Basic Beekeeping Course 

.

    The Basic or Beginning Beekeeping Course is designed to familiarize you with the BASICS needed to advance to higher education as far as beekeeping goes.  Of course it is not intended to be all inclusive nor all encompassing.  Beekeeping is for many a hobby, art or perhaps a profession with many different facets. Our intent is to help you on your way to a beegin with your new hobby.

Let's beegin with the very basics.  The Apis Mellifera or honey bee. The bee that most everyone is familiar with and is seen on plants pollinating or collecting nectar.  Of this genus there are several (24) different races of bees.  That may sound like a lot of bees, but we will be discussing the basic bee most everyone uses--the Italian honey bee (A. mellifera ligustica). It was introduced to the United States around 1859.

Chapter 1

A lesson on races of bees:

Italian   (Apis mellifera linguistica) Probably the most widely used bee in the United States.  It varies in color from blonde to a rustic brown.  One will normally see the term three banded Italians.  That is because you will see the bands (rings of darkness) on the abdomen.  The Italian honey bee builds large populations of bees, use a lot of nectar and pollen to feed this large population, produce honey crops in some areas of 200 pounds per hive, and over-winters well in large clusters.  Most are gentle and easy to work.

Carnolian   (Apis mellifera carnica) This is a dark bee.  In fact the queen are very hard to find in a hive unless they are marked.  They thrive in cooler climates.  Although they go into winter cluster with smaller populations than the Italian, they use up less food and build up fast in the spring of the year when nectar and pollen become available.  Pure Carnolians are very gentle bees and are recommended to the hobbyist who is just beginning "the beekeeping experience."  They do demonstrate a tendency to swarm.  Cross-bred Carnolian bees  seem to be a bit aggressive.

Caucasian  (Apis mellifera caucasica) This a gray bee.  It comes from a region of the Caucasus Mountains in Europe.  Pure Caucasians are gentle and prolific.  They winter well and do not swarm excessively.  The chief criticism is that they tend to build burr comb between frames and gather and use large amounts of propolis.

German Black  (Apis mellifera mellifera) Originally from throughout northern Europe, this was the first honey bee brought to the New World. They are brown/black in color and winter well. German black bees are nervous, aggressive and build up slowly in spring.

Africanized Honey bee (Apis mellifera scutellata) and its hybrids - These honey bees originated throughout east Africa. In the 1950s, this race was imported to Brazil and began migrating northward. Compared to European races, this bee and its hybrids are extremely defensive, have smaller nests, the queen emerges earlier and swarm more frequently. 

Other names will pop out at you from the various ads.  These will include: Starline, Midnite, Double Hybrid, Russian, Buckfast, New World Carnolian, Red Head, Karnica, Aurea,  Minnesota Hygienic Italians, Russian, etc.  These bees are still lines developed from the above races of bees.

As a new beekeeper experiment with different races or lines of bees.  This is to find which breed works best for you in your area or particular requirement. It is almost like comparing a Chevrolet and a Ford.  They both get you to where you want to go most of the time. 

Chapter 2

The caste system of bees.

Workers - Reproductively underdeveloped females that do all the work of the colony. A colony may have 2,000 to 60,000 workers.
The workers tend the queen and young drones as well as the young brood. All bees develop through a complete metamorphosis: after three days, the egg hatches into a worm-like larva which feeds voraciously and grows and molts each day for about four days. It then goes into a resting stage, the pupa, which lasts for another few days in a capped cell until the bee emerges as an adult. This process takes 16-24 days depending on season and class of bee. As mentioned previously, workers feed the young larvae and seal the pupa into the cell. They also feed the emerged young adults until they are old enough to fend for themselves. The young worker tends larvae (nurse bee) and uses its wings to help ventilate the hive. As it gathers strength, it will start cleaning out old used cells for reuse, may tend the queen (attendants) or young drones, or work on capping cells. Depending on the season, and after a few days have passed, the worker works at gathering operations. The bee will fly out of the hive and visit flowers in search of nectar and pollen (field bee), or will visit trees for harvesting resin to make propolis. The propolis is used as glue and caulk to seal cracks in the hive. The nectar and pollen are collected and returned to the hive for use and/or storage.

Drones - Male bees. A colony may have 0 to 500 drones during spring and summer.
Drones fly from the hive and mate in the air with queens from other colonies. Drones are tolerated in the hive only when there is a possibility that they may mate with a queen. Thus a few are tolerated in spring and fall, more in the summer, but none in the winter. The workers keep the drones out of the hive to starve to death in the autumn. Drones, like queens, lack the body parts to effectively harvest nectar or pollen to feed themselves. Drones also lack a stinger of any kind. They are designed for mating only.

Queen - A fully fertile female specialized for producing eggs.
When a queen dies or is lost, workers select a few young worker larvae and feed them a special food called "royal jelly." These special larvae develop into queens. Therefore, the only difference between workers and queens is the quality of the larval diet. There is usually only one queen per colony. The queen also affects the colony by producing chemicals called "pheromones" that regulate the behavior of other bees. 

The lifespan of a queen is 2-5 years, a worker 15-38 days in the summer and 140-320 days in the winter, while the drone lives a mere 4-8 weeks...

Unlike colonies of social wasps and bumble bees, honey bee colonies live year after year. Therefore, most activity in a bee colony is aimed at surviving the next winter.

Chapter 6

Not all beekeepers use all of these components.  Many variations are dependant upon individual beekeeping style, purpose, environmental conditions, etc... 

You can order by mail:

Mid Ohio Honey Company, PO BOX 3312, Mansfield, OH. 44904

Bee veils: Purpose:  To protect the head from bee stings.   Bees are defensive insects and will seek out anything that disturbs the hive.  They are attracted especially to the eyes and nose.  They also become entangled in one's hair.  For the beginner, it is not a comfortable feeling to have a bee crawling around in one's hair.  Choices include square, round, and jackets with attached veils.  Prices vary.  If you can afford the expense, we would recommend a complete suit with attached bee veil.  This type of suit will provide the maximum of protection from stings.  However, a standard veil is all most beekeeper have.

Gloves:   They protect the hands from stings.  Some people just beginning may select the least expensive glove -- a canvas glove.  But, bees will sting through light canvas gloves.  They will provide some protection but not enough.   You money will be better spent on a good pair of gloves that have sleeves sewn on them to keep bees from crawling up you arms.  Gloves will come in a variety of sizes from children size to large adult.

Protective clothing:  Bee catalogs will offer a variety of bee suits -- with and without veils.  A good loose fitting shirt that can be zipped or buttoned up tight will be a good alternative.  Avoid dark colors.  Bees see dark colors as attractive and will be more likely to pay attention to you.  For pants a new beekeeper should find something light in color - tan or white.  Wear white socks.  Pant legs can be folded over at the ankle and the tops of the sock pulled up to hold the pant legs in place.  It also prevents bees from crawling up ones pant leg.  "If you want to see something really funny, it is the dance of a beekeeper with a bee that has made it to the beekeepers crotch."  You definately want to avoid that same dance.

Shoes:   Many beekeepers have high top worker boots to wear when working bees.  It is not required.  If one places the pant legs in the socks, the beekeeper should not experience any trouble unless they make the mistake of wearing navy or black socks.  Bees will get on the socks and sting through them.  Heavy athletic socks work just fine.

As a new beekeeper, it is like going to war.  You want to avoid a sting.  However, sooner or later, you will have to deal with a sting or more than one sting. If you do face a situation in which you receive a sting or two, remember you can back away from a hive and wait for the bees to settle down.  They will.  A little ice applied to the sting will relive some of the pain.  If attacked by bees your best defense is to run.  Remember, a beekeeper does not have to put up with aggressive bees.  You do not need to wait for us to tell you why.  Here is the answer:
All  worker bees in a hive are produced by a queen.  They will display the characteristics of the genetic pool the queen represents.  To change the character of a hive all one has to do is replace the old queen with a queen known for gentleness.   

Hardware Accessories

A smoker is one of the most valuable pieces of equipment you can own. Its purpose: Subdue and move the bees. Think of it this way--What do you do if someone blows smoke into your face? Bees do the same thing, they turn around and move away from the smoke. It is important to learn that you can over smoke bees.  A smoker is designed to produce a cloud of smoke and smoke can be directed in the direction the smoker is pointed. All it takes is a puff or two.  You may be asking yourself right now "what do I use as fuel?"  There are so many fuels for smokers and everyone seems to have a favorite. My choice is pine shavings, with green grass on top. It produces a cool white smoke that is actually pleasant, but still gets the job done.

A hive tool:  The purpose of a hive tool is to allow you to pry boxes apart and assist in freeing frames to be removed from the hive. This is a handy item for scraping and removing burr comb. Hive tools come in many sizes and shapes. You just have to decide which is best for you.

A bee brush:    Purpose:  To brush bees off comb when removing honey.  When you have only two or three hives, it serves its purpose quite well. However, to use it, you must pull frames out of boxes and brush bees off.  They don't like that. There are other ways to get bees out of the honey supers besides brushing them off.  Check out escape boards and chemicals such as Bee Go or Honey Robber.

A wheel barrow:  The other piece of equipment that comes in handy is a wheel barrow for carrying bee equipment from your garage to your bees.  It sure saves the back.

We have given you the basics about start up except bee equipment and the bees themselves.  That comes next.

Bee Woodenware/Equipment

Most wooden bee equipment is build from white pine.  Cypress is known for its long life but pine is an excellent choice.  A beekeeper needs to paint all equipment so that it is protected from the weather. A complete standard hive that includes: 1 deep hive body with frames and foundation,  1  medium hive body called a honey super and frames with foundation, a telescoping cover with metal cover, a bottom board, inner cover and a set of instructions.  Almost every bee supply business offers a standard hive either as a single or as two hive bodies.  Lets take a look at the various pieces discussed above:

First the box called a brood chamber: Most beekeepers will need at least two of these for a single hive.  Most kits sold will include only one.  The problem with one brood box is this -- The bees will become crowded and swarm out the first year.  A 2 pound package of bees and a new queen will easily be able to draw out the foundation in the frames of two deep brood boxes during the first year, if fed properly.  Bee boxes measure 9 5/8 inches high  by 16 1/4 inches wide and 20 inches long.  If you are starting a single hive, don't make the mistake of buying only one deep box.  Bees need approximately 60 to 90 pounds of honey to survive a winter.  One deep box will hold about 60-70 pounds of honey if completely filled.

Bees need boxes to put honey in which can be removed from the hive and used by the beekeeper.  These are called honey supers.

Honey supers come in two sizes called shallow and mediums.  In making a decision to keep bees, it is best to select honey supers of one size only rather than mixing them.   The beekeeper will have only one size of honey frame to deal with.  The frames of a medium honey super are too deep to fit into a shallow super and shallow frames will fit into a medium honey super but the bees will fill the space below the frames with burr comb.  Burr comb has to be pried loose and if it contains honey, will create a sticky mess.

Another choice for honey storage for human use is the Ross Round Comb honey super. If you want honey in the comb this is an attractive choice.  It requires no extraction  (removal of liquid honey from the comb) as the above honey super would require. It can be packaged easily.  Honey comb foundation is placed into round section rings in a special frame which is then drawn out by the bees and filled with honey.   This is a great choice for the hobby beekeeper.

Standard accessories are required for a complete hive.  The deep brood box we will now start calling a brood chamber must have something to sit on. It sits on something called a bottom board.  A bottom board is a little bit longer than a brood box.  The extension to the front of the bottom board is the landing area for the bees just about to enter the hive.   The bottom board is the first piece of equipment to rot out.  To give it a longer life, the beekeeper should set the bottom board up above the ground.  Many use concrete blocks.  The important thing is to keep it as dry as you can.

Along with the bottom is a device to reduce the entrance to a hive.    These are used to help weak hives defend themselves from other bees and it is used in the fall of the year to keep rodents of the hive.  Rodents seek a dry place to build a nest and stay comfortable.  Bee hives are a good place to build a nest during the fall and winter. I recommend the adjustable Miller Entrance Reducer which is offered by Buckeye Bee.
Another accessory you will need is called an inner cover.  The inner cover prevents bees from gluing down the top cover to the top of the box.   If an inner cover was not used the beekeeper would have to pry the top cover from the hive.  This could cause damage to the top cover and of course, the effort to get the top cover off would alert the bees to your presence big time.

A top cover will round out the complete home for the bees.  There are several designs for top covers, but the preferred on is called a telescoping cover.  A telescoping cover usually is covered with a galvanized or aluminum metal sheet which is pressed to fit the wood parts of the cover.   Telescoping covers are also available in plastic. I personally do not like them, simply because they do not allow moisture to escape. Some beekeepers add a heavy rock on top of the top cover to keep the wind from blowing covers off. I thoroughly recommend a ventilated hive attic. They reduce the moisture hazard in trhe winter, allow cross flow ventilation, increase ventilation for curing nectar into honey and allow extra heat to escape during those hot summer months.

An elective accessory for the beekeeper is something called a queen excluder.Choose of either an all metal excluder or one bound with a wood frame.  We like the all metal excluder for several reasons:  1) they take less storage space and 2) they last longer.  The wood frames after several years of prying seem to break and need repair.  However, wood frames are preferred by some beekeepers.  You will have to make a choice.  One other word here:  You do not absolutely need a queen excluder on your hive unless you are producing comb honey.  A queen excluders keeps the queen below the honey supers and in the brood chamber.  When a queen lays eggs in comb and raises brood, the comb will turn dark and be unfit to eat.  

Painting hives--  Bee hives do not need to be painted.  The bees really don't care.  However, saying that, if you want your investment in equipment to last, you will paint to protect the wood.  Most people like to paint hives white.  The only problem with white is that white is easy to see against a dark background such as green shrubbery.  If you have more than one hive, you can paint the entrance (the landing board) a different color from its neighbor.  Bees have a tendency to drift into a hive that is not their own and this is true of hives in a straight row.

Bees:

You will need to get bees for your bee equipment.  You may sit the beehive out as a yard decoration.  I am sure it will get plenty of attention.  However, without bees, you are not going to be a beekeeper.

Where do you get bees?

At one time it was very common to find a swarm and then prepare a box to put them in.  Many people in years past started beekeeping in exactly that way.  Not much expense involved.  Everything was home-made.  Some didn't even bother to build a box.  They selected a gum (a tree trunk with a good sized cavity).  It worked but the beekeeper could not examine a single sheet of comb without destroying the hive which by the way-- was done.  Usually a beekeeper would take a long knife and a tub to the bee hive (gum) and sulfur it (kill the bees) and then remove the honey.  The practice is considered very crude.

We would recommend that you subscribe to one of the major bee magazines.  These magazines are full of advertisements from people who sell bees.

What should you be looking for:

1)   The easiest way to begin beekeeping is to purchase the equipment that we just talked about and buying bees to go into the equipment. Everything can be scheduled so that you can be assured that your beginning will really result in a beginning.  You still must deal with reliable vendors and dealers

2)  You could buy a nuc (nuclei) hive.  This is a box with four or five frames of bees, a queen, brood, honey and pollen stores.   It needs to be transferred to a full deep hive body.  However, it doesn't have to be transferred today.  It could wait several days.   The nuc should be set out on the location where the full size hive will be placed.

3)  You could purchase a full hive of bees.  These are usually available and listed in the bee magazines.  You might run across a beekeeper willing to sell hives in your own community.

Chapter 7

Location of the Hive.

Locating hives is a major concern for beekeepers living in cities.  It is less critical in rural areas.   You should observe several rules when you locate your hives.  Use common sense.

1. Do not set the hive of bees on the property line facing the neighbors property.

2. Make sure a source of water is near-by.  Not your neighbors hot tub.

3. Place your hives in an area of the yard where they will not be obvious to anyone passing by.

4. A hive needs sunlight tempered with shade.  A.I. Root placed his hives under grape vines.  Other place the hives in the foundation planting and paint the hives green.

5. Most bee literature recommends placing the front entrance in a southern direction but this is not absolutely necessary.  Bees do go to work earlier with the early morning sun shinning on the front of the hive.

6. Share honey with your neighbors and work with them on any problems they have with your bees.

7. Fences make good neighbors and you may want to build one if your community allows it.  The fence will force the bees to fly up and away from areas where people walk.  The flight path of the bees should not be over a side-walk where the public frequently travels.  A barrier of trees will serve the same purpose.

8. Don't locate the hives in a field or close to a field with live stock such as cows and horses.  You might be held responsible for the death of an animal if your bees attack.  It has happened.

9. Don't locate a hive of bees in a flood plain.   Even if someone says that this creek has never overflowed its banks.

10. Finally, don't place hives in an area where bee droppings are going to cause a problem.  Examples include a neighbor who hangs clothes out on a clothes line.   Another is an automobile dealership with a lot full of cars. Bees do have to relieve themselves and do so when they leave the hive much as birds do flying overhead--Only you have thousands of bees going over the same area.

Bee hives have a fascination for adults and young people.  It is common to hear beekeepers yelling at the neighbor kids for throwing rocks at the hives.  It is not uncommon to find a hive that someone used for target practice (in the country).  Give some thought to this subject.  It may seem so simple, but a few beekeepers have ended up in court and have been found negligent in management of their hives.   Just use your common sense.  Do what a prudent person would do.

You might also want to talk to your insurance agent concerning your hobby of keeping bees on your property.  If you run into a problem--will your insurance company cover you?...  

Okay, lets take a look at arranging your hives.  Hives should be placed three or more feet apart.  It is possible to over populate a location with too many bee hives.  No city bee yard should have more than four hives on less than one acre of land.   An acre is 200 feet by 200 feet.  Many city lots are much smaller than an acre.   Hives that are too close to each other do not allow the beekeeper much room to manipulate a hive.  This goes for a fence, side of the house, or shrubs.  One needs room to walk completely around the hive without having to squeeze between the hive and some object.   The beekeeper also may bump a hive too close to the one being worked and cause the bees in the bumped hive to become agitated and ready for the beekeeper when he turns his/her attention to it.

Chapter 8

How to install bees into a hive

Bees are sold by the pound.  The cage they are shipped in is called a package.  The top of a cage has an opening.  This opening is for a syrup can and  a place for the bees to be shook into the package.  The queen is also place in this opening in a cage of her own.

A package usually contains either two or three pounds of bees. Approximately 3,500 bees to the pound. All the bees you get with your package will be dead in 40 days or so.   Because each day counts in getting bees started in a hive, you should not delay once the bees have arrived.  As a beginner you might want your queen marked.  That means the queen producer will place a light paint mark on the back of the queen so she can be located easily when you are looking for her.

Bees that you are able to pick-up from a producer will not face the stress that package bees faced when mailed.  Yes, the post office will ship bees by mail.   Once the bees arrive at the post office, you will get a call informing you that your bees are in!   Beekeepers getting bees in the mail, often will find a number of dead bees at the bottom of the cage.  Again it is normal for a number, perhaps as much as 1/4" of bees to die each day and the longer the package is in transit, the more dead bees you will have in the bottom of your cage.  

When hauling bees, bees are very sensitive to wind blowing directly on them and to the heat of the sun or enclosed vehicle.  If the temperature reaches 100 degrees or more, you will lose a lot of bees.  A sign that something is wrong is not hard to learn.  If the bees are quiet and calm, everything is fine.   However, if they are rushing about the package, and some bees are sticking their tongues through the screen they are too hot.  What can you do?    Get them in the shade out of the sun.  Second, sprinkle water on the screen wire.  We use a garden sprayer just for this purpose.   One other use of a garden sprayer is -- we mix sugar with water -  one pound of sugar to 1/2 gal. of water.  When sprayed on the screen lightly, the bees will take up the water and sugar and the rushing around will stop.   One other point -- when rushing around in a package cage, the bees put out a loud hum.    Listen for the hum and look for rushing bees.  Take action if you see or hear either.

Now, how do you get the bees from the cage into your hive?

1st --   Install the package of bees in the evening hours.  Several hours before sun down is fine.

2nd--  Check to make sure you have everything. 

• Is all your equipment ready?

• Do you have all your protective equipment -- veil, gloves, etc?

• Do you have your smoker lit?

• Have you given the bees some water and sugar syrup by spraying lightly on the screen wall of the cage?

3rd--  The package

There are various methods for putting bees in a hive.  The package has  a hole for a can in the top of the cage.  This can is protected with a wood lid stapled or nailed into the cage.   Pry up the wood cover.   You will see a can.  The bees can not get out yet!  You will also see a thin wire running down into the cage along side of the can.  This wire is attached to the queen cage which holds the queen.  Some producers will use a metal tab to staple the cage to.  It will be important to remove the queen cage  from the package before you put the bees into the hive.

METHOD I

Pick-up the cage an raise it  a foot or some from the ground or a table and sharply bang it down so that the bees are shook to the bottom of the cage.   Get a hold of the can and remove it but be ready to put part of the way back in the hole if the bees start tumbling out.  Take hold of the wire that holds the queen cage, pull it out of the cage/package so that the queen cage is now out of the package.   Replace the can.  Bees will be crawling from the bottom of the package back up and the can will hold them for just a few minutes longer while you work with the queen.

NEXT--

Once the queen cage is firmly in place and can not fall to the bottom board, the bees are released from the cage directly to the hive.  This is done by again shaking the bees to the bottom of the cage, pulling out the can, and dumping the bees directly over the queen cage.  If you have fed the bees sugar syrup, the bees should be very calm.   If you attempt this by trying to dump a package of bees running around, stressed out, and hot, the bees will take to the air and may settle or not settle back into the hive you have prepared for them.  The cage will always have a few bees still in it.  Just set the package with the hole facing the bottom board entrance to the hive.  They will find their way out and into the hive.   Wait for the bees to move down into your frames before putting on the inner cover.   We always place the can with remaining syrup over the inner cover hole.  The queen cage should be very close to this hole but not directly under it.  An empty box is placed above the inner cover to protect the can and the top cover is then lowered into place.   The job is done for several day.

METHOD II

Placing the package into the hive.

If you are a bit timid about dumping bees out of the cage, you can use this method.   First, remove five frames from the brood chamber.  The package will fit into the space you have just created.

Second, follow the steps above about removing the queen cage from the package.  In this case, you will located the queen cage between the two frames nearest to the package.   It is best to pour a few bees from the package out over her so the others will follow, but it is not absolutely necessary.   Do not place the queen cage back into the package.  The bees will go to the queen.  If you place the queen cage in the package, the bees will stay there.  You do not want that.   After you place the queen between the two frames, you again shake the bees to the bottom of the package and remove the can.  Quickly set the package with the open hole side facing up into the brood box.   The bees will now crawl out the opening.  Replace the inner cover just like above and place the syrup can over the inner cover hole.   Again put an empty super on the inner cover to protect the can and then replace the top cover.  Your job is done for today.

Next step--

If you used the second method of putting the package into the hive, you must go back a day later to remove it.  If you do not, the bees will eventually build comb in it and around it.  The queen will lay eggs in this comb and if you try to get this mess cleaned up, you run the risk of killing your queen as you work.   You will need to feed the bees in your hive during this start-up period.  Most classes recommend the boardman feeder. It is sold with most starter kits.  It is placed into the entrance of the hive and a quart jar of sugar syrup is placed in it.  The reason I do not like it is because in colder regions of the U.S., the bees can not get to the sugar syrup and will die if a cold snap occurs shortly after you installed the bees.  Other bees might also be encouraged to rob the sugar syrup and may then start robbing your new hive.  You should use an entrance reducer with all new hives  to avoid a robbing situation.

I prefer the use of a container of 1:1 sugar syrup placed above the inner cover hole.  This is inside the hive protected from the weather and it is located just above the bees.  They will be able to get to the syrup even during the coldest of weather.  You can use any size of feeder from a quart jar to a gallon bucket.   Your bees may use a quart of syrup a day.

We recommend that you check the queen cage in three days to make sure the queen is out.  Do not disturb the hive for five days or so.  There is no need to pull any frames out of the hive to look at the bees -- we know that you are dying to see what is going on.  However, bees are still adjusting to their new queen and may killer her if they are disturbed. Be on the safe side, just wait.

After one week, you can open your hive and check on the progress your bees have made.  You will or should find that they are building new comb and if you look closely, you will see new eggs in the cells.  This is an indication that everything is okay.  In two weeks you should see capped brood. If after two weeks you see no sign of eggs or larva or capped brood, you need to get a new queen fast.  They can be sent next day delivery.   You will have to repeat the entire introduction process over that was discussed before.   It will set your hive back considerably.   The earlier you find the queen laying the more you can relax and enjoy the success of getting your hive started.

Chapter 9

The goals of spring management of honeybee colonies in a commercial honey producing operation are clearly defined. They are principally:

1. To maximize total honey production while controlling expenses and risk so as to achieve maximum profit (vs. attempting to maximize yield per hive)

2. To maintain or increase numbers of colonies without sacrificing total honey production

3. To ensure good wintering success after a successful honey season.

4. To operate in a fashion that allows ample time for each operation and permits taking time for rest and relaxation.

The following priorities must be considered in achieving these major goals: Bee colonies must reach maximum strength in time for the anticipated main honey flow. 

The following resources must be used effectively: management,  labor, time, vehicles and fuel, honey or syrup and pollen & supplements,  bees and queens, hives and equipment.

Risk of loss must be minimized. Missing a honey flow can occur because of the following factors: small bee populations, chilling of brood, inadequate supering, poor locations, swarming, disease or parasites, accidents and an inability to manage a schedule.

The procedure at this time of year is to work through yards, reversing hives , scraping, feeding, medicating, and removing brood and feed from hives as your experience deems appropriate.

Management is the key to successful beekeeping. Spring is an ideal time for beekeepers to check colonies for honey and pollen reserves, to clean equipment, practice swarm prevention and establish new colonies.

Check colonies for honey and pollen reserves. Briefly check honey reserves in late winter-early spring; temperatures can be 40° - 50° F. and sunny.  Honey should be on both sides of the cluster with at least a 10-20 pound reserve or 2-3 well filled combs.  If feeding is necessary, it can be done by: a. exchange of honey combs from another colony (only if disease free) b. sugar syrup poured directly into combs - 1:1 ratio c. sugar syrup poured in division board feeders, hive top feeders or feeder pails d. feeding dry sugar on the inner cover.

 Some areas may need pollen substitute and supplement feeding more than in other areas. Pollen substitute can be purchased from bee supply dealers. A thorough colony examination should be conducted when temperatures reach 60-65°.F.  Then the brood and queen can be checked more extensively. However, colonies can be examined in temperatures below 60°  if done quickly so that the brood is not chilled. (Recognize disease symptoms.)

Replacing and cleaning up equipment. If colonies are packed, they should be unpacked.  Equipment (bottom boards, top covers, hive bodies) should be repaired and painted if needed.  Remove old combs, especially from lowest hive body, before being refilled with brood and honey. Replace with foundation or drawn comb, free of drone cells.

Swarm prevention should be a concern to the beekeeper once the colonies have survived the winter and bee populations start increasing. 

Establish new colonies. Package bees - should be ordered in January if possible, so that arrival will be during early fruit and dandelion bloom. If introducing bees to drawn comb, a two pound package with queen can be purchased. When using all foundation, a three pound pack is better. Feeding sugar syrup is especially important for bees introduced to foundation. Dividing colonies provides new colonies to replace losses or to make increases. It is also a means to control swarming. One method is to divide the bees, brood and honey in equal parts, then give the queenless colony a queen.

Colony inspection for any disease symptoms or mites. Examine brood for American foulbrood.  Examine adult bees, brood and possibly conduct an ether roll test for Varroa mites.  Take an adult bee sample for Tracheal mite examination.

Spring Activities

Spring management and activities are interrelated, and include: unwrapping, site evaluation, splitting, disease detection and control, routine or special medication, mite treatments and surveys, scraping (and replacing if required) of floors and hive equipment, moving yards, feeding, medicating, removing excess feed, eliminating poor colonies, requeening and adding or reducing space as required.

A number of these activities often take place on a single visit to the yard. Sometimes a specialized team with unique equipment might handle one task, while a separate team handles another task in the same yard, or somewhere else in the outfit.

Chapter 10

Provide wind protection for the winter. Shrubs, fences or trees can provide windbreaks. Colonies should be placed where cold air flows away (high ground) and the hives should receive sunshine (southern exposure).

Chapter 11
Honey Harvest...FINALLY!
Honey is sold as "extracted" honey - bottled, liquid honey that has been extracted from the combs; "comb" honey -honey still in its natural comb; and "chunk" honey - a bottled combination of extracted and comb.