8:00am Saturday 10th July 2010
By Brenda Davies
It is August and while it may be the height of summer, for beekeepers it is time to start thinking about getting the bees ready for winter.
With the honey safely harvested and stored away the beekeeper’s year has gone full circle. Now we must begin a new bee-year and we need to make sure that we lay firm foundations for it. What we do in August will determine how well the bees will get through the winter and how strong and healthy they will be next spring. If some of these things are not done properly, or if they are done too late in the year, then they could reduce the chances of the colony’s survival.
Colony losses over the last few winters have been very high and last winter it is estimated that one colony in every six did not make it through until the spring.
So what can new beekeepers do to give their bees the best chance of survival?
To be a successful beekeeper you need to learn as much as you can about bees and bee behaviour because a colony of honey bees is a very complex thing. In a nutshell a honey bee colony needs five things to be in place if it is to over-winter safely and be fit for work next spring: Sufficient food Safe and secure accommodation A young queen that is laying worker eggs Sufficient healthy bees Freedom from pests, parasites and diseases Some of these are easy to ensure but others take a bit of effort. However, for best results, as all of these things are inter-linked you really need to tick all the boxes not just one or two.
For the full article see this m onth's Smallholder.
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