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Beesproducts.eu
Bees, Bee Products and Health
Quiet Check of the Apiary: Visit the apiary objectively and infrequently. Clear dead bees from hive entrances. Never leave dead bees near the hive—they attract tits, which peck on the hive and disturb peace.
Moisture Control: During thaws, check cushions and plugs. Replace damp cushions with dry, room-temperature ones.
Acoustic Check: Do not touch the hives by hand or tap them. If you placed a pane of glass over the entrance in autumn, condensation patterns will show how well the bees are wintering.
Starvation Prevention: If the bee cluster has risen to the very top of the frames, place pollen-free candy dough (wrapped in cheesecloth or slit foil) directly under the cushion over the frames.
Winter Equipment Prep: Nail together new frames, string wire, and assemble honey super bodies for the spring nectar flow.
Nest Temperature & Brood: In the second half of February, queens may begin laying their first eggs. Place your hand under the cushion—if it feels warm, the bees require more energy and feed.
Snow Prep for Cleansing Flight: At the end of February (after St. Matthias' Day—Feb 24), remove shields from hive entrances. Scatter ashes, topsoil, or straw in front of the hives so snow melts faster and flying bees don't land on cold snow.
Cleansing Flight Observation: Watch the first flight carefully. It indicates colony strength, queen presence, and how well the bees wintered.
Supplemental Feeding: Provide pollen-free candy dough before the cleansing flight, and candy dough with pollen (or protein supplements) after the main cleansing flight.
Entrance & Bottom Cleaning: Remove dead bees from the hive bottom. If bees aren't flying out, check outer frames—if empty, insert a warmed comb with uncapped honey and bee bread.
Spring Syrup: If food is scarce and weather has warmed up, feed warm sugar syrup ($1.5:1$ ratio).
Hygiene & Lab Testing: Clean hive bottom boards. It is recommended to send samples of dead bees to a veterinary lab to test for Nosema and Varroa infestation.
Heat Conservation: Always replace damp insulation with dry materials and narrow entrances relative to colony strength.
Main Spring Inspection ($>15^\circ\text{C}$): Determine brood amount, queen laying quality, and food reserves (must be no less than 5–6 kg of honey).
Water Stations: Set up clean, boiled water feeders in the apiary with a tiny pinch of salt ($0.1\%$) or pine extract.
Merging Queenless Colonies: Merge queenless or very weak colonies with strong ones using the newspaper method.
Nest Expansion: From mid-April, expand strong colonies with warm drawn combs (placed next to, not inside, the brood area). Once gooseberries and currants bloom, expand with wax foundation sheets.
Adding Supers: Once dandelions and maples bloom, place half-supers or full supers on strong colonies for spring honey.
Frost Protection: Do not rush to remove side insulation until the nest is fully expanded.
Chalkbrood Prevention: If diseased brood is spotted, replace the queen with a healthy one and transfer the colony to a disinfected hive.
Swarm Control: Expand nests, add supers, and provide frames with foundation sheets for comb building.
Pollen Traps: Install pollen traps before orchard bloom. Never dry pollen in direct sunlight.
Spring Honey Extraction: Extract spring maple and orchard honey after orchard and dandelion flows conclude.
Managing Nectar Dearth: A gap in nectar flow occurs between orchard bloom and the start of raspberry/clover bloom. Check food stores and create splits (forming clean 3–4 frame nucs).
Requeening: Replace poor-performing queens with young, mated queens.
Main Summer Flow: Add main supers as wild raspberries, buckthorn, and white clover start blooming.
Organic Varroa Control: Do not use chemical treatments during nectar flows. Use formic acid (after flow) or essential oils/thyme for prevention.
Raspberry Honey Harvest: Extract wild raspberry and forest plant honey at the end of June.
Linden & Buckwheat Flow: Small-leaved linden and white clover are in bloom—the peak of the main summer flow.
Second Honey Extraction (July 15–20): Extract summer honey. Prepare bees for transport to buckwheat, heather, or late clover fields.
Winter Nest Framing: Move newly drawn, high-quality combs from the current year to the center of the nest; push old dark combs to the edges (for later removal).
Varroa Treatment: Immediately start treatment after final honey extraction (e.g., using Gabon, Apifos strips, or formic acid). Honey extracted after applying these medications is not fit for human consumption!
Drone Eviction: If bees haven't expelled drones by late August, the queen is failing or missing—replace her urgently.
Stimulative Feeding: If no natural flow exists, give 0.5 L of syrup every 2 days to encourage the queen to lay eggs for winter bees.
Main Winter Feeding: Mid-to-late August, begin providing winter feed stores ($2:3$ ratio or prepared inverted syrup). Aim for $2.0–2.5\text{ kg}$ of food per frame.
Comb Protection Against Moths: Store empty extracted combs in sealed boxes with glacial acetic acid vapors to prevent wax moth damage.
Feeding Completion: All winter syrup feeding must be completed by September 10–15 so older bees process it rather than young wintering bees.
Halting Egg Laying: Remove top insulation cushions (leave only canvas or foil) so the nest cools down and the queen stops laying.
Removing Medicinal Strips: Remove treatment strips (Gabon, Apifos) at the end of September. Strips must never be left over winter!
Hive Ventilation: Widen hive entrances and attach mouse guards.
Control Oxalic Acid Treatment: When there is no brood left in nests (usually early November), perform the final and most effective Varroa treatment—trickle a warm Oxalic acid and sugar solution ($3.5\%$) between frames over the bees.
Rodent Clearance: Check all entrance guards to ensure mice or other rodents cannot enter hives.
Weatherproof Check: Secure hive roofs so wind cannot blow lids off and rain cannot penetrate inside.
Absolute Tranquility: Total quiet must prevail in the apiary. Avoid noise and mechanical shocks to the hives.
Snow Management: If fluffy snow covers hive entrances, leave it (snow retains warmth and allows air through). If an ice crust forms, gently break it.
Workshop Tasks: Melt scrap wax, disinfect frames, and prepare equipment for the upcoming spring season.
