News, Tips and what you will

Is all your honey taken off? Or are you one of those fortunate ones whose bees are still on the heather? From what I have heard a lot of beekeepers have done well this year with a goodly quantity of high quality honey. Are you one of these? If not, now may be a time to reflect on the season to see how you could improve your management techniques for next year. For those of you starring at rows of honey jars wondering what to do next, start making a list of what now needs to be done. Tick each item as it is achieved.

1. Have you examined the brood to ensure there is nothing nasty there?

When you do this also examine for signs or symptoms of varroa.

2. Put the strips in whether it is Apistan or Bayvarol. Really this should have been done in mid August so that they are removed the end of September. This would help ensure the maximum number of healthy bees for the winter

3. Move any old or damaged comb to the outside of the brood chamber so that next year it can be taken out and replaced.

4. Assess the colony for stores. Will it need feeding and how much?

Prepare feed and get this on. The best time to feed is in the evening so as to cut down on robbing.

5. Reduce hive entrances to reduce robbing and wasp attacks.

6. If wasps are a nuisance then set traps to reduce these. There are a number of ways of doing this but the old fashioned way of using an old jam pot which has jam smeared just under the shoulder is as good as any and cheap. Half fill the jar with water and add one drop of washing up liquid. Set out in the apiary, empty and replenish regularly.

7. Ensure the hive roof is watertight and that it fits. If Hives are in a windy situation you may wish to make arrangements to tie these down.

8. Make sure the apiary is clean and tidy. Remove any old stands for renovation or renewal and retreatment with wood preserver. Remove any surplus hive parts.

9. If you returned extracted supers to the bees to be 'licked out', return them to the hive where they came from, so as to reduce the spread of any disease. If you number your hives why not number the supers this way also you can gauge which hive produced the most or least honey.

10. I am sure they may be other tasks that I haven't mentioned If you can honestly say you have done all of the above give yourself a gold star. We will look at cleaning equipment on another occassion.

Robin Hall

RBI Western Region