Fears Seeping Through
At the onset of the active beekeeping season, it's natural to observe your hives bustling with increased activity compared to the previous year. This uptick in busyness can be a sign of a thriving colony, but it might also bring concerns, especially when the once gleaming combs no longer shine as brightly. These changes are part of the natural cycle and progression of a bee colony's life. As the hive grows and evolves, the wear on combs and the hive's appearance are inevitable due to the continuous work and movement of the bees. While it's important to cherish the aesthetics of clean and gleaming combs, the vitality and productivity of the colony are paramount indicators of beekeeping success. This situation serves as a reminder of the dynamic and ever-changing nature of beekeeping, where adaptability and a focus on the health and well-being of the bees are crucial.
For those new to beekeeping, the journey might initially seem straightforward, but as experience grows, so does the realization of its complexities. The tips and methods I share are aimed at simplifying your beekeeping experience, drawing from my own practices and lessons learned. It’s important to recognize that beekeeping is highly individual, and what works for one may not work for another. I encourage you to consider the advice given here as a starting point, adapting and tailoring it to fit your unique circumstances and hive management style.
Beekeeping is a learning process, filled with continuous growth and adaptation. As you gain experience, you'll find methods that best suit you and your bees. Embrace the journey, and don't hesitate to modify practices as you learn what leads to a thriving, productive hive.
Hives overflowing... and not exactly spotless
Entering your second year of beekeeping, you'll likely notice a stark contrast from your first. Should your hive have successfully overwintered and flourished in spring, the surge in bee population compared to the previous year can be quite astounding. Alongside this growth, you might find the comb within your brood box has lost its initial gleam, taking on a more discolored appearance. This change, while perhaps alarming at first, is perfectly natural and not indicative of any problem within the hive.
The darkening of comb and the presence of holes are simply part of the hive's evolution and do not compromise the hive's cleanliness or the bees' well-being. A robust and populous hive is a positive sign of your colony's health and vitality. The bees are well-equipped to manage the condition of their comb, focusing on the essential tasks of rearing brood and storing food.
However, this transformation in your hive's appearance does necessitate a more vigilant approach to hive inspections, particularly concerning the monitoring of queen cells. The presence of queen cells can indicate potential swarming behavior or the colony's intention to replace its queen. Regular and careful inspections are crucial to managing your hive's dynamics and ensuring its continued success. Remember, these changes and challenges are part of the natural cycle of beekeeping, offering valuable learning opportunities and the chance to witness the fascinating adaptability of honey bees.
Give you bees some space to expand
Ensuring your bees have ample space is paramount for maintaining a healthy and productive hive. In their natural habitats, bees typically occupy vast cavities, enabling them to construct comb extensively either from the top down or outward. This natural progression allows the colony to allocate space efficiently: as brood emerges, the vacated comb is repurposed for storing resources.
It's important to note the distinction in terminology when discussing brood development: eggs hatch, but brood emerges. As new brood continues to emerge, they instinctively move downward, building new comb beneath the stored provisions.
In managed hives, the spatial dynamics are slightly altered. Beekeepers provide a defined area for the queen's egg-laying at the bottom of the hive. Additional space for stores, in the form of supers, is added above the brood area as needed. While this arrangement mimics the natural structure to some extent, bees may initially be hesitant to occupy supers, especially if they're equipped with undrawn foundation.
There are various strategies suggested to encourage bees to utilize this additional space, such as temporarily removing the queen excluder or positioning the super beneath the brood box. However, these methods may not always yield immediate results. Ultimately, bees will expand into the provided space as their colony's needs grow. Patience is key; bees are highly adaptive and will organize their hive efficiently when the time is right.
It’s up to your preference to keep the queen excluders
When it comes to using a queen excluder in your hive, it truly boils down to personal choice. These serve beekeepers by delineating a distinct boundary between the brood area and honey stores, facilitating easier honey harvesting without the risk of including brood. However, this convenience for the beekeeper does not necessarily align with the natural behaviors or preferences of the bees.
If you're considering managing your hive without a queen excluder, it's entirely feasible to do so. Some beekeepers find that not using an excluder allows for a more natural hive structure and dynamics, though it may require more careful management to keep the brood and honey areas distinct according to your needs.
The world of beekeeping is marked by its flexibility and the absence of one-size-fits-all rules. Each beekeeper’s approach can vary based on their goals, experiences, and the specific needs of their bees. My personal preference leans towards using a queen excluder, particularly a wired model with a frame, despite the extra cost. This preference is born out of experience and the value I place on maintaining clear separation within the hive.
Ultimately, whether or not to use a queen excluder is up to you. Experimenting with different methods is a valuable part of the learning process in beekeeping, helping you to discover what works best for you and your bees.
Do not compromise on supers
Ensuring your bees have sufficient space for honey production is crucial, so it's important not to skimp on supers. Supers are designed specifically for honey storage, with their size optimized for ease of handling by beekeepers. The bees' process of making honey involves spreading nectar across many cells to evaporate water content before finally filling the cell with ripe honey and capping it. This process underscores the need to provide ample space not just for storage but also for the ripening phase of honey production.
To effectively manage this, it's wise to anticipate the bees' needs and add another super once the current one begins to gain noticeable weight. My preference is to position new supers directly above the brood box but beneath any existing supers. This arrangement leverages the bees' natural inclination to store honey upward within the hive while minimizing the need for them to relocate honey unnecessarily. By staying proactive in adding supers, you ensure the bees have the required space to efficiently produce and store honey, contributing to a healthy and productive hive.
Think from a bee perspective
Understanding bee behavior and thinking from their perspective can greatly enhance your beekeeping practices. Bees have evolved with intricate behaviors that ensure the survival and efficiency of the hive. Honey is typically stored from the top down, while the brood is located underneath, closer to the entrance of the hive. This arrangement is strategic; during colder months, as the queen reduces or ceases laying eggs, the colony begins to consume honey from the bottom up, moving gradually towards the warmth retained at the top of the hive. This methodical consumption allows bees to manage their stores effectively throughout the winter, ensuring they utilize their resources efficiently to maintain the hive's warmth with minimal expenditure.
When managing your hives, it's crucial to balance giving the bees enough space to store honey without overwhelming them with too much void space, particularly above the brood area. This is where thoughtful use of queen excluders comes into play; they're used during the active season to separate brood from honey stores, ensuring a clear division for easier honey extraction. However, maintaining too large a gap between the brood and the stores can be detrimental, especially if it challenges the colony's ability to regulate temperature and access stores efficiently.
As autumn approaches and the queen's laying patterns change, it's advisable to remove queen excluders. This adjustment allows the bees unrestricted movement within the hive, enabling them to cluster for warmth and access their honey stores freely, thus optimizing their chances of survival through the winter. Thinking like a bee, with an understanding of their natural instincts and behaviors, will guide you in making informed decisions that support the health and productivity of your bee colonies.
Conducting hive inspections
Conducting hive inspections becomes increasingly challenging as the number of supers on your hive grows. The physical task of lifting and temporarily relocating these supers to access the brood box beneath requires careful planning and preparation. To manage this effectively:
Ensure a Stable Placement Area: Before beginning your inspection, identify or create a stable, secure area close to the hive where you can place the supers as you remove them. This could be a stand, a flat surface, or even a specifically designed holder that keeps the supers off the ground and safe from damage or disturbance.
Preparation Is Key: As highlighted in last month's article, proper preparation is crucial for a smooth inspection process. This includes having all necessary tools at hand, planning the sequence of your actions, and ensuring minimal disruption to the bees.
Lift Carefully: When removing supers, do so gently to avoid jarring the bees unnecessarily. Smooth, deliberate movements help maintain calm within the hive and prevent accidents.
Manage Weight: Remember that full supers can be quite heavy. If managing their weight is challenging, consider using a buddy system for lifting or investing in a hive tool that can assist in safely separating and lifting the supers.
Inspect Efficiently: Once the supers are safely set aside, proceed with your brood box inspection efficiently to minimize the time the hive is open and exposed. This reduces stress on the bees and the risk of attracting robbers or pests.
Reassemble with Care: After the inspection, carefully replace the supers in their original order. This maintains the integrity of the bees' storage system and minimizes disruption to their work.
By adhering to these guidelines, you can ensure that your inspections are thorough yet minimally invasive, allowing you to maintain the health and productivity of your hive even as it grows in size and complexity.
This moth’s tip
During this time of year, if your hive is equipped with an open mesh floor (OMF), it's a good practice to check beneath your hive. You might discover a cluster of bees gathering underneath, a sight that can understandably cause concern, especially as the cluster grows in size. The sight of bees clustering in such a manner often leads to fears of swarming behavior or worries that the queen has somehow found herself below the OMF.
However, there's usually no cause for alarm. This phenomenon often occurs when bees, attempting to return to the hive, mistakenly fly too low and end up under the entrance. These bees find themselves on the mesh, able to see their hive above but confused about why they can't rejoin their colony. This situation can escalate as more bees accumulate, creating a sizable cluster.
On colder nights, these clustered bees may suffer from the chill, falling to the ground where they appear listless and weak by morning. Observers might mistakenly attribute their condition to disease or pesticide exposure.
The solution to this issue is relatively straightforward and quick to implement:
Carefully remove the cluster from beneath the hive, allowing the bees to enter the hive through the proper entrance.
To prevent recurrence, block the gap between the landing board and the ground. This can be done using a piece of wood, fine netting, or even a breeze block, essentially guiding the bees to the entrance and preventing under-flying.
Consider installing a larger landing board, as this can reduce the likelihood of bees missing the entrance and clustering underneath the OMF.
By addressing this simple fault, you can prevent the unnecessary loss of bees and ensure they safely rejoin their colony, demonstrating how a small adjustment can make a significant difference in hive management.
