Menu:
The
Second Year.
New Years Day is past, and its time to start thinking about your second year as a beekeeper. All looks quiet in the beeyard, but very soon the queen will start to increase her laying and the hive will start to grow. Slowly at first but before you know it the hive will be raising lots of young bees, and young bees need food. we are now coming into the time of year when hives are most likely to starve. At least once a month, when the temperature is 50 or above, lift the cover on the hive and quickly peek in to make sure they have stores left and are able to get to them. Don't disturb the cluster, this is just a welfare check. If they are low, then feed them some dry sugar on the top bars where they can get to it. Many beekeepers begin feeding light syrup in February to help jump start brood rearing, but this can lead to unexpected swarming so save that technique for your third year. By the time March rolls around, your hive is getting pretty strong so pay attention to the food situation and you can start feeding light syrup as needed. Late March is the time to increase the frequency of your hive work. Make sure the queen has plenty of room to lay in. You can swap the bottom box for the top box to give her more room, or you can remove the honey and pollen frames on the outsides of the box and swap them with empty combs from below. During April and May, pay close attention to signs of swarming. If during your inspections you notice queen cells along the bottom of a frame, then swarm preparations have begun. You will have to act quick to make a simulated swarm. If they swarm anyway don't worry, you will probably find them or get a call. Just pick em up and put em in the nuc you made over the winter. Towards the end of May, you'll notice the band of honey and nectar getting larger along the top of the frames in the top brood chamber. Now is the time to put your queen excluder and your first super on.
If you notice the bees are hesitant to start drawing out the foundation in the super, then turn your excluder 90 degrees so that they have a clear path at the front and the back of the hive. After they start storing nectar in the super you can turn it back but make sure the queen doesn't get trapped above the excluder. When the bees are working on 7or 8 frames in the super you can add your second one, same for the third. Once the supers go on, you really don't need to check the brood chambers very often unless you suspect a problem. About the middle of July, it's time for your first harvest. If you joined the local bee club, then you probably have met some beekeepers who will help you extract your honey in exchange for help with theirs. This is a good opportunity to learn about extracting equipment and techniques before investing in your own set up. You'll most likely need at least 1 five gallon bucket, 2 if your lucky. From this point on, your hive management is geared to getting your bees ready for winter again. The rest of the year let the bees keep all the honey they make for winter stores. You may want to consider requeening this fall so that your hive goes into winter with lots of young bees and a prolific queen ready to build up in the spring. In late August or early September treat for mites and feed heavy syrup if needed to get them through the winter.
New Years Day is past, and its time to start thinking about your second year as a beekeeper. All looks quiet in the beeyard, but very soon the queen will start to increase her laying and the hive will start to grow. Slowly at first but before you know it the hive will be raising lots of young bees, and young bees need food. we are now coming into the time of year when hives are most likely to starve. At least once a month, when the temperature is 50 or above, lift the cover on the hive and quickly peek in to make sure they have stores left and are able to get to them. Don't disturb the cluster, this is just a welfare check. If they are low, then feed them some dry sugar on the top bars where they can get to it. Many beekeepers begin feeding light syrup in February to help jump start brood rearing, but this can lead to unexpected swarming so save that technique for your third year. By the time March rolls around, your hive is getting pretty strong so pay attention to the food situation and you can start feeding light syrup as needed. Late March is the time to increase the frequency of your hive work. Make sure the queen has plenty of room to lay in. You can swap the bottom box for the top box to give her more room, or you can remove the honey and pollen frames on the outsides of the box and swap them with empty combs from below. During April and May, pay close attention to signs of swarming. If during your inspections you notice queen cells along the bottom of a frame, then swarm preparations have begun. You will have to act quick to make a simulated swarm. If they swarm anyway don't worry, you will probably find them or get a call. Just pick em up and put em in the nuc you made over the winter. Towards the end of May, you'll notice the band of honey and nectar getting larger along the top of the frames in the top brood chamber. Now is the time to put your queen excluder and your first super on.
If you notice the bees are hesitant to start drawing out the foundation in the super, then turn your excluder 90 degrees so that they have a clear path at the front and the back of the hive. After they start storing nectar in the super you can turn it back but make sure the queen doesn't get trapped above the excluder. When the bees are working on 7or 8 frames in the super you can add your second one, same for the third. Once the supers go on, you really don't need to check the brood chambers very often unless you suspect a problem. About the middle of July, it's time for your first harvest. If you joined the local bee club, then you probably have met some beekeepers who will help you extract your honey in exchange for help with theirs. This is a good opportunity to learn about extracting equipment and techniques before investing in your own set up. You'll most likely need at least 1 five gallon bucket, 2 if your lucky. From this point on, your hive management is geared to getting your bees ready for winter again. The rest of the year let the bees keep all the honey they make for winter stores. You may want to consider requeening this fall so that your hive goes into winter with lots of young bees and a prolific queen ready to build up in the spring. In late August or early September treat for mites and feed heavy syrup if needed to get them through the winter.