Chapter 9

Different Seasons, Different Activities

IN THIS CHAPTER

Beekeeping chores for summer, autumn, winter, and spring

Starting your second season

Regardless of their precise location, honey bees are impacted by the general change of seasons. The seasonal calendar of events in Maine obviously looks different than one in Southern California. But different climates mean different schedules and activities for the hive and beekeeper. Knowing what major activities are taking place within the hive and what’s expected of you during these seasons is useful. For a good beekeeper, anticipation is the key to success.

This chapter contains a suggested schedule of seasonal activities for the beekeeper. However, you must note that geography, weather, climate, neighborhood, and even the type of bees influence the timing of these activities. The book is written from the viewpoint of a beekeeper experiencing a distinct change in seasons and climate (spring, summer, autumn, winter).

There is a beekeeper’s calendar and USA map at the end of this chapter. Use this as a rough guide to relate the timing of these activities to the climate conditions of where you live.

The seasonal to-do lists for your Top Bar hive will be similar to those outlined for a Langstroth colony, but the manipulations can be quite different. As you go through this chapter, look for tips and other helpful details that highlight the differences.

I also suggest some important tasks for the beekeeper and provide a rough estimate of the amount of time you’ll need to spend with your bees during each season. These time estimates are based on maintaining one to three hives.

Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer

Nectar flow usually reaches its peak during summer. That’s also when the population of the colony usually reaches its peak. When that’s the case, your colonies are quite self-sufficient, boiling with worker bees tirelessly collecting pollen, gathering nectar to convert into honey, and building beeswax comb to store both. Note, however, that the queen’s rate of egg laying drops during the late summer. And on hot and humid nights, you may see a huge curtain of bees hanging on the exterior of the hive. Don’t worry; they’re not running away. They’re simply cooling off on the front porch. It’s called bearding (see Figure 9-1).

Courtesy of Howland Blackiston

FIGURE 9-1: On this early summer evening, this “beard” of thousands of bees was found cooling off on the exterior of one of my hives.

Late in summer the colony’s growth begins to diminish. Drones still are around, but outside activity begins slowing down when the nectar flow slows. Bees seem to be restless and become protective of their honey.

Your summer to-do list

Here are some activities you can expect to schedule between trips to the beach and hot-dog picnics:

• Inspect the hive every few weeks; make sure it’s healthy and the queen is present.
• Be diligent regarding monitoring of potential pest problems (see Chapter 13).
• Add honey supers as needed. Keep your fingers crossed in anticipation of a great honey harvest.
• Keep up swarm control through the summer (see Chapters 8 and 10). Late in the summer there is less chance of swarming.
• Be on the lookout for honey-robbing wasps or robbing bees from other colonies. A hive under full attack is a nasty situation (see Chapter 10 for information about how to deal with robbing).
• Make sure your girls have access to plenty of water. They will be needing water to cool the hive on hot summer days. See Chapter 3 for ideas on providing water to your bees.
• Harvest your honey crop at the end of the nectar flow (see Chapters 16 and 17). Be sure to leave your colonies enough capped honey for their consumption during the winter months. Where I live in Connecticut, we can experience cold winter from November into April, and so I leave each colony at least 60 pounds of honey for their use during these cold months.

Honey harvest season is the time to break out your gloves, because your normally docile bees are at their most defensive. And don’t forget your veil and smoker. Your girls don’t want to give up their honey without a bit of a fight!

A Top Bar hive colony will sometimes build honeycomb on both sides of the brood nest. This behavior can lead to the colony becoming “honey bound” with no place for the queen to lay. As you inspect your Top Bar hive colony and notice this behavior, you can simply move the honeycombs toward the rear and insert a few blank bars. This will allow the brood to continue to expand and also help control the urge to swarm.

Your summertime commitment

You don’t do all that much until the end of the summer (the honey harvest) because your bees are doing almost all of the work! Figure on spending about eight to ten hours with your bees during the summer months. Most of this time involves harvesting and bottling honey (see Chapters 16 and 17 for more information on honey harvesting).

Just to be clear, you don’t have to harvest honey. It’s an optional bonus of beekeeping. So if you are only keeping bees for pollination (and you have no desire to collect honey) just let the bees collect the honey for their own use when there are no flowers and nectar available to forage.

Falling Leaves Point to Autumn Chores

Most nectar and pollen sources become scarce as days become shorter and weather cools in autumn. All in all, as the season slows down, so do the activities within your hive: The queen’s egg-laying is dramatically reduced, drones begin to disappear from the hive, and hive populations drop significantly.

Your bees begin bringing in propolis, using it to chink up cracks in the hive that may leak the winter’s cold wind. The colony is hunkering down for the winter, so you must help your bees get ready.

Your autumn to-do list

When helping your bees prepare for the upcoming hardships of winter months, you must

• Inspect your bees (look inside the hive) and make certain that the queen is there. As mentioned in Chapter 8, the easiest way to know you have a queen is when you find eggs. One egg per cell means the queen is present.

  Be sure to look for eggs, not larvae. Finding eggs means that the queen was present within the last three days. Larvae, on the other hand, can be three to eight days old. Thus, merely finding larvae is no guarantee that you still have a queen.

  When you wait too late during autumn, you discover that eggs and larvae are few and far between. In that case, actually finding the queen is the surest way to check. Be patient and look carefully.

• Determine whether the bees have enough honey. Your bees need plenty of food (capped honey) for the winter. Make certain that the upper deep-hive body is full or nearly full of honey. Honey is essential for your bees’ survival, because it’s the fuel that stokes their stoves. Without it, they’re certain to perish.
• I don’t take chances regarding whether there is enough food in the pantry for winter. Even when there is ample honey, I provide emergency nutrition by placing sugar “fondant” on the top of the frames of the upper deep (that’s emergency carbs for the bees). In addition, I place a good quality pollen patty on top of these frames (that’s their emergency protein). A recipe for sugar fondant is provided later in this chapter.

• Don’t underestimate the importance of ensuring the best possible nutrition for your bees. A strong, healthy hive is the bees’ best natural defense against pathogens and parasites. See Chapter 12 for more.

  In cooler, northern climates in the USA, hives need about 60 pounds or more of honey as they head into winter. You’ll need less honey reserves (30 to 40 pounds) if your winters are short (or nonexistent).

• Feed your colony. They’ll accept a 2-to-1 sugar-syrup feeding (see the “Autumn syrup recipe” sidebar) until colder weather contracts them into a tight cluster. At that point, temperatures are too cold for them to leave the cluster (see the “Clustering in a Winter Wonderland” section later in this chapter), so they are likely to ignore your offering.

  The amount of honey needed for a Top Bar colony to survive winter depends on the climate where the colony is kept. In northern climates, a Top Bar colony can require about ten solid combs of honey, which is equivalent to about 60 pounds, depending on the width and depth of your particular hive. Another consideration is the depth of the honey band on each bar (see Figure 9-2). The honey band forms above the brood similar to what you find on a typical brood frame in a Langstroth box. Thin bands of honey on the brood comb can be a problem for the winter cluster since the winter cluster always starts on those bars. If a situation develops where the cluster is unable to break up and move to solid honey, the colony can starve with thin bands. If your honey bands are less than 2 inches wide on the brood bars, feeding your colony to increase the band’s width is important.

• Keep feeding your bees until they stop taking the syrup, or until the temperature drops, and they form the winter cluster. A hive-top feeder works best. Consider adding to the syrup one of the all-natural feeding suppliments now on the market. They do seem to help the colony by providing needed nutrients and stimulating good digestive health. See Chapter 12 for more on keeping your bees healthy.
• Provide adequate ventilation. During winter, the temperature at the center of the cluster is maintained at 90 to 93 degrees Fahrenheit (34 to 35 degrees Celsius). Without adequate ventilation, the warm air from the cluster rises and hits the cold inner cover, and condensation drips down onto the bees as ice-cold water. That’s a big problem! The bees will become chilled and die. Keep your colony dry by doing the following:
  • Glue (permanently) four postage stamp–sized pieces of wood (you can use the thin end of a wood shingle or pieces of a Popsicle stick) to the four corners of the inner cover’s flat underside. This neat ventilation trick makes an air space of inch or less between the top edge of the upper deep-hive body and the inner cover.

  • If you are using a Langstroth hive, place the inner cover on the top deep body, flat side down. The oval hole (if there is a hole) should be left open, and the ventilation notch cut into the ledge of the inner cover (if there is one) should be left open, too.

    When you put the outer cover on a Langstroth hive, make sure you push it forward so the notch in the ledge of the inner cover remains open. Make sure the outer cover is put on the hive equidistant from side to side. The result is a gentle flow of air that carries off moisture from the underside of the inner cover and thus keeps the colony dry.

  • Top Bar hives generally do not need added ventilation but will benefit from added insulation. How much insulation you need is a matter of discovery based on the physical location of your apiary and your regional climate. One indication that insulation is required is excessive moisture on the hive sides and top and the face of the combs. During your inspections at the end of the season, be observant and note how moisture is building up.

• Wrap the hive in a layer or two of black tar paper (the kind used by roofers; see Figure 9-2) if you’re in a climate where the winter gets below freezing for more than several weeks. Make sure you don’t cover the entrance or any upper ventilation holes. The black tar paper absorbs heat from the winter sun and helps the colony better regulate temperatures during cold spells. That reduces stress on the bees. The wrap also acts as a windbreak.

  Place a rock on top of the outer cover to ensure that cold winds don’t lift the tar paper off (and the outer cover). I also cut a hole in the wrapping to accommodate the ventilation hole I drilled in the upper deep-hive body (see Figure 9-3).

• Provide a windbreak if your winter weather is really harsh. Hopefully, you originally were able to locate your hives with a natural windbreak of shrubbery (see Chapter 3). But if not, you can erect a temporary windbreak of fence posts and burlap. Position it to block prevailing winter winds.

  If you want a little extra protection for your Top Bar hive, a foam covering is an alternative to tar paper (see Figure 9-4). Foam provides your Top Bar hive with excellent insulation in addition to a windbreak. You can easily fabricate the panels from material purchased at a home center. The most important surface to insulate is the top of the bars because most heat is lost from the top. You can simply cut a thin, flat piece that fits inside your outer cover, and you’re done.

• Add a mouse guard to the front entrance of the hive (see Chapter 13 for more information on mouse guards).

Courtesy of William Hesbach

FIGURE 9-2: The proper honey band width in a Top Bar hive to accommodate a winter cluster until the bees can break cluster and move. Less than this amount in a Top Bar frame might prove fatal.

Courtesy of Howland Blackiston

FIGURE 9-3: Wrap your hive in tar paper to protect your colony from harsh winter winds and absorb the warmth of the sun. Alternatively, thick insulated wraps are available from bee vendors to better protect the colony from the cold. Sort of an insulated quilt for the girls. A metal mouse guard keeps unwanted visitors out. And a rock on the top of this hive keeps the wind from blowing off the outer cover.

Courtesy of William Hesbach

FIGURE 9-4: A foam covering serves as insulation and a windbreak for your Top Bar hive.

Your autumn time commitment

Figure on spending three to five hours total to get your bees fed and bedded down for the winter months ahead.

AUTUMN SYRUP RECIPE

I use special “heavy” syrup for feeding bees that are about to go into the winter months. The thicker-consistency recipe makes it easier and faster for bees to convert the syrup into the capped honey they’ll store for the winter.

Boil 2½ quarts of water on the stove. When it comes to a rolling boil, turn off the heat and add 10 pounds of white granulated sugar. Be sure you turn off the stove. If you continue boiling the sugar, it may caramelize, and that makes the bees sick. Stir until the sugar dissolves completely. The syrup must cool to room temperature before you can add medication. Note that this is a recipe for thicker syrup than that used for feeding bees in the spring.

If you see clear evidence of Nosema (you’ll notice mustard brown drips on the hive and at the entrance), you may want to medicate your syrup. A colony with Nosema will have a hard time surviving the winter. (See Chapter 12 for more information on Nosema.) To medicate the syrup, mix 1 teaspoon of Fumigilin-B in approximately a half cup of lukewarm water (the medication won’t dissolve in the syrup). Add the medication to the syrup and stir. Only the first 2 gallons you feed your bees need to be medicated. Subsequent batches do not need to be medicated.

SUGAR FONDANT RECIPE

Placing sugar fondant on the winter colony provides your bees with an emergency source of food should they eat their way through all the stored honey. This recipe is courtesy of my beekeeping friend Leslie Huston. It’s not difficult, although it does have you watching the candy thermometer throughout the process. The fondant, when poured and cooled, is solid like a rock. Simply break into manageable shards, and place them on the top bars above the winter cluster.

Use 1 part water to 5 parts granulated cane sugar (by weight or volume):

1. Heat mixture to 238 to 240 degrees (while accasionally stirring).
2. Cool to approximately 200 degrees.
3. Add ¼ tsp white vinegar per pound of sugar.
4. Whisk until mixture turns whitish and gets as thick as cream of wheat.
5. Pour into a cookie sheet-lined with waxed paper.
6. Let cool overnight.

Clustering in a Winter Wonderland

A lot goes on inside the hive during the winter. The queen is surrounded by thousands of her workers — kept warm in the midst of the winter cluster. The winter cluster starts in the brood chamber when ambient temperatures reach 54 to 57 degrees (12 to 14 degrees Celsius). When cold weather comes, the cluster forms in the center of the two hive bodies. It covers the top bars of the frames in the lower chamber and extends over and beyond the bottom bars of the frames in the food chamber (see Figure 9-5).

Although the temperature outside may be freezing, the center of the winter cluster remains between 90 and 93 degrees (32 and 34 degrees Celsius). The bees generate heat by “shivering” their wing muscles.

No drones are in the hive during winter, but some worker brood begin appearing late in the winter. Meanwhile, the bees consume about 50 to 60 pounds of honey in the hive during winter months. They eat while they are in the cluster, moving around as a group whenever the temperature gets above 40 to 45 degrees (4 to 7 degrees Celsius). They can move to a new area of honey only when the weather is warm enough for them to break cluster.

Courtesy of Howland Blackiston

FIGURE 9-5: Although the outside temperature may be freezing, the center of the winter cluster remains toasty warm. This cutaway illustration shows the winter cluster’s position.

Bees won’t defecate in the hive. Instead, they hold off until they can leave the hive on a nice, mild day when the temperature reaches 45 to 50 degrees (7 to 10 degrees Celsius) to take cleansing flights.

Your winter to-do list

Winter is the slowest season of your beekeeping cycle. You’ve already prepared your colony for the kinds of weather that your part of the world typically experiences. So now is the time to do the following:

• Monitor the hive entrance. Gently brush off any dead bees or snow that blocks the entrance. (You don’t want to disturb the bees inside.)

• Make sure the bees have enough food! The late winter and early spring are especially hazardous because during this time colonies can die of starvation. Hopefully in the autumn you provided emergency food stores in the form of a pollen patty and sugar fondant.

  Late in the winter, on a nice, mild day when there is no wind and bees are flying, take a quick peek inside your hive. It’s best not to remove any frames. Just have a look-see under the cover. Do you see bees? They still should be in a cluster in the upper deep. Are they okay?

  If you don’t notice any sealed honey in the top frames, you may need to begin some emergency syrup feeding. But remember that once you start feeding, you cannot stop until the bees are bringing in their own pollen and nectar.

• Clean, repair, and store your equipment for the winter.
• Attend bee club meetings and read all those back issues of your favorite bee journals.
• Order package bees and equipment (if needed) from a reputable supplier. Don’t wait too late to place your order; bees sell out quickly as spring approaches.
• Try a bee-related hobby. The winter is a good time for making beeswax candles, brewing some mead, and dreaming of spring! See Chapter 18 for some fun ideas.

Your wintertime commitment

During this time, the bees are in their winter cluster, warm inside the hive. Figure on spending two to three hours repairing stored equipment, plus whatever time you may spend on bee-related hobbies — making candles, mead, cosmetics, and so on — or attending bee-club meetings. You might even decorate your hive for the holidays.

Spring Is in the Air (Starting Your Second Season)

Spring is one of the busiest times of the year for bees (and beekeepers). It’s the season when new colonies are started and established colonies come back to life.

Days are getting longer and milder, and the established hive comes alive, exploding in population. The queen steadily lays more and more eggs, ultimately reaching her greatest rate of egg-laying. The drones begin reappearing, and hive activity starts hopping. The nectar and pollen begin coming into the hive thick and fast. The hive boils with activity.

Most of the information that follows applies to both Langstroth hives and Top Bar hives. I’ve included a separate section entitled “Managing Top Bar Hives in the Spring” at the end of this chapter that highlights a few differences.

Your spring to-do list

Beekeepers face many chores in the springtime, evaluating the status of their colonies and helping their bees get into shape for summer months. Some of those chores include the following:

• Conduct an early-bird inspection. Colonies should be given a quick inspection as early in the spring as possible. The exact timing depends on your location (earlier in warmer zones, later in colder zones).

  You don’t need to wait until bees are flying freely every day nor until the signs of spring are visible (the appearance of buds and flowers). Do your first spring inspection on a sunny, mild day with no wind and a temperature close to 50 degrees (10 degrees Celsius).

  A rule of thumb: If the weather is cold enough that you need a heavy overcoat, it’s too cold to inspect the bees.

• Determine that your bees made it through the winter. Do you see the cluster? The clustered bees should be fairly high in the upper deep-hive body. If you don’t see them, can you hear the cluster? Tap the side of the hive, put your ear against it, and listen for a hum or buzzing.

  If it appears that you’ve lost your bees, take the hive apart and clean out any dead bees. Reassemble it and order a package of bees as soon as possible. Don’t give up. We all lose our bees at one time or another.

• Check to make sure you have a queen. If your hive has a live colony, look down between some of the frames. Do you see any brood? That’s a good sign that the queen is present. To get a better look, you may need to carefully remove a frame from the center of the top deep. Can you see any brood? Do you spot any eggs?

  This inspection must be done quickly because you don’t want to leave the frame open to chilly air. If you don’t see any brood or eggs, your hive may be without a queen, and you should order a new queen as soon as possible, assuming, that is, the hive population is sufficient to incubate brood once the new queen arrives. What’s sufficient? The cluster of bees needs to be at least the size of a large grapefruit (hopefully larger). If you have fewer bees than that, you should plan to order a new package of bees (with queen).

• Check to ensure the bees still have food. Looking down between the frames, see if you spot any honey. Honey is capped with white cappings (tan cappings are the brood). If you see honey, that’s great. If not, you must begin emergency feeding your bees (see the following bulleted items).

• Feed the colony. A few weeks before the first blossoms appear, you need to begin feeding your bees (regardless of whether they still have honey).

  Feed the colony sugar syrup (see recipe in Chapter 6). This feeding stimulates the queen and encourages her to start laying eggs at a brisk rate. It also stimulates the worker bees’ wax glands. Continue feeding until you notice that the bees are bringing in their own food. You’ll know when you see nuggets of pollen on their legs.

  Consider fortifying the syrup by adding one of the many natural food supplements that have come onto the market in recent years. Most contain essential oils. Some also contain vitamins, minerals, and amino acids to promote overall hive health, intestinal integrity, vitality and to stimulate brood production. For more on keeping your bees healthy, see Chapter 12.

  Feed the colony pollen substitute, which helps strengthen your hive and stimulates egg-laying in the queen. Pollen substitute is available in a powdered mix or already formed into a ready-to-feed patty from your bee supplier. This feeding can cease when flight conditions improve and you see bees bringing in their own pollen.

• Reverse your hive bodies. See the “Reversing hive bodies” section later in this chapter.
• Anticipate colony growth. Don’t wait until your hive is “boiling” with bees. Later in the spring, before the colony becomes too crowded, create more room for the bees by adding a queen excluder and honey supers. Be sure you remove the feeder and discontinue all feeding at this time.
• Watch out for indications of swarming. Inspect the hive periodically and look for swarm cells (see Chapter 8).

Your springtime commitment

Spring is just about the busiest time for the beekeeper. You can anticipate spending 8 to 12 hours tending to your bees.

Administering spring medication

Those practicing a natural approach to beekeeping may want to avoid medication treatments. It’s up to you what kind of beekeeping you plan to practice. I’ve included this section to help those beekeepers who think it prudent to medicate their bees.

You probably don’t need to medicate your bees during their first season (reputable bee suppliers should provide you with strong and healthy bees). Remember to play it safe and stop all medication treatments a couple of weeks before adding honey supers to the colony to prevent contamination of the honey that you want to harvest.

The list that follows contains a springtime medication regime that helps treat suspected diseases and control mites (see Chapters 11, 12, and 13 for more information):

• Control Nosema (if evident): In a small jar half filled with lukewarm water, add 1 teaspoon of Fumigilin-B. Shake the jar until dissolved. Stir the jar’s contents into the cooled sugar syrup solution you use to feed your bees (see Chapter 6 for a recipe). Feed at the top of the hive using a hive-top feeder. Medicate the first 2 gallons of syrup, but not subsequent gallons.
• Prevent foulbrood: A number of the antibiotics previously available to deal with foulbrood have either been taken off the market or may soon be taken off the market. This is the result of their overuse and the resulting increase in strains of foulbrood now resistant to those antibiotics. One brand that is still on the USA market as of this writing is TetraBMix® (containing the antibiotic oxytetracycline). This powder is a preventative against American and European foulbrood. To administer, carefully follow the directions on the package. You will need a veterinarian’s prescription to purchase this material.

• Control varroa mites: There are a number of choices for treatment now in the market (see Chapter 13 for more information on varroa mite control). When using any of these products, it’s critically important that you follow package directions precisely.

  Never, ever leave medicated mite control products in the hive longer than the directions state. Doing so exposes the mites to the active chemical ingredient, which becomes weaker and weaker over time. These sublethal doses increase the chance for mites to build up a resistance to these products. This tolerance is then passed on to future generations of mites, and subsequent treatments become less and less useful.

• Control tracheal mites: When the weather starts getting warmer, you can place a prepared bag containing 1.8 ounces of menthol crystals on the top bars toward the rear of the hive (see Chapter 13 for more information). Set them on a small piece of aluminum foil to prevent the bees from chewing holes in the bag and carrying it away. Leave the bag in the hive for 14 consecutive days when the outdoor temperature ranges between 60 and 80 degrees (16 and 27 degrees Celsius).

  Note that many consider the use of menthol a natural approach to dealing with tracheal mites. Menthol is an organic compound made synthetically or obtained from cornmint, peppermint, or other mint oils.

  Adding a grease patty to the bottom board is another natural treatment for tracheal mites, although it is less popular now that it was a few years ago. Making grease patties is easy; see Chapter 13 for my favorite recipe. Use one patty per hive, replacing them as the bees consume them. Remove these patties when honey supers are on the hive. Unused patties can be stored in the freezer until you’re ready to use them.

Reversing hive bodies

Bees normally move upward in the Langstroth hive during the winter. In early spring, the upper deep is full of bees, new brood, and food. But the lower deep-hive body is mostly empty. You can help colony expansion by reversing the top and bottom deep-hive bodies (see Figure 9-6). Doing so also gives you an opportunity to clean the bottom board. Follow these steps:

1. When a mild day comes along (50 degrees [10 degrees Celsius]) with little or no wind and bright, clear sunlight, open your hive using your smoker in the usual way.
2. Place the upturned outer cover on the ground and then remove the upper deep-hive body with the inner cover in place.
3. Place the deep across the edges of the outer cover so there are only four points of contact (you’ll squeeze fewer bees that way).
4. Close the oval hole in the middle of the inner cover with a piece of wood shingle or tape.

5. Now you can see down into the lower deep that still rests on the bottom board.

   It probably is empty, but even if some inhabitants are found, lift the lower deep off the bottom board and place it crossways on the inner cover that is covering the deep you previously removed.

6. Scrape and clean the bottom board.
7. Now stand the deep body — which had been the relatively empty bottom one — on one end, placing it on the ground.
8. Place the full hive body (the one that had been on top) onto the clean bottom board (or on the slatted rack, if you added one).
9. Smoke the bees and remove the inner cover so you can place the empty deep (the box that had been the lowest) on top.
10. Replace the inner and outer covers.

This reversing procedure enables the bees to better distribute brood, honey, pollen, fresh nectar, and water. Reversing gives them more room to move upward, which is the direction they always want to move.

Repeat this reversal in about three to four weeks, restoring the hive to its original configuration. At that time you can add one or more honey supers above the two brood boxes — assuming the bees are now bringing in their own food and you have ceased feeding.

Illustration by Howland Blackiston

FIGURE 9-6: Reversing hive bodies in the spring helps to better distribute brood and food and speeds up the growth of your colony’s population.

Managing Top Bar Hives in the Spring

After successfully wintering your Top Bar hive, the colony comes into early spring with vigor. The queen has been laying in small patches since early January, and the colony is prepared to build a large foraging population that will be ready when the main nectar flow starts. Make certain that the colony is “queen right” and the drive to reproduce (and later swarm) is monitored and managed.

Finding the cluster

One issue you will need to determine is the location of the cluster and its relative size. A Top Bar hive affords a quick and easy way to determine both without the need to open the colony and can be done quickly at any time of year. You simply remove the cover and slide your bare hand across the top bars, searching for a temperature change. As discussed earlier, the winter cluster, or for that matter any cluster, will be in the 90-degree (30-degree Celsius) range when actively rearing brood, and the bars directly over the cluster will be noticeably warmer.

Sensing the top-bar temperatures will enable you to outline the size and location of the cluster. Knowing where the cluster is will direct your inspections to that specific location and allow you to determine how to enter the colony without much disturbance of the bees. In a northern climate, an adequate spring cluster is five or six bars.

Preventing the urge to swarm

Your second-year colony will most likely initiate a reproductive swarm (Chapter 10 explains swarming). In a Top Bar hive, the swarm cells are likely to be located on the comb’s edge (see Figure 9-7).

Courtesy of William Hesbach

FIGURE 9-7: When this newly forming swarm cell is capped, the colony will likely swarm. Notice the care the nurse bees are giving to the young larva.

So what to do about a Top Bar hive colony building swarm cells? One option is to have extra equipment on hand so you can split the colony in half by moving some frames of open brood to other equipment. The new colony will then raise a new queen. This should end the urge to swarm. Another option is to allow the colony to swarm with the intention to capture it yourself. But with this option you might miss capturing the swarm and lose your beautiful queen and, chances are, the colony will not make much honey that season. It’s your choice when it comes to swarm management. I suggest you experiment with both options and use this experience to learn more about the reproductive biology of bees.

Expanding the brood nest

Springtime is all about colony expansion. Your Top Bar hive will begin to build brood to meet the main nectar flow. With incoming nectar and pollen, your job will be to ensure that the brood nest has plenty of room to expand by supplying new bars as needed so you always have two to three empty top bars waiting for bee expansion. Observe what your colony is doing and insert either blank bars or more drawn comb from the previous season. If the colony feels it has run out of room to raise brood, it may decide to initiate a swarm.

The Beekeeper’s Calendar

This is not the bee-all and end-all of a to-do list! It’s simply a guideline to help you determine the kind of chores you should consider as the season progresses. The activities apply to both Langstroth and Top Bar hives. Note that a beekeeper’s calendar of activities will be different in Maine than in Southern California (see Figure 9-8). And the corresponding dates and activities can vary depending upon actual weather conditions, elevation, and so on. Consider this tool a “sanity check” as you and your bees progress through the seasons.

Illustration by Howland Blackiston

FIGURE 9-8: Beekeeping temperature zones in the United States.

• Zone A: Short summers and long, cold winters. Average annual temperature is between 35 and 45 degrees (2 and 7 degrees Celsius). Minimum temperatures are between 0 and 15 degrees (–18 and –9 degrees Celsius).
• Zone B: Summers are hot, and winters can be quite cold and extended. Average annual temperature is between 45 and 55 degrees (7 and 13 degrees Celsius). Minimum temperatures are between 15 and 20 degrees (–9 and –7 degrees Celsius).
• Zone C: Summers are long and hot, and the winters are mild and short. Average annual temperature is between 55 and 65 degrees (13 and 18 degrees Celsius). Minimum temperatures are between 30 and 35 degrees (–1 and 2 degrees Celsius).
• Zone D: Warm to hot all year round. Average annual temperature is between 65 and 80 degrees (18 and 27 degrees Celsius). Minimum temperatures are between 30 and 40 degrees (–1 and 4 degrees Celsius).

Following are some guidelines on how to use this tool:

1. Use Figure 9-8 to determine your beekeeping temperature zone. If you live outside the United States, find the zone on the map with a temperature range that most closely corresponds to your part of the world.
2. Use Table 9-1 to locate the month of year you are currently in.
3. Look down the specific month column and find your zone letter (A, B, C, or D). Wherever your zone letter appears, look at the corresponding activity in the far-left column. This is an activity you should consider doing during this month. All of these activities are covered in more detail within the various chapters of the book.

TABLE 9-1 Beekeeping Calendar

Typical Activity	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Check food reserves	D	D, C, B	B	A, B					A, B	A, B, C, D	D	D
Feed colony if low on capped honey	C, D	B, C, D	A, B	A, B	A				A, B	A, B, C, D	C, D	D
Check for eggs/queen		D	B, C	A, B, C	A, B, C				A, B, C	C, D	D
Reverse hive bodies			B, C	B, C
Install new bees in hive				B, C, D	A, B
First comprehensive inspection of the season	D	C, D	C, B	A, B	A
Season’s first check for capped brood and brood pattern	D	C, D	B, C	A, B,	A, B, C
Feed a pollen substitute	D	C, D	A, B, C	A, B, C					A, B	A, B, C	D
Look for swarm cells			C, D	B, C	A, B, C, D	A, B, C
Add queen excluder and honey supers		D	D	B, C, D	A, B, C, D	A, B
Look for swarm cells		D	D, C	B, C, D	A, B, C, D	A, B, C, D
Check ventilation						D	B, C, D	C, D	B	A, B	A
Add mouse guard									A, B, C	C, D	D
Add supers for surplus honey		D	C, D	B, C, D	A, B, C	A, B, C	A, B, C	A, B
Harvest honey			D	D	D	A, B, C, D	A, B, C, D	A, B
Test for varroa mites	D	D	C, D	C, B	B, C, D	A, B, C, D	A, B, C, D	A, B, C, D	A, B, C, D	A, B, C, D	C, D	D
Treat for Varroa mites			C, D	B, C	A, B	A, B, C, D	A, B, C, D	A, B, C	A, C, D	C, D
Treat for tracheal mites			C, D	B	A			A, B	A, B, C, D
Check hives for small hive beetle; treat if needed			C, D	B	A				C, D
Prepare hive for winter									A, B	A, B, C	D
Check entrance for blockage	A, B,	A, B,									A	A, B
Order new bees	A, B, C, D