Summer Activities For Honey Bees

JUNE

JUNE AND THE BEES: The bees will be working hard filling supers. They can still swarm during June, so keep an eye out for swarms. Our major nectar sources will begin to disappear later in the month of June.

There is no need to feed the mature hives. They are gathering plenty of nectar and pollen. You may see the bees hanging out on the front of the hive at night. This is normal. On hot and especially humid evenings, many bees will spend the night outside the hive, clinging to the front of the hive or they may form a beard on the ground in front of the hive. This phenomenon is called "bearding". This would be like you enjoying your cool porch on a hot evening.

Continue to monitor your hive. Inspect your hive every two weeks to ensure the queen is laying well. The bees will need water, so be sure to keep a water source near your hives. Bird baths filled with water will help to ensure that your bees stay out of the dog's water bowl and your neighbor's pool. Some beekeepers maintain their feeders full of water (no syrup) to make it easier for the bees to keep cool.

JULY

JULY AND THE BEES: Since the major nectar flow ended late June, the bees will become much more flighty, searching for nectar which is not as plentiful to find. The bees are beginning the final effort to store up for winter, searching for final nectar sources. Golden Rod and Aster plants may provide some nectar flow in the fall.

JULY AND THE BEEKEEPER: Continue to check your supers! You'll now be removing and extracting your honey.

Most beekeepers begin to consider the amount of mites within hives during July. Most begin to treat, based upon mite count/survey results. However, no treatments can be administered in a hive while supers are on. This could contaminate the honey with chemical residue. If possible, do not use chemicals in your hives but do treat for mites with powdered sugar. However, it is wise to wait until the last summer nectar flow is over and the honey has been harvested before treating with powdered sugar. For our part of Virginia, the summer nectar flow ends about the third week of June. If mites become a problem it will be during the summer and fall months. It is best not to disturb our bees
Raise problem combs and other full combs of honey to the upper brood chamber, and cease feeding. Never raise eggs or young larvae above the excluder as the bees may rear a queen.

If you have multiple hives, you must be careful not to let a strong hive rob a weak hive. Be careful not to open up the hive for extended periods as other hives may try to rob the weaker hive while it is opened.

AUGUST

AUGUST AND THE BEES: The bees are behaving much as they did in July, although the nectar dearth is more prominent in August. The bees are making a strong effort to store up for winter, searching for final nectar sources, which are few. Golden Rod and Aster plants may provide some nectar flow.

AUGUST AND THE BEEKEEPER: This is the start of the beekeeper's year! What you do in August will strongly influence how well your bees do next year, and how well they overwinter. Here's your work list for August:

1) Consider requeening. You don't have to, if your queen has done well. But it is advisable to requeen in August, no later than September. If you can afford to requeen your hive each year, it would be best to do so. A new queen means a much younger queen who has stronger pheromones to curtail swarming, and who will be more apt to lay eggs more efficiently in the spring.

2) Continue to monitor Varroa mite infestation. Promptly take appropriate action to reduce the mite load early in the fall.

3) Take off all your supers. There is no need for them now, and you will want to tighten up the hive by removing excess supers.

Check to see if the colony is HYPERLINK "http://www.masterbeekeeper.org/calendar/popup/honeybound.htm" honey bound. Raise problem combs and other full combs of honey to the upper brood chamber. Never raise eggs or young larvae above the excluder as the bees may rear a queen.

If you have multiple hives, you must be careful not to let a strong hive rob a weak hive. Be careful not to open up the hive for extended periods as other hives may attempt to rob the hive while it is opened.

As the days lengthen and the temperature continues to increase, the cluster expands further and drones are produced. With an increase in brood rearing and the accompanying increase in adult bees, the nest area of the colony becomes crowded. More bees are evident at the entrance of the nest. A telltale sign of overcrowding is to see the bees crawl out and hang in a cluster around the en trance on a warm afternoon.

Combined with crowded conditions, the queen also increases drone egg laying in preparing for the natural division of the colony by swarming. In addition to rearing workers and drones, the bees also prepare to rear a new queen. A few larvae that would normally develop into worker bees are fed a special gland food called royal jelly, their cells are reconstructed to accommodate the larger queen, and her rate of development is speeded up. The number of queen cells produced varies with races and strains of bees as well as individual colonies.

Regardless of its crowded condition, the colony will try to expand by building new combs if food and room are available. These new combs are generally used for the storage of honey, whereas the older combs are used for pollen storage and brood rearing.