For bees, everything goes according to plan - each month there is a certain set of bee events. The beekeeper’s calendar helps beekeepers to complete tasks in time, not to miss anything and prevent possible problems.
Classic beekeeper calendar for months
January
This is a difficult month for the bees - all the forces are devoted to survival. Insects, gathered in a club, are constantly moving. Bees maintain a club temperature of + 14 ° C. In the cluster, the bees move continuously - some crawl inward, others find themselves on the surface.
The colder it is on the street, the more actively the bees move in the club.
Works in January:
- Regular inspection of hives for noise patterns. The beekeeper listens to the bees using a rubber hose - one end brings to the ear, the other is placed in the notch. If the noise is weak - everything is in order with the bees, after clicking it should quiet down. If there is a continuous rumble - the bees are worried or suffer from heat, if rustling is heard - the family is short of food.
- The destruction of rodents.
- If a lack of nutrition is detected, the bees must be given food, otherwise they will die.
In winter, beekeepers also repair hives, sew pillows for their insulation, prepare frames and other equipment.
Problems that threaten insects in January:
- Because of frost, icicles accumulate under the frames - the hive may become damp.
- During thaws, the liquid, draining, accumulates in the bottom. If the hive does not have special bottom protection, it gets wet and the side frames are covered with mold.
- Due to the increased humidity, feed is fermented.
To prevent getting wet and mold, before the onset of winter, tabs are placed in the bottoms. In January, they are taken out after each thaw to drain the water.
February
February's problem is severe frosts and blizzards. Bees are sensitive to weather changes, the family wakes up, anticipating the spring. Insects begin to eat intensely, the family needs more oxygen.
During this period, the first brood appears in the hive. The queen bee lays eggs; the family needs a lot of food. To grow brood, bees increase the temperature of the medium to 34-35 ° C.
List of works for February:
- Weekly check the ventilation, clean the trays from scuffing.
- Continue to fight rodents.
- In the last decade of February, the family is given top dressing (candi). Kandy is a special bee top dressing of a pasty consistency. It is prepared on the basis of honey, adding powdered sugar, milk, yeast, flour, eggs and pollen.
- Give the bees sweetened water.
In the intestines, the bees begin to accumulate excrement, provoking diarrhea. To alleviate the condition, the bees organize a super-early flyby, removing snow barriers near the hives.
March
Weather conditions are unstable. Many families already have brood. Current works in March:
- Street hives are cleared of snow.
- Replace the dona with dead bees;
- They examine dead bees to find out what caused the death, and whether there is a threat of mass death for the family.
- Protect hives from drafts.
- Reduces summers for weak families.
- Provide the family with water.
- Check the hives for noise, for mold, find out how the family wintered. If necessary, add candi.
- Check whether there is food in the extreme framework. With a lack of food, put an additional honey frame.
- When the air temperature rises to + 8-10 ° C, the family is put up for the first flyby.
- Perform preventive treatment.
In his video, the beekeeper talks about his work on one of the March days in the apiary:
April
There comes a time of enhanced nutrition and growth. Honey bees are blooming. The old brood perishes, the August brood and beginners will remain in the hive. Families go flying around collecting nectar from the first flowers.
The tasks of the beekeeper in April:
- Revision of the bee family. According to its results, bees provide fodder - protein and carbohydrate.
- Each nest is provided with 10 kg of honey and bread.
- Spare hives are being disinfected for family transplants. They are equipped with honeycombs and insulated.
- Before transplanting bees to a new hive, they are treated from ticks.
- Disinfect old hives.
- Each family is fed with honey and salmon, acidified water is placed in the hives in drinking bowls.
- If the hive is wet - this is established by checking the bottom and insulation mats, the family is moved to a dry and warmed hive.
May
The days are getting very warm, but the threat of nighttime freezing frosts still remains. Bees are engaged in honey collection. Spring honey is considered the most beneficial. A good bee family is able to procure 4 kg of May honey.
Work in the apiary in May:
- Remove the extra frame. Procedures with frames are divided into several stages:
- 1st half of May - put frames with honeycombs of light brown color;
- 2nd half of May - set a new framework;
- when the gardens bloom, they set frames with artificial wax.
- Feeding with sugar syrup - if there is not enough food, the bees begin to steal food from each other. More about feeding bees in the spring is discussed here.
- Insulate the hives with the threat of frost.
- Conduct anti-war measures.
- Bees are treated with preparations from moths, acarapidosis and nosematosis.
- Begin harvesting feed for the winter.
- Before the honey collection, weak families are strengthened by strong individuals.
- Preparing hives - in case new swarms appear.
June
The main honey gathers are blooming. Bees swarm, families expand. The control from the side of the beekeeper is maximum. If you miss the swarm, the bee "livestock" will be significantly reduced. Read here how to prevent swarming of bees.
Works in June:
- Removal of beehives for honey collection.
- Conducting anti-war measures. The direction of the swarm energy to honey collection.
- Another treatment of families with tick drugs. Processing is carried out only with natural, safe substances - so as not to spoil the honey.
- They furnish beehives with honeyed hulls and shops.
- They add wax to the insects, monitor the ventilation - the holes must always be open.
July
This is the most “fruitful” month - in July, the largest collection of honey. Bees work for wear, spending a lot of energy. To make it easier for the bees, they are brought to honey plants - fireweed, buckwheat, etc. Before transporting the bees to new places, remove the old extensions for pumping honey.
Work for the beekeeper:
- Prepare a replacement honeycomb frame.
- Cleaning sealed frames.
- Installation of additional buildings - thanks to empty honeycombs, bees will work more actively.
- If necessary, replace the old queens with young ones. This ensures a safe wintering and prevents swarming.
Sealed frame
August
In August, rains and even frosts often occur. The main melliferous plants fade, the honey collection is reduced. Families are declining; June and July bees die before winter. Until spring, those born in August and September will survive. The family is preparing hard for the winter.
Tasks for August:
- Pumping out honey.
- Drying honeycombs from which honey is pumped out.
- Preparing nests for the winter. Drying and disinfection of houses.
- Fertilizing with sugar syrup - for August bees to grow safely.
- They put the honeycombs for storage, the unfit are rejected.
- Prepare a winter hut. Remove extensions and second hulls, inspect feed stocks in nests, distribute to families.
- Frames in which artificial wax and unfinished frames are removed. They cover the doors and close the cracks in the hives.
- Prevention of bee theft.
- The union of weak families.
September
In September, the birth of centenarians ends. Youngsters make a cleansing fly-around that will help them survive the long winter. When the temperature drops to + 7 ° C, collection begins at the club.
Tasks for September:
- Reduce multihull hives - leave only two sections.
- Check the quality of feed. They remove honeydew honey - replace it with a better feed.
- They clean, disinfect and store the bottoms, shells, frames.
- Gather propolis. Store frames with honey and perga.
- Melt wax raw materials, prepare wax. How to melt wax without wax refining is described in this article.
- September 10-20, the last top dressing is carried out - use ready-made honey, sealed in the framework.
- Bee families are treated for varroatosis.
In order for the bees to survive the winter, they place 20 kg of honey in the hives - this is for the northern regions. In the southern regions, 13-15 kg of honey are enough. Honey is sometimes replaced with sugar syrup, but not more than 30% of the total amount of complementary foods.
October
When the October temperature drops below + 12 ° C, there is a lull in the life of insects. The creation of the club begins. If the weather improves, the bees will fly to the final fly-around, and then they will gather in the club again.
Tasks for October:
- The work in the cell storage is nearing completion. The beekeeper sends store extensions and cases under awnings or to a warehouse. Sorting honeycombs, getting rid of worn out.
- The fight with the mice.
- It is recorded when the final cleansing round was completed.
November
Snow is already falling in some places. Bees hibernate. Straying into the club, insects save heat. Overflights came to an end, the task of the beekeeper is to keep track of the hives and equipment.
The tasks of the beekeeper in November:
- Transfer of bees to the winter hut, dried and ventilated - after the onset of stable frosts.
- If the wintering is street, the hives are insulated - from above and from the side.
- Putting bees for the winter, the beekeeper monitors their behavior.
The preparation of bees for wintering is described in more detail in the next article.
December
The family, trying to keep warm, is shifting to the partition set in the middle of the hive. Bees are quiet, consume little food. The beekeeper has little to do during this period. It is enough to periodically visit the winter house, maintaining optimal humidity, air exchange and temperature.
Tasks for December:
- Listening to the hives.
- Checking ventilation - in the winter hive and in the hives under the snow.
- The fight with the mice.
This concludes the calendar; a new annual cycle begins in January. The beekeeper analyzes the dynamics of the life of bees, evaluates productivity, draws conclusions.
Vintage apiary calendar
Beekeeping occupied an important place in the life of the Slavs. The beekeepers, closely monitoring the bees, compiled, based on experience and observations, their own calendar.
Winter
February 4 Day of Timothy the half-winter. Beekeepers checked Omsk. Timofeev frosts and February snowstorms began. Buzz weakly - everything is in order. A buzz signals problems
Spring
March 25. Annunciation. They beat off an omshannik, take out and take out the hives.
April 1. Darin's day. They put up beehives when the earrings on an alder blossom.
April 28th. On this day - Pud Bee. It was customary to get bees out of the woods - from wintering.
April 30. Day of Zosima the apiary. The arrangement of beehives.
Summer
21 July. On Kazan comes the time to climb for honey.
August 2. Ilyin’s day. Trimming honeycombs.
August 14th. Honey Spas. Breaking out honeycombs. Sample of the first honey. Bees stop wearing honey.
Fall
September 21st. It's time to clean the bees.
Folk calendar will take
Insect behavior is closely related to the weather. Observing the influence of weather conditions on the life of bees, people have accumulated a lot of folk signs.
Winter
1st of January. New Year. Look at the roofs - if snow has hung from them, the swarm will be strong.
January 18th. Epiphany Eve. If the branches bend under the weight of snow, the swarm will be successful.
January 19. Epiphany. The Epiphany of the Lord. A strong whirlwind to active swarming. If it snows during entering the water, the swarm will also be good.
1st of February. Macarius Day weather indicator. Bees flew out of the hive - do not wait for heat quickly. If the buzz is in the hive or the snow is flaking, the swarm will be notable.
Spring
March 1. Maremyana Kikimora Day. Early departure - early spring.
April 28th. If the loss of bees is small, wait for the buckwheat harvest.
The 1 of May. Day of Kozma. Bees are evil - to bad weather.
Summer
June 1st. Bees are feisty, often sting - it's a matter of drought. Loud buzzing - the weather will change, it will rain today or tomorrow. Bees near the hive - to be bad, far in the fields - to good weather. Lazy and late in work - to be in good weather.
July 7th. Day of John the Baptist. If it rains, August 14 (the first Savior) will have honey.
Fall
September 1. Day of Andrey Stratilat. Bees close the cracks and the summer - the winter will be harsh. The sooner the drones are driven out, the faster the winter will come.
October 14. Cover. On this day, the hives are completely covered with snow.
Beekeeping is an occupation requiring diligence, discipline and the consistent implementation of all necessary measures. Thanks to a clearly compiled calendar, beekeepers timely perform the full range of work on breeding bees.
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Russia. City Novosibirsk
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