Ellen Miller 2015

When to start What to look for – outside and inside When to add supers Swarming Gathering honey

Flying to excrete body wastes Workers bringing in pollen To and from flying – busy bees Pulling out foundation Laying eggs Enough feed Mild mannered unless disturbed Pattern of brood laying and stores Queen cells Clustering on outside of hive Enough space

Bringing in pollen

Busy bees – to and from flying

Open the hive on a warm day – mid 50’s Check for food stores Clean out dead bees from bottom of hive

When warmer 60 + Open hive and inspect for brood laying Rotate hive bodies if brood is in top box Determine feeding needs – stores vs. feed

Smoker: A smoker is used to encourage the bees to stay in the hive, fill up on nectar, and focus more on what they might need to do to protect the colony from fire instead of what you are doing to them. Used mostly in the summer when they are more apt to defend their honey supply Only a few puffs of smoke are needed Apply to entrance and lift top for a couple more puffs Use only safe fuel such as organic material: burlap that hasn’t been treated with chemicals, pine cones/needles, etc.

Pulling out foundation on the midrib

Mild mannered

Pattern of brood Eggs laid Correct position

Enough food

Enough space Add second hive body when 6-7 frames filled in first body If you are still feeding, move in-line feeder to top box

Queen cells

Clustering around the entrance

Weak Hives – 6 frames or less covered with bees at the end of June Strong Hives – 10 frames or more

What is blooming : Depends on the location of your hive and weather. Honey bees will fly up to 5 miles if necessary, but they prefer 2-3 miles. The further they fly, the more energy they consume Proximity to nectar producing plants throughout the growing season - April through September

The Honey Flow: The period when most nectar producing plants are in bloom. In our area that is usually the middle of June. Weather dependant. Attempt to have 50,000 bees. This is when most of the nectar is produced. The rest of the blooming season will normally only provide feed to maintain the hive.

Supers are usually shorter than a hive body When your hive has two hive bodies When the second hive body is approx. 3/4 full When honey flow has started Remove supplemental feed Add additional super when other is 2/3 capped Hives in various stages of strength at Honey flow

Workers will make queen cells to raise a new queen for the hive. The original queen will go with the swarm She isn’t fed as much so she will be slim enough to fly with the swarm Approximately half of the workers (especially the field bees) will go with the swarm Most of the nurse bees will stay with the hive to care for the brood

The swarm will land somewhere near their hive. Scout bees will look for a new home which may take a few hours to over a day. Once the location is determined, the swarm will go directly to their new home.

Do you want your bees to swarm? Gives you another hive if you can catch the swarm Indicates that you have a healthy hive and a good queen Reduces the amount of honey you will get Reducing inclination for swarming: Remove swarming queen cells: split, destroy Monitor to ensure there is no overcrowding in the hive, making sure to add additional space as needed Split strong hives in spring before honey flow Regardless of what you do, it may happen anyway: Watch for signs: production of queen cells, overcrowding, massing on outside of the hive Be ready to catch the swarm; call “swarm catchers”

One preventative option: Demaree System Transfer the brood to the top hive body above a queen excluder Leave one comb of unsealed brood and eggs in the lower hive body with the queen, filling the remaining space with empty combs Supers are added under the top story If queen cells develop in the top story they should be destroyed about 10 days after changing the brood nest so a young queen can’t emerge

Options: Catching swarms can be easy or not so easy. If you can’t catch the swarm, aren’t ready to catch the swarm, or are uncomfortable trying: Bait hives – An empty temporary hive can be used Placement: Easily monitored for activity Volume:.49 cubic feet Height: 15 ft. off the ground Entrance: single 1” hole Orientation: south Swarm catchers – Local bee associations have members who are willing to catch swarms.

Catching a swarm: Locating and accessing Shaking into a hive body Getting the last bit (ensure you have the queen) Waiting to see if they go into the box Watching them trooping in - success

Determining how much honey to leave/take Approximately 10 frames of honey for the hive Approximately lbs. weight for 2 hive bodies Usually can take honey in any supers above the two hive bodies Harvest in August when it is still hot (80’s)

Extracted Comb

Remove capping Be careful not to damage comb Frames into an extractor

Your reward

Gathered from top bar hive

Honey will crystallize Crystallizes faster when stored at degrees F Keep jars out of direct sun Keeps indefinitely

What to look for: Weak/Strong Build-up for honey flow Swarms Honey