By: Ann Harman
This article originally appeared in the Autumn 2017 issue of BEEKeeping Your First Three Years
• The bees’ New Year begins August first.
• Be a Plant Watcher and a Weather Watcher.
• Keep hive inspections to a minimum to prevent robbing.
• If bees were installed on foundation monitor drawing good comb.
• In the hot weather of mid-Summer, a colony can use 1 to 2 gallons of water a day to regulate hive temperature as well as provide a drink for the bees.
• Maintain good ventilation.
• If the original queen is not doing well, plan on requeening at end of August or the very beginning of September, depending on your climate.
• If a colony is weak examine for disease or other conditions.
• If colony is weak because of poor queen, plan on combining or requeening.
• Never combine weak colonies. Combine weak with strong and eliminate weak queen.
• Watch the weather. If drought or dearth of blooms then feed 1:1 syrup if needed.
• Robbing can be a problem during dearth of nectar. Put syrup on all colonies, not just on one, Feed inside the hive. For Winter stores, feed 2:1 sugar syrup in September.
• Check the beeyard after heavy thunderstorms with high winds.
• Give the bees easy flight-keep grass and weeds trimmed in beeyard.
• Check yourself for ticks acquired in beeyard.
• Varroa population needs to be monitored and controlled if more than 3 mites per hundred bees are found.
• Action taken in July helps winter survival.
• If choosing a chemical treatment, read the miticide labels carefully and monitor daytime temperatures. Follow label instructions.
• Packages and nucs started in spring should be in completed hives with all comb drawn by the end of July.
• If small hive beetle is present use traps or other means for control.
• Check underside of pollen patties for small hive beetles.
