MY YEAR IN THE BEE YARD

Lords Valley, Pennsylvania

1. Order package bees and extra queens early, early, early for desired delivery dates, (April or early May arrival).
2. Repair damaged equipment and Build new equipment.
3. Order your needed equipment early.
4. Study and evaluate your last years records and plan your goals for this year.
5. Read beekeeping books and periodicals.NOTE:Check out The Beekeepers Bookstore for beekeeping books.
6. Maintain grease patties.

1. Watch for dead or failing colonies.
2. Check over wintered colonies for stores, reposition if needed and feed weak colonies if needed ( ONLY IN GOOD WEATHER ).
3. Look for pollination contracts
4. Maintain grease patties.

NOTE: IF YOU ARE GOING TO FEED YOUR BEES 42 OR 55 FRUCTOSE FROM A SUPPLIER MAKE SURE YOU ASK FOR A CERTIFICATE OF ORIGIN, QUALITY, DATE OF MANUFACTURE, EXPIRATION DATE AND PRODUCT SPECIFICATION.

1. Maintain grease patties.
2. Check again for dead colonies and remove.
3. Clean colony entrances and bee yard's.
4. Feed weak colonies if needed or to stimulate brood rearing.
5. Maintain active brood rearing colonies.
6. Check for queen right, disease, and mites. (TREAT AS NEEDED)
7. Protein supplements for brood production may be started.
8. Begin dusting with terramycin.

1. Install packages.
2. Reverse hive bodies as needed.
3. Replace bad comb.
4. Stimulate colonies by feeding.
5. Randomly check hives for mites with ether roll (Take about 100 bees from inner cover if more than 20 mites, treat with apistan strips.
6. Maintain grease patties.
7. Feed 1:1 sugar syrup medicated with (fumidil-b).

1. Prepare for swarming.
2. Reverse hive bodies as needed and inspect brood pattern for disease and.
3. Feed to stimulate if needed.
4. Begin forming nuclei from strong colonies at fruit bloom.
5. Manage colonies for population build-up and swarm control.
4. Maintain grease patties.

1. Reverse hive bodies until supered for honey flow.
2. Capture swarms.
3. Divide colonies and start nucs if desired.
4. Maintain grease patties.
5. Inspect for congestion, queen cells, Disease, mites, stores and queen right.
6. SUPER colonies for honey flow use queen excluders.

1. Inspect once for congestion, queen cells, disease, mites and queen right.
2. Maintain grease patties.
3. Super as needed.
4. Capture swarms.

1. Inspect once for congestion, queen cells, disease, mites and queenright.
2. Maintain grease patties.
3. Super as needed.
4. Harvest honey at the end of July or when honey flow slows.

1. Inspect once for congestion, queen cells, disease, mites and queenright
2. Remove full supers and process .
3. Maintain grease patties.
4. Requeen 2 year old queens or others if needed.
5. Start packing honey.

1. Inspect once for congestion, queen cells, disease, mites and queen right
2. Remove full supers and process around OCT.10th.
3. Maintain grease patties.
4. Partially filled supers should be feed back to the bees above the inner cover and Do not let the bees start robbing.
5. Start preparing for winter provide upper ventilation for wintering.
6. Reduce entrances, medicate after supers are removed. Feed syrup if needed.
7. Medicate as needed.
8. Inspect colonies for stores have a minimum of 60 pounds on each colony.
9. PACK ALL HIVE PRODUCTS: Honey, Pollen, Propolis, Polish, Beeswax, Beeswax Candles, Gift Boxes and SELL, SELL, SELL.
10. Maintain grease patties.

1. Wrap colonies with tar paper or commercial wrap if desired by Thanksgiving at the latest.
2. Sell honey at craft fairs, etc.
3. Leave the bees alone!
4. Hope for a January thaw so the bees have a cleansing flight
5. Maintain grease patties.

1. Study and evaluate your last years records and plan your goals for next year.
2. Relax for the holidays.