Summer-Early Fall Looking in Your Hive
  • Have your Small Hive Beetle Traps in your hives.  The Beetles really increase this time of the year.
  • Get all capped honey off the hive.  This attracts ants and small hive beetles.
  • Make sure your bees have easy access to water.  They use it to cool their hive.
Feeding
  • Do not Feed your bees if you have honey supers on the hive.  The bees will mix the sugar water with the nectar.
  • Feed your bees starting now if you have removed all the honey supers off your hive.  This will prepare them for winter.
Equipment
  • Use ParaMoth to keep your comb that is off the hive free of wax moths.  (Do not use this on the hive–this is only for used comb that will not be used until next spring).
  • Clean up any used equipment to get it ready for next year.
Spring-Early Summer Looking in your Hive
  • Look for Swarm Cells.
  • Make sure your queen has plenty of room.  Your bees will put nectar in the brood area and cause swarming if there is not enough room.
  • If your box is 60 to 70 percent full, add another box.
Feeding
  • If you install a package or nuc, feed it until it is two boxes full.
  • Do not feed your bees once you put your honey supers on the hive.
Equipment
  • You will use more equipment than you anticipate.
  • Your bees can fill a super in a week to two weeks time.
Winter-Early Spring in Central Alabama Looking in your hive.
  • Look for swarm cells.  This is the beginning of swarm season for us.
  • Do not go in your hives under 60˚
  • If it is sunny and 60-70 ˚–less than 5 minutes and only look at the supplies. Do not check brood.
  • If it is sunny and 70-80 ˚–less than 10 minutes and you can slightly manipulate the food. Do not check brood.
  • If it is sunny and above 80 ˚–you can take up to 20 minutes and you can check brood.
Feeding.
  • Be Careful! It is easy to lose your bees to starvation this time of the year.  Feed until you add our honey supers.
  • We feed: bags of sugar and 1:1 in a community feeder.
Medicating.
  • Read your labels. Realize that you have to have your medications off before the honey flow.
Equipment.
  • Clean and repair all old equipment.
  • Get the extra equipment built and painted that you will need this spring.
  • Time to ramp up into action.  Your bees are gearing up for Spring.  Be ready with all the equipment you need.