Spring Management Summary

The beekeeping management is coming around and you need to prepare for our hives.
This is for experienced beekeepers that have overwintered hives. The Beekeeping process
involves many steps to care for the bees and be successful, especially in the spring. Check the
hive in the end of winter to see if they are alive. You should peek ver quickly so they don’t lose
so much heat. You need to start as soon as it gets warmer and spring comes along. This
includes seeing if the queen is starting to lay and showing no signs of weakness. If she does
replace her as soon as possible. Also you should start feeding sugar water again so they can
get food. When the nectar flow comes around you should remove the entrance reducer so the
bees can take flight really fast. Inspect the hive to just look over to see if they are showing any
kind of disease or pest issue. At the end of spring (June/July) you should see lots of honey.
You can finally after two years harvest your own fresh honey.

The Job and the Joy of Beekeeping

Beekeepers are very important people that mange honeybees. You might see them
selling honey, delivering hives or in their bee suit. Hives can be kept almost anywhere like
backyards or rooftops. Bees are so gentle and they don’t harm people on purpose. Bees sting
only if they think they are in imminent danger. Beekeepers are saving the world one hive at a
time. Beekeepers wear a suit with veil to protect themselves and use a smoker to calm the
bees. There are three types of bees in a hive, the queen, workers and drones. The queen lays
the eggs, the drones are only used for mating and the workers gather food, take care of baby
bees, producing honey, protecting the hive and so much more. You might think this is an easy
job, but recently it has got way harder. The Varroa mite and Tracheal mite was introduced to us
bees in the 1990’s and up to this point, the problem all beekeepers face. If you don’t treat them
with chemicals like formic acid, they will mostly likely collapse. Without honeybees and
beekeepers the WORLD would be in ruins.

Managing Pests in a Beehive

Pests are the number one cause of beehive collapses however beekeepers are doing
everything they can to get rid of damaging pests. Some of the pests are varroa mites, wax
moths, ants and mice. Here are some natural ways we can rid of each of these pests. For
varroa mites you would want a screened bottom board with a sticky board so when the mites fall
down, they will not reenter the hive. Also you can dust the hive with powdered sugar. The
powdered sugar will make the bees dry so the mite can’t grip on to bee anymore. Wax moths is
another bad pest. One natural way that works really well is planting mint and thyme around the
hive. The moth is deterred by that smell so they don’t come near the hive. You could get rid of
ants by putting cinnamon around the hive because they don’t like the smell. Lastly mice are the
easiest to control because all you have to do is put a mice guard on the entrance of the hive. If
you follow these guidelines than you will have a healthy hive.

A Primer of beginning beekeeping.

 In April you should scrap all the dead bees out of the hive to prevent disease. When
June rolls around, see if the bees are doing really well and running out of space. You should
then put a second box on to make more space. When you are ready for honey harvest in the fall
you should take out a frame at least ⅔ full and shake the bees off and bring it inside. You can
use a knife to cut the top wax off the top of the cells so the honey is exposed. Then using a
honey extractor spin it so the honey comes out. Then filter the honey from the wax. After you
bottle the honey put the frame back in the hive. They will fix it and put more honey in it again.
Beekeepers do this to provide income to them, but while doing it they are providing food to
every living thing.

Beekeeping Basics

Recently a lot more people are going into beekeeping because it provides lots of
income. Also many crops need bees to pollinate them so farmers rent beehives form keepers.
On the other hand, pesticides and pests are making the viability of hives so vulnerable. Try not
to use pesticides so bees can live. When starting ou you want to choose the type of bees you
want. There is european and russian bees. Russian are more aggressive, but are more hardy.
After you choose your bees you want you should get all the equipment. Also you should start
feeding them sugar water. When it gets closer put a mouse guard on and start feeding them a
pollen substitute. Your hive should way 150-200 pounds before winter. This is to make sure they
have enough food to get through winter. When year two comes around you do things totally
different.

Seasonal Management and Activities

Each season has different tasks when you are managing a beehive. Look for good brood
pattern and replace the queen if it doesn’t look normal. Remove the hive reducer and add boxes
if needed. Begin supering for honey production in summer so you can harvest in the fall. By fall
you need to have at least 12 frames of bees so they can maintain body heat throughout the
winter. Combine weaker with stronger hives so they can both survive. Kill the weaker queen so
there is not two of them. Build a windbreak wand treat for varroa. Once completed check back
next year in spring.

The Top 10 Mistakes Most Newbie Beekeepers Make

There are ten common mistakes new beekeepers make when they begin beekeeping.
The most common mistake is assessing your colony only based on bee traffic. New beekeepers
with only look at this when there might be a problem inside the hive. He recomondes do weekly
inspects, tracking the bees and trying to see if there are any problems. The next two are
beekeepers not assessing the queen and leaving empty materials in the hive. These two are so
bad because the queen is the most important because she populates the hive. You need to see
if she is normal and laying eggs. Another thing is when you leave empty materials like an empty
super you give bees the ability to build comd there making it harder to inspect. This makes a
huge mess and gives the beekeeper and the bees a big stress. Some things you need to do to
become successful is feeding your bees, placing a hive in a good position, suit up properly,
using a smoker and start with two hives. He explains these things so well and any beekeeper
should follow these tips.

Beekeeping: How to keep bees and process Honey.

People should go into beekeeping because we need bees to produce food for us and
pollinate plants around the globe. When you place your hive you should have it near a body of
water, in the sun and on a tree line to protect it from the wind. When choosing your hive, there
are a top bar hive and langstroth hive. When getting your bees you can get a nuc or catch a
swarm. When your hive gets well developed its time to harvest some honey. Take a hot knife
and take the cap off. Then spin it a honey extractor. Then strain and enjoy. There is some
problem when beekeeping, but you can always solve them.