Apiary Calendar

This is the month-by-month information you should consider for your apiary, with thanks to Irish Bee Supplies.

December/January

Check the apiary periodically to ensure no hives have lost their roofs or got knocked over.
Shade entrances if you expect snow, to discourage the bees from flying; on sunny days they can get confused by the sunlight reflecting on the snow, fly into it and perish.
Heft the hives to gauge the level of stores. If they are light, feed fondant on the top bars directly over the cluster.
Fit insulation to keep the colony warm. Use an empty super to support the inner cover and roof.
Review last years records to plan for the coming year. Decide which colonies to re-queen and which to use for breeding.
Buy any additional equipment you need. You can solve problems with “spare” equipment.
Attend local bee-keeping association meetings to listen to speakers and discuss and swap ideas with other bee-keepers.
Use your records, local knowledge and common sense as timing can change from area to area.
You may want to consider treating for Varroa with Apibioxal (Oxalic Acid) while there is no brood.

February

Longer days will stimulate brood production, so continue to heft your hives to check on the level of stores. Provide emergency feeding with fondant or sugar syrup if necessary.
Bees will be collecting water to dilute their winter stores, so make sure you provide a supply in a sunny spot that will warm the water before the bees drink it. A chilled bee will be unable to fly back to the hive.
Make sure hives have not been disturbed and that a mouse guard is fitted.
Clear the entrance of dead bees, snow and leaves.
Clean and prepare your equipment for the coming season.

March

Check bees are flying when weather conditions are good.
Check for pollen being taken into the hive.
On a warm day use a small bit of smoke and lift the inner cover. The colony should look strong.
Look for visible excreta on the top bars, which is a sign of dysentery.
This is the month when many hives die so pay particular attention to the hive weight. Heft the hives and, if necessary, feed diluted syrup (1:1 sugar/water) over the bee cluster.
Do not look at the brood nest too early or the bees may get over excited and kill the queen. Wait for a good warm day and you should be able to inspect your bees safely. As a rule of thumb a temperature of 14°C is what you want. If in doubt, wait until April.

April:

Keep an eye on colonies, which will be expanding quickly this month. Some colonies will be ahead of others so use equalisation to make your colonies all roughly the same size.
Add a super over a queen excluder when the brood box is full of bees.
Start regular brood nest examinations of larger colonies. Every 7 days on warm sunny days around noon.
Remove any old broodless frames and combs that you wish to change, and replace with frames of foundation. Any old frames with brood can be gradually moved to the sides and removed once empty. Brood frames should be replaced every 2 years.
Feed syrup if necessary to help the bees produce wax to draw out the comb.
Look for signs of swarming during the examinations. (queen cells)
Make sure you have spare equipment ready to deal with swarms and to rehive the swarm.
Seek experienced help if you think all is not well. Four eyes are always better than two.

May

Continue regular brood inspections and make sure to check for swarm cells.
Make up your mind on the method of swarm control you are going to do.
Always have spare equipment ready for an emergency
Consider rearing your own queens.
Put out bait hives - you may catch a passing swarm
Make sure bees have enough room and space for the queen to lay
Add supers when the new one fills with bees. Keep a close eye for the May honey flow as the super can fill quickly.
Remove any full supers as soon as the honey is sealed and replace with the new ones.
Don't forget to fill in your records for each hive every time you inspect. This is very useful the following year to see what you have done previously

June

If you have controlled swarming you will need to carry out regular inspections
If there is a gap in the forage, this is known as the June gap. It is necessary to make sure that the bees have plenty of food. This is more important if some honey is removed. If the hive is light, feed some 1:1 sugar syrup but not if there are supers on the hive.
Ensure that the queens are properly mated and they are in your main honey producing hives. This should help stop them swarming a second time.
Always rear new queens from your most docile bees and the best honey producing hives, and replace the ones that you least desire.
Remove supers that are full of honey and completely capped. Replace the supers with empty ones.
Don't forget to keep your records up to date

July

July is still a good time to get honey clover, with bramble and lime in bloom.
As soon as supers are full and capped, remove them
Ensure that the bees are still filling the supers at the end of July, especially if there is spring oilseed rape or bee flowers such as borrage in the area.
Don't leave the supers on too late in the year as the brood will be getting smaller and they will be storing food around them for their winter supply.
Keep your record up to date as it will be a good reference for next year.

August/September

Time to think about removing any remaining supers for honey collection. The common method is to use porter bee escapes to clear the bees so as they do not come out with the honey. Also be aware that the bees can still be working on late crops, e.g. spring sown oil seed rape.
Do not open a colony unless absolutely necessary
Make sure all hives are bee tight. Reduce entrance size to prevent wasps from stealing honey and allowing guard bees to protect the hive better.
Start Varroa treatment as soon as all the supers are removed.
Feed all the hives in the evening time when the bees have stopped flying. Feed them all at the same time to prevent robbing.

October/November

The bees may be bringing in ivy nectar and pollen - the smell in the apiary is unmistakable. If you are treating with Apiguard, it's likely that there will be brace comb in the eke. Make sure that the brood area is not filled with honey since there must be room for the queen to lay.
Make sure your hives are ready for winter. It is probably a good idea to put insulation above the crownboard - a square of Kingspan or similar in an empty super will keep the crownboard warm and prevent condensation, as well as providing room if you need to feed fondant.
Reduce the entrance and use a mouse guard to prevent unwelcome guests.

More information

A free booklet, The Beekeeping Year by Lynfa Davies, Master Beekeeper, NDB of the Welsh Beekeepers' Association
The Beekeeping Year Planner (pdf) from BeeCraft.