The Beekeepers' Year                          year planner

January jobs •Regularly check hives for damage by animals, woodpeckers or weather and check roofs for signs of leaks - take a dry roof with you just in case. •Check that entrances are not blocked by snow or dead bees. •Keep on hefting to check the weight of stores left in the hive: feed with fondant or candy if necessary - check out this month’s feeding tip. •Treat colonies for varroa with oxalic acid but do it during a cold snap early in the month or you risk damage to brood if the queen starts laying. •If you haven’t done it already - check, repair and clean all your equipment including brood and super boxes and frames, queen excluders •Finalise your plan for the beekeeping season •Read, learn and refresh your beekeeping knowledge. Frequency of apiary visits - monthly (more often if windy to ensure hives are stable).

February jobs •Check hives for damage from the weather (including rain leakage), animals and pests. •Make sure the entrances are not blocked by dead bees, snow or debris. •On mild days check if bees are flying- do they look ok? Any streaks of dysentery on the woodwork? Is pollen going in? •Keep on hefting to check the weight of stores left in the hives and feed fondant if necessary. •If lose colony, tidy it up and ideally remove from apiary. Investigate the cause. At the very least seal the entrances as disease can be spread through robbing . •If you have them, monitor varroa drop numbers on solid slide-out floors •If the weather is good enough >12ºC you may want to take the opportunity to remove and replace solid floors or brush clean open mesh floors. •Check stored drawn comb for wax moth damage. •Decide whether you want to increase/decrease the number of colonies. Look at this month’s sourcing bees tip for more guidance •Keep your eyes peeled for signs of Asian hornet nests and early emerging queens. Frequency of apiary visits – monthly

March jobs •Watch the hive for pollen and flying bees. •Check stores and feed if necessary. •Remove mouse guards and woodpecker protection. •Carry out your first initial inspection if the weather is warm enough, minimum 14ºC. Use a cover cloth to avoid chilling the bees. Have a quick check for a regular brood pattern, some stores and that the bees seem happy, then close up. •End of month if weather good do a full bee health inspection, before start be clear on what you are looking for - check out the bee health tip this month (link to the March bee health tip page) •Look out and test for nosema in weak colonies. •Be ready to put the queen excluder on if plants appear to be ahead of the normal season. •Make up new brood and super frames and build spare hives (if have none) •Set up bait hive(s) – swarming season is almost here •Start your new season record sheets. Do they contain all the relevant information you’ll want for this year and to allow planning for next? •Put out Asian Hornet monitoring traps and check them daily to release any bycatch. Make sure you have the Asian Hornet app loaded on your phone Frequency of apiary visits – move towards weekly (weather allowing)

April jobs •Continue to check stores by hefting, checking floor inserts or a quick look in if the weather is good enough. •If you have not already done so, carry out your first detailed bee health inspection if you have not already done so. Check out March’s bee health tip. •Read up on your chosen method of swarm control and assemble / pull together any equipment you may possibly need. •Assemble the equipment you will need for swarm collection and read up on how to do it. Check out this month’s swarm collecting tip. (link to the April swarm collecting tip page) •Let your club members know you are looking for a swarm / split etc. Locally sourced bees (link to February’s locally sourced bees tip page) are always best as they will be adapted to the local environment. •Continue to monitor your Asian hornet traps and release bycatch daily. •Keep on reading and asking questions but most of all, watch your bees and learn Frequency of apiary visits – weekly

May jobs •Continue weekly inspections, check for occupied queen cells and take swarm control measures immediately if necessary. Be aware of the various types of queen cell and react accordingly. Maintain your records. •Add supers ahead of the bees’ requirements, i.e. when a super is full of bees, not full of honey. Remember: space for bees and space for nectar! •Give the bees the space they need to expand and plan on making splits on strong colonies if that’s the route you want to go down. Check out this month’s colony split tip. •If you haven’t done so already, set up and monitor bait hives. Check out April’s swarms collecting tip. •Remove ‘ripe’ oilseed rape honey: give super frames with unsealed honey cells a firm shake and if nectar flies out, leave it a little longer – it will ferment if the water content is too high. •Ensure you have access to a honey extractor – they are available relatively cheaply or even better still, either borrow one from a fellow beekeeper or join forces with another to purchase one. •Maintain vigilance for Asian hornets. Check traps regularly and release any bycatch and look out for possible primary nests. Frequency of apiary visits – weekly

June jobs •Continue weekly inspections and undertake swarm control if required. Maintain your records - memories aren’t what they could be. •During ‘June gap’ if food stores are low, feed 1:1 syrup in a contact or rapid feeder. Reduce the hive entrance to avoid robbing taking place. •Ensure water is available – foraging and making honey is thirsty work. •Add another super when the current one is almost full of bees, not honey. •Check for queen cells and mark any new queens with the years designated colour. •Continue to replace any dirty / damaged frames as required or scheduled. •Monitor for varroa: an average daily mite fall of 10 or more could mean the colony has a problem and needs treating if that’s a regime you use. MAQS can be used with honey supers on (but check the packaging for the correct use). •Visit local nurseries every month and see which plants are attracting honey bees - see this month’s tip for ideas for plants to cover the ‘June gap’. •Continue monitoring for Asian hornets in your apiary. Baits can now be protein-based or sweet liquid based and offered in an open dish to avoid bycatch - keep away from your hives. Frequency of apiary visits – weekly

July jobs •Carry out detailed inspections on colonies that have not been split and take action if you find queen cells. See this month’s manipulating frames tip to help. Maintain records. •Continue to monitor varroa drop and take appropriate action. •Leave bait hives out – there may still be swarms about. •Did you experience a June gap in the bees’ forage? If so, check food levels and feed if necessary. •Reduce entrances to avoid the risk of robbing by bees and wasps. •Make wasp traps – see guidance online from BBKA, NBU, Dave Cushman, etc. •Continue to add supers ahead of the bees’ requirements when the lower box is full of bees not honey. •Make sure you have equipment, jars and labels organised for your honey harvest. •Towards end of month, if ready, remove and extract sealed frames of honey. See August’s extracting honey tip to help. •Put the empty frames/supers back in the evening for the bees to clean out. Always return them to the hives they came from and try not to leave bits of sticky comb lying about in the apiary. •Look out for Asian hornet workers hawking outside your hives - use protein or sweet liquid bait stations away from your hives. Check trees for large secondary Asian hornet nests. •Keep watching, learning, and asking questions. Frequency of apiary visits – weekly

August jobs •Reduce entrances to avoid the risk of robbing by bees and wasps. Check hives carefully for gaps and small holes that could allow wasps or robbing bees to enter and plunder their stores: seal them up tightly. •Set up wasp traps: a mix of beer and jam works well. •Finish taking off the honey harvest, clean extractor & equipment and store ready for next season. See this month’s extracting honey tip to help. •Check the bees have sufficient stores, clean & prepare feeders, buy in fondant/sugar/syrup. •Carry out a thorough disease inspection – ask for help if concerns arise. See March bee health tip to help. •Decide on your varroa treatment plan, buy in what you need – and use it properly! You must keep a treatment record. Time your honey extraction before any treatment. •Unite small colonies if you consider them not robust enough to go through the winter, or if the queen appears to have disappeared or appears weak. •Start reducing the number of supers on each hive: consolidate or put over the crown board for the bees to move stores down. •Maintain vigilance for Asian hornet activity, setting traps or lures as necessary. Use the Asian Hornet Watch and inform the club’s AHAT of any sightings. •Put empty supers and drawn comb into storage protected from wax moth -see October’s wax moth tip to help). •Clean and repair equipment before storing and make a list of needs & wants. Frequency of visits – weekly

September jobs •Estimate winter food stores by weighing /hefting hives and/or inspecting each frame. •Top up the stores to at least 20kg by feeding heavy syrup (2:1 mix sugar to water). •Continue to be alert to wasp activity in and around your hives and robbing by other colonies. Keep entrances reduced in size and maintain/monitor traps •Monitor for varroa and treat as appropriate. Monitor again after treatment to ensure it has been successful. •Unite small colonies or ensure that the hive or nuc is well-insulated. Check this month’s merging colonies tip. •If leaving a super on, remove the queen excluder towards the end of the month. •Look back at your beekeeping season and take stock: what could you have done differently? better? •Remain alert for the presence of Asian hornets, either hawking around your hives or feeding on ivy or fallen fruit. Use sweet baits in any traps and monitor daily. •Use the Asian Hornet Watch and inform the club’s AHAT of any sightings. Frequency of apiary visits – weekly

October jobs •Continue feeding, move from inverted syrup such as Ambrosia to fondant towards the end of the month when the ivy finishes. Use fondant if the weather is cold. •Combine colonies if there appear to be any weak or small ones – size matters when survival through the winter months is needed. •Make sure you have removed queen excluder before the end of the month. •Protect the hive. Fit mouse guards or reduce entrance blocks with a smaller opening – no more than 8mm. •Fit wire netting around the hive to deter woodpeckers. •Ensure that woodwork is sound and that hives are clear of the ground to avoid dampness; clear away encroaching vegetation. Check entrances are kept clear. •Strap the hives down and make sure straps attached to stand. •Store extracted comb securely, treating against wax moth. Look at putting it in the freezer for a while. Check this month’s wax moth tip. •Maintain vigilance for Asian hornets, particularly new queens, and scan trees and bushes for signs of nests. •Update records and BeeBase especially if hives have been combined or split. Frequency of apiary visits – move towards monthly

November jobs •Heft your hives and check food supplies and feed fondant if required. Check out December’s tip. •Check your hives are secure and not damaged after strong winds and adverse weather. Look for evidence of water ingress through roofs and corners. •Consider insulation on hives in exposed positions and insulate all deep roofs. Look at this month’s insulation tips. •Check that hive entrances are clear of leaves, dead bees or other such debris. Cut back grass and foliage under and around your hives to reduce dampness. •Continue to monitor varroa drop and plan further treatment if needed and keep Varroa floor inserts clear of debris that may allow wax moth to breed. •Complete cleaning, repairing, sterilising and storing your equipment keeping stored comb protected against damp, mice and wax moth. •Complete your colony records and your varroa treatment record card if applicable and evaluate your beekeeping season and make plans for the new one. •Melt down and clean all those bits of wax and make candles, hand cream, soap. Frequency of visits – monthly

December jobs •Continue to visually check hives and pay attention to hive insulation and ventilation. Check mouse guards are still in place and entrances are not blocked by snow, debris or dead bees. •Heft the hives to estimate stores and feed fondant if required. See this month’s tip on hefting. •Continue to monitor varroa drop. Treat with oxalic acid or VarroMed in a cold snap, ideally between Christmas and new year when the colony is more likely to be broodless (if this is part of your Pest Management plan). •Maintain vigilance for the presence of Asian hornet queens hibernating or old nests. •Continue cleaning and repairing last season’s equipment – soda crystals and a blowtorch are your best friends here. •Order / make up all the flat packs you bought in the sales. Make up plenty of frames but don’t wax them until you need them. •Read and learn, watch some of the excellent talks available online or join in some webinars, maybe sign up for a course. Ask for a good book for Christmas. •Plan for next year. Check out the BBKA year planner on website. Frequency of apiary visits – monthly