"The best bee master is a servant to the hive"

These tips and tricks are collected by me through either trail and error, or taught to me by other beekeepers. I have tried to categorize them by what time of the year they would happen. 

General Things to Remember:

• Always be 2 weeks ahead of the bees. When you inspect or check on your bees, make a note on the hive and figure out what they will be doing in two weeks, then plan accordingly for that. This is how to you stop swarms from happening.

• When you get stung, try to get the stinger out asap to reduce reactions. The longer the stinger is in, the more poison that goes into your system. You can try treating stings with mashed up plantain weeds (have not tried this yet)

Installing the Packages

-Use an empty box and place it on top of your framed boxes, so that the bees have somewhere to fall into and it acts like a funnel, so they do not fall on the cold ground.

-The queen should stay capped in here cage for the first 2-3 days, then remove the cap and let them go at the sugar candy. If you are using a marshmellow, she should stay capped for 4 days then remove the cap and install the marshmellow. The bees need about 4-5 days with her before releasing, just to make sure she is accepted.

-Make sure to have some empty frames (if you are luck enough to have built comb). This is a great way to get yur bees to work before the queen is released, as well as get your unbuilt frames filled out.

-Bees should go on a 1:1.2 sugar solution

Spring

-Same with installing the packages, make sure your bees have unbuilt comb to work on. They need to do this as part of their evolution and growth, plus it is a great way to get your unbuilt frames built out.

• Add your spring pollen patty when you remove the candy board and you start to see them do cleansing flights. Cleansing flights usually begin when the weather is over 45°.

• Make sure your hive has the right amount of space for the numbers of bees. Meaning, if they are a small hive, do not have lots of extra space or empty frames. To check your spacing, lift the bottom box up (preferably early in the day) and see if there is empty space for the bees to move around. You should be seeing wall to wall bees, and then start adding space. Otherwise, condense to keep the hive warm (using follower boards).

Summer

• When the nectar flow starts and you add honey boxes, make sure to try and keep your queen in the bottom boxes, the brood nest, and rotate capped brood up into a chimney pattern. 

• Oldest capped brood goes up into the middle of the honey boxes so they hatch out and get back filled with honey.

Honey Harvest

• How do you know it is time to harvest? A few different ways to decide this. 

1. If a frame is fully capped, take it. That way they don't start eating it. 

2. You can also take a mostly capped frame that passes the shake test, or if the honey is refracting at less than 18%. If it is under 20% and passes the shake test, you can take it and use a fan to dry it the rest of the way.

3. Test your honey boxes by lifting them regularly. If you feel they are getting lighter, it is time to pull them.

• It is best to take the honey early in the morning when they are not yet out foraging and flying around. It will be easier to take the honey frames.

To pull honey you have a few options.

1. Put the triangle bee excluder on about 24 hours before removing the boxes to get out as many bees as possible, then the next day take the honey and use a brush to flick the remaining bees off.

2. Use smoke and a brush to flick them off and then put the frames in an empty box and keep it covered so the bees do not get into it.

It is important to remember that you should be geared up for this. You are most likely to get stung when you take their honey.

• Once you have removed honey, you must put them back on sugar syrup using a rapid feeder, as well as pollen patties. Stop giving pollen patties around the end of August. They will go through about 1.5 gallons of syrup in a week.give them 1:1 sugar syrup for the first 2-3 weeks, then move them to 2(sugar):1(water) with HoneyB Healthy well in it.

Fall/Overwinter Prep

• Once you have removed honey, you must put them back on sugar syrup using a rapid feeder, as well as pollen patties. Stop giving pollen patties at the end of August.Give them 1:1 sugar syrup for the first 2-3 weeks, then move them to 2(sugar):1(water) with HoneyB Healthy well in it.

• At the height of feeding,  they will go through about 1.5 gallons of syrup in a week. 

• Take all unbuilt frames away and give them only drawn frames when you officially close up the main boxes. This makes it so they do not have empty space. If you are keeping drone comb in the boxes, put it on the outside spots. They will backfill it with sugar syrup.

• Condense the bees down into 2 mediums (or 1 deep). If there are not enough bees to fill that much space, chimney pipe them and give them follower boards. You want them to be tight! They need to stay close for energy and heat.

• When you first condense down, the bees may be spilling out of the hive. for a few days. This is fine. There numbers will decrease.

• After August has passed, you should no longer be opening the hive to inspect. This can break the propolis seal and release heat/harm the hive.

• Stop feeding them either when they stop taking sugar syrup, or by mid/late September, whatever comes first.

• You should aim to do an OA treatment in late October after all the winter brood is born.

Winter

Before permanently closing them up, it is recommended to:

• Setup candy box as such:

  1. Put double layer of reflectix inner cover with holes in the same place (about a 3x3 inch hole). Then put on a top (candy) box.

  2. Put insulation on both sides and leave a channel about 5 inches wide. Take your hard candy board and place it over the hole, then put more loose sugar on either side of the candy board.

  3. Next, place a reflectix cover with a 6x4 hole cutout and covered with plastic to make a viewing window.

  4. Finally put another insulation board on top

  5. One final layer of reflectix with the cover on top and strap down to make a very tight seal.

• After you have them all closed and ready for winter, you can push the hives all together right next to each other and wrap the outsides with reflectix. Then surround on all sides with insulation and an insulation lid on top.

• If you are going to use a temperature meter that does not lay flat, you can put it in the candy box. It will read about 6-10 degrees cooler than the hive, so just keep that in mind.

Varroa Mites

There are multiple methods to control Varroa Mites. I am currently using 3 methods: OA Vapor treatments, freezing drone frames, and a screened bottom board.

• OA Vapor Treatments: 

  1. For new packages, it is best to treat them about 5-7 days after the queen has been released and begun laying. We are trying to kill the mites in the hives before they are capped and can start to reproduce.

  2. In the fall of your first year, in early October after the last of the winter brood has been born, do another OA treatment. Once again, aiming to kill the mites that are out of the capped brood.

  3. If your hives successfully overwinters, you only need to do OA treatments every fall going forward, unless you have a really bad mite problem.

• Freezing Drone Frames: If you are using special drone frames, once the vast majority of one is capped, pull it from the hive and freeze it for 48 hours. Take it out and let it come back to room temp, then put it back in the hive. It will kill the mites in the capped drone frames, and the bees will clean the dead drones out.

• Screened Bottom Board: If you use a screened bottom board with an airlock in it, the mites will fall through it and cannot get back into the hive. It doesn't do a lot, but it helps. I have blueprints to build a screened bottom board. If you would like it, please email me at pppagak@gmail.com