Summer Managementand

Honey Production

Summer ManagementMany commercial beekeepers are

working hard to get their bees ready for pollination

Hobby Beekeepers

We Manage for:

a)Winter Survivability

b)Minimal Swarming Behavior

c)Honey Production

Brood diseases in Ohio

• 2005 Apiary Statistics• From ODA• Colonies Inspected 21,389• American Foulbrood 388 (1.8%) • European Foulbrood 31 (0.1%)• Chalk brood 396 (1.9%)• Varroa Mite 6,720 (31%)• Tracheal Mite 41 (0.2%)• Small Hive Beetle 539 (2.5%)• Wax moth 0

This doesn’t seem like much but they spread QUICKLY!

Summer Management

April/May

FEED FEED FEED

Reverse your Hive bodies

Make sure there is food in the brood chamber

Make sure that your queen is laying - look for eggs and larva

Get your Supers Ready

Prepare to SPLIT or Add Hive Body to prevent swarming

Summer ManagementHow to Check your Queen

Presence of Queen• Learn to recognize Eggs, Larva, Capped Brood vs. Capped Honey• Eggs situated in normal position• What a Queen Looks Like

Quantity of Brood• Brood Should be on several frames• Frames should be about 2/3 full of brood – corners have honey

Quality of Brood• Brood pattern should be solid – not a mixture of capped and uncapped

in the same area.• Check on honey and pollen stores as bad brood and result from

lack of food!

Summer ManagementHow to Check your Queen

For a Productive Hive – Queen MUST produce 1500 eggs/day

Replace the Queen with a newly mated Queen

Kill the Queen and allow the colony to make a new one (~40 days to Eggs)

If two very week hives, kill the Queens, combine hives, requeen

Brood Chamber with Food

Brood

Food

Brood Chamber with Food

Brood

Food

Brood Chamber with Food

Brood

Food

Find the Queen

Find the Queen

Find the Queen

Find the Queen

Find the Queen

Find Eggs and Larva

Find Eggs and Larva

Find Eggs and Larva

Watch for Swarm Cells

Watch for Swarm Cells

Watch for Swarm Cells

Watch for Supercedure Cells

Summer Management

June

Watch for Swarming behavior and get ready to intercede!

Be Ready to add Supers when the nectar flow starts

Check for Mites and other diseases as colony expands

Summer Management

July

Check to make sure queen is still productive (requeen if necessary)

Continue checking for disease

Check stored equipment for wax moth (No Naptha)

Remove full supers and extract Honey!Place wet frames back in supers and let bees do the cleaning

Cover removed frames to prevent “Robbing”

Summer Management

Robbing

Honey bees are good at finding nectar/honey sources.

Last year my “Strong Hive” Robbed from my “Weak Hive”

I fixed them! I moved 2 frames of brood with nurse bees to the weak hive!

Summer Management

August

Add Supers and Remove Full Ones

Extract Honey

When last Super removed - FEED FEED FEED!

Honey Extraction

Removing Bees from Supers

Bee Escape

ChemicalsBeeGoHoney Robber

Shake Combs

Bee Smoker

Bee Blower

Honey ExtractionBee Escape

Honey ExtractionBee Blower

Leaf blower will workworks well and is convenienthurts bees and really makes them angry

Honey ExtractionChemicals

BeeGo/Honey Robber (n-butyric anhydride)

Sprinkle on Cloth and place over super

Nasty smell drives bees down out of super

Risk of contaminating Honey!

Honey ExtractionShaking

Hold frame securely and give it a couple quick shakes over Hive

Drives bees quickly off Frame

Cheap and simple

May have to brush a few bees off

Honey ExtractionCapped Honey Indicates It’s Ripe

Honey ExtractionDecapping the Comb

Hot Knife Uncapping Fork

Honey ExtractionDrain the Cappings/save the wax

Honey ExtractionExtractor

Honey ExtractionChunk Honey/Cut Comb Honey

Honey ExtractionChunk Honey/Cut Comb Honey

Shallow Supers with Thin FoundationHeld in Place with melted wax or wooden wedge

Place Supers above a queen excluderbait the super with honey

Place empty super on top until bottom one is ¾ full, then reverse them

Wax ProductionA valuable by-product of beekeeping!

DO NOT USE OLD Brood Comb!

Summer Management

How and When to Check Your Hives

Is too much Inspection a Bad Thing?

Hive InspectionNothing Short of a “Home Invasion”

Beginning Beekeepers Inspect our Hives TOO MUCH

Goal is to get familiar with “outside” to tell you whatis happening on the “inside”

How does the colony behave?Are there a lot of bees coming and going?Are there dead bees/larva on the landing board?Is there a strange smell?Does it sound like a softly purring engine?

How much does your hive weigh?

Hive InspectionNothing Short of a “Home Invasion”

IF you SEE

• # of Bees seems to be decreasing• Dead Bees, larva, or pupae on the landing board• Detect a strange or foul odor• Bees that are unusually temperamental• Robbers, predators, or leaking honey• Lethargic, aimless, or deformed bees• ANYTHING out of the Ordinary

OPEN IT UP!

Hive InspectionNothing Short of a “Home Invasion”

Visually Inspect your Hives Exterior Often

BUT Removing Frames:

• Disrupts Hive activity for 4-8 hours• Agitates the Bees• Breaks Propolis Seals• Damages comb and disrupts Honey• Risks Heating or Chilling Brood• Changes the Hive Humidity – harm larva• Invites Predators into the Hive• RISKS HARMING THE QUEEN

Routine MaintenanceBe Non-Invasive!

Lift Lid and Slide Inner Cover Slightly to the Side To:

Add sugar water to the feedersAdd Pollen patties or mite treatments

Weigh Hive To: Determine Hive Health (Honey, Comb, Bees are heavy)

Look for Swarm Cells by Lifting Hive Body and Inspecting all Frame Bottoms at the same time

Look of Mites by use of Sticky Board

Routine MaintenanceBe Non-Invasive!

Routine MaintenanceBe Non-Invasive!

Last Year I:

Opened the Lid and Inner cover every Wednesday

Pulled Frames every Saturday

This Year I Will:

Hopefully Control by Curiosity

Follow the Recommendations on the Previous Slides!