Top-Bar Hive Management A year on the buzz

SPRING! Expansion – spacers Swarm season

Swarming Colony reproduction Signs: queen cells, drone brood, bees outside hive What does it mean for the beekeeper? -Find queen, move her to new hive -Shake heaps of bees in -Add plenty of capped brood + honey. -Try to give new hive at least 6-8 combs

Summer Beginning of honey harvest! Keep adding spacers, evaluating queens, monitoring for disease, refining wax, bottling honey… Might observe ‘bearding,’ bees hanging out in cluster at entrance – not adding their heat and humidity to interior. Avoid cross-combing by reversing newly built combs at back – saves headaches

Harvesting

Bee products: Honey, beeswax, mead, pollen, royal jelly, venom…

Autumn + Winter Time of contraction Propolising entrance & cracks for insulation and protection Organic control of varroa more effective while weather is still warm Robbing can get full on Inspect hives to ensure bees have enough food for winter! Can combine hives if two look weak

Nectar and pollen sources in NZ Main ‘nectar flow’ mid- Nov – mid-Dec in most places Notice when bees go crazy on a plant – how long does it flower for? Can you plant more of it? How does the honey look/taste? When are there dearths in nectar & pollen, how can you remedy? Plant polycultural paradises!! Gorse: excellent pollen source White clover: NZ’s premier honey source Manuka: unrivalled for antibacterial actiity