MONTHLY HIVE MAINTENANCE TIPS AND MEDICATIONS
HIVE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES- SPRING
- Early spring management is primarily concerned with sufficient food stores and secondly with disease and mite control.
March
- Anytime that a colony has less than 20 pounds of food (3 full depth frames of honey), perhaps additional frames of honey from your stores or sugar syrup (1 part sugar to 1 part water by volume or weight) would be the best source of feed at this time. Early feeding will stimulate the colony to build a large early population. Continue feeding until they stop taking syrup.
- Feed pollen supplements or substitutes, if necessary.
- Treat for diseases.
- An all-natural product worth mentioning is Honey B Healthy which is recommended for syrup feedings. Add two tablespoons to a gallon of syrup. This seems to make for stronger colonies with healthier bees.
- The first gallon needs to be medicated with Fumagillin/Fumidil for nosema, subsequent gallons aren’t medicated. Add one teaspoon of Fumidil to ½ cup of cool water, shake until dissolved. Stir contents into one gallon of cooled sugar syrup.
- Placing grease patties of sugar and grease in the hive is a holistic treatment for tracheal mites that you can be used year-round; unless the option of wintergreen oil (1.5 ounce) is added. Four small grease patties maybe placed under inner cover on top of brood nest. Make them by combining 1 ½ pounds of Crisco (or similar), 4 pounds of granulated sugar, ½ pound honey and 1/3 cup of pulverized mineral salt. Mix until smooth. Form in small patties, freeze unused portion in plastic food bag.
- Honey bee mites are now so wide-spread that beekeepers should assume their bees are infested even if they have not seen mites. It may be highly advantageous to treat, especially varroa, in the spring or if colonies were not treated for mites the previous fall. Various treatments for varroa include, Apistan, CheckMite+ and Formic acid.
- Terramycin, a powder, is an antibiotic that beekeepers use as a preventive for foulbrood. Treat one colony by mixing one teaspoon of Terramycin T-25 with two tablespoons of powdered sugar. Apply only on the end bars and the first and tenth frames. (Sprinkle where it doesn't come in direct contact with brood cells, it is toxic to larvae.) Repeat dusting two more times at 3 to 5 day intervals.
- Tylan, has been FDA approved for control of American foulbrood in honey bees. However, check with your state department of agriculture to see if Tylan has been approved for this purpose in your state.
- Remember to stop all treatments of medication five to six weeks before adding honey supers to the colony to prevent contamination of the honey that may be harvested.
- Check for and clean up dead colonies.
- Clean out entrances and bottom boards.
- Unite weak colonies.
April
- Inspect weekly.
- Strengthen weak colonies with queenless packages.
- Introduce package bees on drawn combs.
- Monitor colony stores, especially if weather is cold and wet.
- Requeen colonies with failing queens.
- Remove entrance reducers.
- Reverse brood chambers when weather moderates.
- Check colonies for disease.
- Add supers to strong colonies at the time of maple or dandelion bloom.
- Equalize colony strength.
- Set out bait hives with pheromones.
May
- Inspect weekly.
- Monitor colonies for queen cells.
- Control swarming.
- Add more space if necessary.
- If you decide to use queen excluders, place it below shallow honey super. It is a must for colonies for comb honey.
- Install packages on foundation.
- Split strong colonies.
- Capture swarms.
Credits:
- MAAREC Summary of Management Practices Around the Calendar (From Fundamentals of Beekeeping
- MAAREC Early Spring Management
- Beekeeping for Dummies by Howland Blackiston
- Guide to Beekeeping in West Virginia