End of season apiary sessions

West Suffolk Beekeepers’ Association Posted on by

As the season starts to draw to a halt so things at the apiary have slowed down too. We’ll not be generally open each Sunday from now (August) but there will still be some open sessions you’ll be very welcome to attend:
Removing Supers
Uniting colonies
Applying Varroa treatments
Feeding for winter
Look out for times/dates of those sessions here, on the Facebook group and via email.

This Month in the Apiary: November

West Suffolk Beekeepers’ Association Posted on by
  • Varroa treatments should now be complete remove strips such as Amitraz to avoid  building resistance by varroa mites
  • Mouseguards should be in place along with woodpecker protection 
  • Heft the hive to judge the level of  stores. It is now too late to feed syrup as it cannot be processed, only use fondant wrapped in cling film and placed over the crownboard hole
  • Ensure the hives are pest proof and weighted down with bricks against winds 
  • Ensure under the hives are clear of weeds etc to reduce damp
  • Insulate the roof or place on top of the crownboard  in order to help the cluster  maintain an ambient temperature
  • Watch for continuous frosts in order to treat with oxalic in a broodless period towards the end of the month
  • Now is the time to clean and repair equipment
  • Spend the winter months planning for next year and reading up on topics to improve your knowledge

This Month in the Apiary: October

West Suffolk Beekeepers’ Association Posted on by
  1. All feeding should be finished as the bees cannot process the syrup in low temperatures
  2. Clean feeders and store
  3. Up date records if you have united colonies / update BeeBase
  4. Check hives for gaps or damage
  5. Remove vegetation under hives to avoid damp
  6. Repair then store equipment
  7. Fit mouseguards
  8. Prepare insulation if using
  9. Protect hives from pests especially in out apiaries
  10. Continue to monitor for Asian Hornets

This Month in the Apiary: September

West Suffolk Beekeepers’ Association avatarPosted on by
  • Varroa treatment should have been completed. Note treatments are temperature dependent and may be less effective as temperatures drop.
  • Unite small healthy colonies or unite to stronger ones.
  • Assess stores. Nationals need approximately 40lbs /18kg of stores feeding should be finished by mid -September. ( A brood frame holds 5lb/2.3kg, supers 3lbs/1.4kg).
  • Feed 2:1 syrup. feed all colonies in the evening at the same time to avoid robbing. Avoid spillages or clean up.
  • Reduce entrances against wasps, plug with sponge down to one bee space.
  • heck all equipment is sound with no gaps for wasps to get in. Continue to have monitoring traps out. Asian hornets will be looking for carbohydrate/ sugar. Keep an eye out as the ivy comes in or in traps.
  • Extracted super combs can either be put in freezer for 24 hours or use 80% acetic acid to kill wax moth larvae.
  • Scorch boxes especially in corners before replacing frames.
  • Store supers stacked with paper between once treated. Combs with pollen are more prone to wax moth.
  • If your brood box is already full of stores and there is a good ivy flow, consider putting a super of foundation on to let strong colonies draw it.
  • Clear debris and grass etc from under hives to avoid damp.

Having a super time!*

West Suffolk Beekeepers’ Association Posted on by

4 of us taking the supers off for extraction at the apiary today: the leaf blower might seem a little brutal at first but actually it doesn’t harm the bees at all and is significantly more efficient than using clearer boards. We also started the Varrora treatments (Apivar this year).

*This, by the way, is an excellent pun and I will not hear any arguments otherwise!

This Month in the Apiary – August

West Suffolk Beekeepers’ Association Posted on by
  1. If you have not already done so , you may want to extract this month. Give the bees space to go into or push down into the brood box by putting clearer boards on Place supers back on the hives they came from.
  2. Remember honey is a food product and should only be stored in food safe buckets or sterilised jars.
  3. If placing supers back on colonies for cleaning up, place above the crownboard with a reduced entry . (Old CDs over the hole make an ideal entrance)
  4. Monitor varroa levels if treating. Use the BeeBase calculator to judge the level of infestation. Treat all colonies at the same time in the apiary.
  5. Consider the timing of treatments and feeding. Varroa treatments are temperature sensitive. This refers to the ambient temperature and not the brood nest temperature.
  6. Remember any chemicals used in the hive must be recorded with dates of use and batch numbers etc.
  7. Ivy has still to come in, but if all the honey has been removed you may want to feed. Assess the amount of stores the colony has and feed accordingly.
  8. The bees need to reduce the water content of any 2:1 syrup you feed to avoid dysentery from fermenting stores. This is harder as the weather gets colder.
  9. Wasp traps will probably be needed now. reduce entrances and put out beer and jam traps away from the bees.
  10. Check the hives are sound and will not allow wasps in through joints or ill fitting equipment.
  11. Do a full health check by removing a couple of frames and shaking all the bees off the brood frames to inspect. Pay attention to the cappings. Investigate any off centre perforations with tweezers not your hive tool. Put anything suspect into the smoker.
  12. Go into the winter with strong colonies and unite after doing your full health checks any small colonies. Cull queens who have not been productive.
  13. Swarming is probably over but keep an eye for queen cells that might indicate supercedure.
  14. Still keep an eye out for Asian Hornets searching for protein and monitor traps daily.

Apiary not open Sunday the 24th

West Suffolk Beekeepers’ Association Posted on by

Just a quick note to say that the association apiary will not be open this Sunday 24th of July 2022, due to a clash with the annual Bee Safari. Please do sign up to that event if you have not already and we look forward to seeing you at the apiary on Sunday the 31st.

Sunday 10th July 1400 – Introducing a Queen

West Suffolk Beekeepers’ Association Posted on by

Come along to Nowton Park Apiary this Sunday where we will be looking at the Nucs we set up two weeks ago to see how our queen cells have faired. Do we have newly mated queens to clip and mark?

We will go on to introduce a Queen to an existing colony. You might want to do this if your colony temper is poor, your queen is failing or you want to move to a low swarming high productivity strain of bees. This is possibly the hardest beekeeping task you will carry out as a beekeeper so lets see how we can make it easier and increase our chances of success.

Remember we always finish with cake and a chat or catch up

This Month in the Apiary – July

West Suffolk Beekeepers’ Association Posted on by
  1. Keep an eye on swarming with regular inspections. Bees that have been cooped up in bad weather may swarm when the sun shines.
  2. Check the queen has space to lay, you may have to remove stores and if disease free give to another colony or freeze. Replace with drawn comb or foundation placed in the middle of the brood nest.
  3. Keeping adding supers if 6/7 fames are full, the bees need space to spread the nectar to reduce the water content.
  4. Consider the performance of your queens with a view to replacing them or uniting colonies.
  5. Prepare for extraction at the end of the month, . If you need to book the association extractor do it early.
  6. If jarring or bucketing honey make sure you have enough and they are cleaned and sterilised..
  7. Remember honey needs to be below 20% it should either be capped or no nectar runs out when shaken. Use a refractometer to check the water content.
  8. If extracting get clearer boards ready and with large colonies provide space for the bees to move into when you put them on.
  9. If possible mark each super with the hive it came from so it can be returned to the same colony. ( You can use coloured drawing pins )
  10. After extraction shake the bees off the brood frame s and do a full health check. Check for small off centre holes and brood that doesn’t look right. Put anything suspect in to your smoker. Look especially for EFB and AFB.
  11. Monitor varroa levels ready to treat. Follow treatment instructions carefully to avoid resistance and record . Remember you are required by law to keep these records for six years.
  12. Watch for wasps and reduce hive entrances. Put out wasp traps away from the hives.
  13. If you have Asian Hornet traps, change bait to protein such as cat food or tuna. You must monitor the traps daily and change the bait regularly.