending on stores/colony size). I ensure that there is fondant on each hive from this month until next spring.
Samples of bees are taken from some hives to carry out disease checks using a microscope.

I have begun treating all my colonies using Apiguard and varroa trays are in place to monitor mite drop (all my hives winter on mesh floors). The mouse guards are on where required; some of my entrances have a built in mouse guard. There is still Water Balsam coming in : feeding will commence in the coming weeks.

AUGUST 2010

Traditionally the month when the honey is harvested. It is today also the time to begin winter preparations; actions now can have great bearing on the colonys' survival to the following year. It is regarded by some bee keepers as the end of one season/year and the beginning of another.
Following the removal of any crop (having given careful consideration as to whether to leave some for the bees) treatment of varroa is now recommended. The  treatment I use is Apigard which for best efficiency should be administered whilst temperatures are still warm- this is a four week treatment. At its' conclusion then winter feeds need to be given. Colonies should be settled now and the swarming impulse over. Assessment of indivdiual colonies to survive the winter should be done so as any uniting can be carried out to make good strong colonies that stand a better chance of survival.

The last 2 years I have seen the income dry up in August and last year wasps became a real pest actually destroying two weaker colonies I had (they will exploit any colonies that are weak). I am prepared this year and having seen some wasps at two of my apiaries I have wasp traps ready to go into service. This along with reducing the hive entrances is the best defence. I assessed every colonies stores at the last July inspection and all seem well stocked for a few weeks at least. The Water Balsam did little by me last year and the Rose Bay Willowherb is already burnt out! I have fondant ready as an emergency feed.

Inspections mid August see stores diminshing and the threat of wasps growing. All hives still have stores for now but I will continue to monitor closely. Some hives are under threat from wasps; in each case the entrance has been reduced. Some wasp traps have been put out and more will follow. I need to encourage the bees to take down stores from the supers ( I don't see me taking any more crop this year) and remove them so as Varroa treatment can begin: this will need to be co-ordinated with my colleague Martin, as we share some apiary sites.

Late August inspections have been seriously hampered by the weather. All colonies have been checked but were very defensive; normal for this time of year. One consolation dare I say was that at some of the hives where I had reduced the entrances I found no wasps in the hives and none trying to dodge past the guard bees at the entrances, though at the weaker ones the battles were still being raged. Some may just have been saved but I still fear losses.

JULY 2010

By now the swarming impulse SHOULD BE on the wane; from now on the colony numbers will actually slowly diminish. Weather permitting there may well be a good flow of nectar from various sources to enable a surplus of honey to be extracted. Provided that any Oil Seed Rape has been taken off it should be safe to leave supers on to extract at convenient times.
It is actually time to start thinking of winter! As any swarming impulses now will not leave enough time for a new queen to come into lay and raise sufficient brood to survive the winter- uniting colonies may be the better option from now on.

Early July and I am still waiting on some queens to hatch and come into lay, though a fair proportion of my colonies now have 2010 queens to head them into the winter ahead. There has been a good flow from local field bean and it also looks as if the Lime trees have yielded nectar. All colonies appear well and checks on Varroa mites (by drone removal show low numbers to be present).

As July comes to an end I still have a few queens to hatch, which is quite worrying given that we are in the second half of the season. The change in the weather and the drop in nectar flow have brought things to a standstill. The field beans have finished flowering and there is not much income to the hives. I have noticed some signs of Water Balsam (pollen powder "stripe" along the thorax/back of some returning foraging bees) and hope it may yield well in August.
I have decided through July NOT to mark the new queens coming into lay ( I normally mark all my queens to be able to see them more easily in the hive) as a few were rejected  earlier in the season straight after marking- hence the late hatching queens- and I don't want any rejected this late on in the season. I will aim to spot them early next spring and mark then, before the swarming impulses begin!   





Picture: About to begin inspections on one of my sites (note the hive number marked using a Timber Crayon, which I find very useful- thanks to Richard Lindsay for that idea).