Transcript Summer Management - West Plains Beekeepers Association

Summer Management
and
Honey Production
before - during and after the honey
flow
TOPICS IN THIS LESSON
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1. Strength of the colony
2. Swarming
3. Adding supers
4. Using the smoker
5. Honey extraction
6. Hive inspection
A Reminder
Remember from last week
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There are 3 ways of doing things
1. The right way
2. The wrong way
3. Your way
• Why is there a third way ?
BECAUSE
Your the beekeeper
Summer Management
Management applies to commercial
beekeepers
Summer Management
• And to the hobbyist
Early Spring
Over wintered colonies need to be checked
for a laying queen and a supply of honey
and pollen( which is protein) --if short of
honey a supply of sugar water must be
added along with a pollen substitute- requeen if required.
Early Spring Feeding
Sugar syrup – 1 part sugar to 1 part water
Pollen substitute – make a patty using Drivert
sugar ( bakers sugar ), Mega Bee , mineral
salts and a little bit of essential oil. This goes
on the top frame.
Check for disease and
strength of the colony
Brood diseases
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American Foulbrood
European Foulbrood
Chalk brood
Varro Mite
Tracheal Mite
Small Hive Beetle
Wax moth
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• ( Brood disease will be covered in a later lesson )
Strength of the colony
The objective should be to have
the colony reach it’s peak of
strength at the time the main
honey flow begins---the
preparation for this should begin
the preceding late summer or
early fall. Those 3 requirements—
a good queen-plenty of pollenand plenty of honey !
Package bees or a new queen
• The beekeeper must take into
consideration these time periods
• 1. 15 to16 days for a new queen to hatch
• 2. 21 days for a worker bee to hatch
• 3. 24 days for a drone bee to hatch
Mid Spring Management
Hives should be checked for swarm
cells-- they may be removed to keep
the bees from swarming or if the
beekeeper wants to increase the
number of hives, then the beekeeper
should leave them in and hope to be
around when they swarm– it’s best to
have extra hive bodies on hand.
Watch for Swarm Cells
Supersedure cells
Summer Management
April/May
FEED- FEED- FEED
Reverse your Hive bodies
Make sure there is food in the brood chamber
Make sure that your queen is laying - look for eggs and larva
Get your Supers Ready
Prepare to SPLIT or Add Hive Body to prevent swarming
Summer Management
How to Check your Queen
Presence of Queen
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Learn to recognize Eggs, Larva, Capped Brood vs. Capped Honey
Eggs situated in normal position
What a Queen Looks Like
Quantity of Brood
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Brood Should be on several frames
Frames should be about 2/3 full of brood – corners have honey
Quality of Brood
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Brood pattern should be solid – not a mixture of capped and uncapped
in the same area.
Check on honey and pollen stores as a bad brood result from
lack of food!
Brood Chamber with Food
Food
Brood
Brood Chamber with Food
Food
Brood
Brood Chamber with Food
Food
Brood
Summer Management
How to Check your Queen
For a Productive Hive – Queen MUST produce 1500 to 2000 eggs/day
Replace the Queen with a newly mated Queen
Kill the Queen and allow the colony to make a new one (~40 days to Eggs)
If two very weak hives, kill the Queens, combine hives, re-queen
Find Eggs and Larva
Find Eggs and Larva
Finding the Queen
Find the Queen
Find the Queen
Find the Queen
Summer Management
June – July
• Check hives for any signs of robbing,
weak colonies, swarming or anything out
of the ordinary.
• Add supers as required—if top brood
chamber is ¾ full—it’s time to add a super
Summer management
Summer Management
Summer Management
Summer Management
Swarming
• Swarming is a great way to increase the
number of your colonies– but not so good
for your honey crop that year.
Swarming usually occurs from
May thru July—but can vary !
Why do bees swarm
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Who knows ?
Some say it’s due to overcrowding.
Some say the old queen is bad—but if
she is bad how can she start a new
colony ?
Other reasons are improper ventilation,
starvation or supersedure impulse.
Swarming is the bee’s natural way of
dividing colonies to create new ones.
Preventing a swarm
Swarm Control
One method of swarm control is to
remove the swarm cell located on the
bottom of the frame
The Demaree method separates the
queen from the brood which relieves
congestion in the brood chamber. A queen
excluder is placed between the two hive
bodies .
Catching a swarm
• The old queen leaves the hive with a
number of worker bees. They usually
gorge themselves with honey ( except for
the queen - she has to stay slim and trim)
• Scout bees look for a new home– now it’s
up to the beekeeper to give them that new
home.
Whatever works
Whatever works
Honey Extraction
• August-Sept
• When the first super is 2/3 capped over it’s
time to take it off and replace it with
another super—providing that the bees
are still bring in nectar.
Removal of frames
1. Use a smoker
2. Shake or use a brush
3. Bee Go or other chemicals
4. Use a leaf blower
Remember– you’re the
beekeeper– what works best for
you !
Using a smoker
• The smoker was featured last week –but
remember– the type of fuel used in a
smoker contains pollutants and toxic
gases – use fuels that are derived from
natural sources ( wood shavings , dried
grass , pine cones etc.)
• A few puffs of smoke at the entrance and
under the top cover are sufficient
• (as a precaution–carry a fire extinguisher)
Wear protective clothing
• How fast can you run ?
Shaking the frame
• Once the frame is removed give it a few
good shakes to dislodge the bees
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• Use your brush
Gently brush the bees off the frame
( I do this in front of the hive )
Honey Extraction
Chemicals
BeeGo/Honey Robber (n-butyric anhydride)
Sprinkle on Cloth and place over super
Nasty smell drives bees down out of super
Risk of contaminating Honey!
Honey Extraction
Bee Blower
Leaf blower will work
works well and is convenient
Honey Extraction
Capped Honey Indicates It’s Ripe
Honey extraction
• Place frames in an empty super after bees
are cleaned off. When all hives have been
emptied of capped frames you are ready
to begin extraction.
• When all of the frames have been
extracted you can put them back on the
hive and let the bees clean them out.
Honey Extraction
De-capping the Comb
Hot Knife
Uncapping Fork
Honey Extraction
Drain the Cappings/save the wax
Honey Extraction
Extractor
Homemade extractor
Honey Extraction
Chunk Honey/Cut Comb Honey
Wax Production
A valuable by-product of beekeeping!
DO NOT USE OLD Brood Comb!
Uses of bee’s wax
• 1. cosmetics
• 2. candles for churches
• 3. wax for beekeeper products
Hive inspection
How and When to Check Your Hives
Is too much Inspection a Bad Thing?
Hive Inspection
Nothing Short of a “Home Invasion”
Beginning Beekeepers Inspect their Hives TOO MUCH !
Goal is to get familiar with “outside” to tell you what
is happening on the “inside”
How does the colony behave?
Are there a lot of bees coming and going?
Are there dead bees/larva on the landing board?
Is there a strange smell?
How much does your hive weigh?
Hive Inspection
Nothing Short of a “Home Invasion”
IF YOU SEE
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# of Bees seems to be decreasing
Dead Bees, larva, or pupae on the landing board
Detect a strange or foul odor
Bees that are unusually temperamental
Robbers, predators, or leaking honey
Lethargic, aimless, or deformed bees
ANYTHING out of the Ordinary
OPEN IT UP!
Hive Inspection
Nothing Short of a “Home Invasion”
Visually Inspect your Hives Exterior Often
BUT Removing Frames:
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Disrupts Hive activity for 4-8 hours
Agitates the Bees
Breaks Propolis Seals
Damages comb and disrupts Honey
Risks Heating or Chilling Brood
Changes the Hive Humidity – harm larva
Invites Predators into the Hive
RISKS HARMING THE QUEEN
Routine Maintenance
Be Non-Invasive!
Lift Lid and Slide Inner Cover Slightly to the Side To:
Add sugar water to the feeders
Add Pollen patties or mite treatments
Weigh Hive To:
Determine Hive Health (Honey, Comb, Bees are heavy)
Look for Swarm Cells by Lifting Hive Body and Inspecting all
Frame Bottoms at the same time
Look of Mites by use of Sticky Board
Summary
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What we have covered
1. strength of the colony
2. swarming
3. adding supers
4. using the smoker
5. honey extraction
6. hive inspection
• Remember-you’re the beekeeper