1. Preparing Hives for Winter: Checking Food Stores
Ensuring your bees have enough food to get through winter is essential. Bees need about 20 kg (44 lbs) of honey to survive until spring, although this amount can vary based on the local climate and the type of bees you’re working with.
The “hefting” method is one way to gauge food stores: lift the hive slightly from the bottom to feel its weight. Over time, you’ll develop a sense of what’s “heavy enough” for winter, but for beginners, using a luggage scale or spring balance can give you a more accurate idea. Attach the scale to one side of the hive, record the weight, and repeat on the other side, then add up both weights.
Tip: Sustainable beekeeping practices include avoiding feeding sugar unless it’s necessary. Honey is the bees’ natural food, providing them with essential nutrients they can’t get from sugar syrup. Leave sufficient honey in the hive by avoiding heavy harvesting in the fall. If you need to feed, consider organic or minimally processed sugar to reduce potential contaminants.
2. Swarm Prevention During Extended Travel
Swarming is a natural process where a colony splits, with part of the hive, including the queen, leaving to establish a new colony. While swarming is healthy and supports bee population growth, it’s generally not ideal for backyard beekeepers, especially when it happens unexpectedly.
If you plan to be away during spring or summer, there are steps you can take to reduce swarming risk. One method is the “shook swarm.” This involves removing all combs and replacing them with foundation, giving the bees a big job in building out new comb. This can occupy them and may reduce their desire to swarm, as they’re focused on reconstructing their home.
Another method is the “Bailey comb change,” where you gradually move the queen and bees into a new box. This allows bees to focus on drawing new comb in a controlled way.
Tip: Sustainable beekeeping encourages natural behaviors, including swarming, but it’s wise to balance this with management techniques, especially if swarming could be problematic for your neighbors. Look for opportunities to work with a local beekeeper who might inspect the hives for you while you’re away, fostering community and ensuring the hive stays healthy.
3. Varroa Mite Management: To Treat or Not to Treat?
Varroa mites are among the most significant challenges to modern beekeeping. Monitoring is crucial, as it lets you treat only when necessary, keeping chemicals out of the hive whenever possible.
Common treatments include:
- Oxalic acid: Often used as a winter vapor treatment, when there is little to no brood, to target mites on the bees.
- Formic acid: This treatment penetrates capped brood, attacking mites where they reproduce. It can be effective but requires careful handling, especially in hot weather.
For sustainable mite management, integrated pest management (IPM) strategies include brood breaks (interrupting the queen’s laying cycle, as mites rely on bee larvae to reproduce) and selective breeding for varroa-resistant queens. Some bee strains, like the VSH (Varroa Sensitive Hygiene) bees, actively remove mites from the hive.
Tip: With chemical treatments, always follow label instructions and aim to minimize usage. Over-reliance on chemicals can build mite resistance, making treatments less effective. By monitoring mite levels, you can make better-informed decisions on whether to treat, which supports both the health of your colony and the surrounding environment.
4. Handling Drone-Laying Colonies in Spring
If you find drone brood in spring, it may indicate a queen problem. Drone brood cells are larger and dome-shaped, while worker brood cells are flat. A drone-laying queen, often due to poor mating or age, can’t fertilize eggs, resulting in a hive full of drones rather than worker bees. This can weaken the hive and eventually lead to its collapse if not addressed.
Options include:
- Requeening: Replace the queen if she is producing only drones. Many local beekeepers or associations offer queens bred for disease resistance and productivity, providing a great alternative to raising one.
- Uniting with Another Colony: If re-queening isn’t an option, you can unite the drone-laying colony with another strong hive. Place newspaper between the two hives so the bees can gradually acclimate to each other.
Tip: Sustainable beekeeping prioritizes the overall health and genetics of the bee population. Requeening or uniting should be done carefully to ensure good genetics are maintained and to avoid spreading potential diseases within the hive.
5. Foundation vs. Foundation-less Frames: Which to Choose?
Foundation provides a template, often pre-embedded with wax, that guides bees to build straight, organized comb. Foundation-less frames, on the other hand, allow bees to build more naturally but require a bit more oversight to ensure comb isn’t constructed in a wavy, inefficient manner.
For beginners, starting with foundation is usually easiest, as it helps bees build uniform comb. For those who want to try foundationless frames later on, try alternating foundation and foundationless frames to encourage straight comb construction. Some beekeepers add wire or fishing line across foundationless frames to keep the comb secure during inspections.
Tip: Foundation-less frames can support sustainable beekeeping by allowing bees to draw their natural cell size, which may reduce varroa reproduction. This approach also minimizes chemical residues sometimes found in pre-processed foundation wax.
6. Defending Against Wasps in Late Summer
Wasps are a natural part of the ecosystem, but they can be a threat to weaker colonies in late summer. Wasps are often drawn to honey and weaker colonies, which may not have enough bees to defend against intruders.
To deter wasps:
- Reduce Entrance Size: Give bees a smaller area to defend by using entrance reducers. This makes it harder for wasps to invade.
- Maintain a Strong Colony: Wasps tend to prey on weaker hives, so focus on maintaining a strong, healthy hive.
- Limit Other Food Sources Nearby: Wasps may be drawn to open feeders, so avoid feeding sugar syrup in open containers around the apiary.
Tip: Sustainable beekeeping focuses on natural defenses, like strong colonies and small entrances, rather than chemical wasp deterrents. This keeps the environment clean and minimizes harm to beneficial insects.
7. Addressing Chronic Bee Paralysis Virus (CBPV)
Chronic Bee Paralysis Virus (CBPV) can present itself when colonies are overcrowded or confined for long periods, often after a wet spring. Affected bees may exhibit symptoms like trembling, hair loss, and dark, shiny bodies. Since CBPV is a virus, treatment options are limited, but there are steps you can take to help the colony recover.
Suggested actions include:
- Increasing Hive Space and Ventilation: Reducing overcrowding and improving airflow can help limit the spread of the virus.
- Requeening: Some bees are more susceptible to CBPV, so replacing the queen can introduce a new genetic line with potentially greater resistance to the virus.
Tip: Sustainable beekeeping encourages minimal interference. With CBPV, increasing space, providing good ventilation, and maintaining hygienic practices can often help a colony stabilize without over-intervention.
8. Handling Fermenting Honey
Honey sometimes ferments if harvested with high moisture content (near or above 20%), which can happen during damp weather or if honey isn’t fully capped when harvested. Fermented honey is not ideal for feeding back to bees, as it could cause dysentery or other health issues.
For fermented honey:
- Use in Cooking or Mead Making: Fermented honey can be safely used in recipes or fermented further for mead.
- Store Future Harvests with Care: To avoid future fermentation, store honey in sealed, food-grade bags inside buckets to minimize air exposure.
Tip: Sustainable beekeeping advocates for using honey wisely and avoiding waste. Fermented honey can be valuable in the kitchen, especially when used in marinades or homemade mead.
Final Thoughts
Beekeeping is a balance between nature and management, and sustainable practices can help keep colonies healthy and resilient. Whether it’s monitoring for mites, adjusting hive space to avoid swarming, or rethinking winter feeding, sustainable choices benefit both the bees and the environment. As you grow in your beekeeping journey, you’ll develop a keen sense of your bees’ needs, allowing you to adapt and respond thoughtfully to each season.