We all know that one of the greater challenges in beekeeping is shepherding bees through our variable northern Winters. But what other weather factors should we consider when we are planning our beehive inspections, splits, mite control or feeding regimens?

In my experiences with beekeeping, I have come to rely on signals from nature and the variable weather patterns in my own surrounding environment rather than reliance on specific calendar dates that follow the same schedule year after year. So in this article, I will relate some of the clues and weather events that signal the appropriate time to take certain actions that have resulted in my success in getting at least one hive through every Winter for the past thirteen years. My greatest result occurred several years ago with nine hives going into Winter and those nine hives successfully surviving through the following Summer. This result allowed me to sell a few nucleus hives (nucs), raise a few more queens and take another step toward being a self-sustaining beekeeper.

As the Year Starts
At the beginning of the year, shortly after Christmas, is when I briefly open hives to add a cane sugar food supplement to the hive. It seems that every so often around the Christmas/New Year’s holidays there is a day or two that gets above 45°F (7°C) that allow for both cleansing flights and the insertion of extra food supplies. There are various ways to supply additional food resources including hard candy boards, sugar patties or granulated sugar over newspaper. I hesitate adding any sugar source earlier than late December. Any form of cane sugar is harder for the bees to digest and if they decide to tap into the additional hard sugar source in the Fall, it can possibly result in a form of dysentery. Dysentery is often the result of bees not being able to leave the hive for cleansing flights and finding it necessary to relieve themselves in the hive. The February and March time frames are when most hives are lost over Winter due to a lack of food resources.

Winter sugar over parchment paper is nearly used up, the remains of a partial pollen patty at lower left of sugar.

Another Winter task is that every other month or so I will also use a bent ½ inch metal bar to clean out any dead bees from the bottom board. Once temperatures only occasionally drop below freezing at night, I will also remove my insulation sleeves that cover all but the bottom and top entrances to the hives. Some of my fellow beekeepers use blanket insulation and also remove them when temps begin to only erratically fall below freezing at night.

My next clue is the budding of maple trees in my yard. In some years, I have seen white pollen brought into hives in very early February; possibly from pussy willow shrubs, but not of sufficient quantity to support the needs of potential new larva. If one does see pollen being brought into the hive, this is a clue that the hive is most likely healthy and the queen has started to lay eggs, although in very small quantities this early in the year. In late March or early April there is one of a dozen maples in my yard that is always first to have the buds pop open. On a warm, sunny day, standing under the tree, it sounds like you are standing in a beehive. I use this as my signal to check the cane sugar supply once again and add a partial pollen patty to each hive.

The next pollen/nectar flow will not occur until a month later, in late April or early May. If they gather enough pollen from maples and other sources they will not use much of the pollen patty. But if rainy, cold weather precludes much pollen collection they may use most, or all, of the supplied patty and it may even need to be replaced before the dandelion bloom.

Heavy dandelion bloom is the next signal I use to know that Spring flowers and the dandelions are providing the first nectar flow. This is also my signal to do my first deep hive inspection and commence with any splits I may wish to do. Moving frames around, even if exactly replaced before dandelion bloom, can disrupt the hive in such a way that the cluster does not reform to provide the needed warmth for new eggs and larva resulting in the loss of the hive.

Bent metal bar used to clean out bottom board in Winter.

Opening a hive has a different meaning than inspecting a hive. Up to this point, I have only opened the top of hives to add sugar or pollen patties, while inspecting means to quickly examine each frame as it is removed and replaced or substituted if doing a split. The methodology of splits was covered in the April issue so I will not repeat my split techniques here. This is also the time where I will clean off the bottom board and remove excess old or pollen saturated frames.

Once May arrives, the beekeeping season gets into full swing here in SE Michigan. It is a good time to do the first mite check and initiate treatment, if called for. It is suggested that for the first few months of beekeeping the new beekeeper check hives once a week to every ten days. This is also a good recommendation for any new hives or nucs that have been started in order to monitor their progress. These do not have to be deep hive inspections looking at every frame. Often starting an inspection by pulling a frame or two from one side until eggs/larva are spotted is enough to see the hive is functioning well with an adequate queen without ever seeing the queen or looking at every single frame. As your comfort level and knowledge increases, hives may not need to be inspected for a month or more if things look normal with bees coming and going. Bees that are bringing in some pollen is a good sign there is a laying queen and larva to be fed.

Weather Affects Flying Time
Since beginning beekeeping, I find I keep a much closer watch of weather forecasts to determine the best times to work with my hives dependent on weather. As the Summer flowers start blossoming and nectar flows get into full swing, weather is the key factor in how much time bees can be flying and making collections of nectar, water, pollen or propolis. Any new splits or weaker hives can benefit from a feeding of one to one sugar syrup and an initial mite treatment if needed. I like to use a single Hopguard strip in five frame starter nucs just as a precaution. From this point on through the Summer, it is a matter of periodically checking hives to be sure the queen is laying, mite loads do not become excessive and no inherent diseases occur. When all but one or two frames in the top most super are drawn with comb and filled with brood or nectar and honey it is time to add another super. I prefer to keep my bee’s brood chamber in two ten-frame deeps with a queen excluder under any honey supers that are continually added through the Summer. I know of area beekeepers that work with eight frame medium supers and use three supers as their brood chamber with equal success. If I were to start over again, I would most likely choose the eight frame triple supers due to the weight factor of a ten frame deep super when full.

Taking weather into consideration, there are factors that come into play when the bees will be less agitated when doing an inspection. It is generally recommended that inspections be done on days when the outside temperature is above 55°F (13°C). On a warm, sunny day, most of the foragers will be out of the hive. If there is a front moving in or it is rainy out, the bees seem to be able to sense this and will be more agitated. Likewise, cloudy or windy days are not optimal times for inspections. The time of day that works the best seems to be between 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., although on nice Summer days that are longer, inspections can stretch into the late afternoon or early evenings.

When opening a hive, listen to the noise of the bees. If it goes from a peaceful hum to a louder roar it may not be the best time for a deep inspection of all frames. I recall helping a new beekeeper several years ago who had a work schedule that allowed for inspections to only occur on weekends. Several months of rainy or windy weather made it quite difficult to inspect during optimal weather which made for a more difficult beekeeping Summer. The hobby beekeeper with other employment challenges may find it difficult to find optimal overlaps between good weather and their free time to inspect hives.

Most of my reading and research indicates that mite checks are recommended about every month to month and half with the most critical time being August through September. This is when the mite population is exploding just as the bee population begins to decrease in preparation for Winter. Mite population control is without question the current most important part of beekeeping to insure hive survival over the coming Winter. When doing splits, I insert drone frames which forces me to get into new hives in less than 24 days for their removal. This assumes drone comb has been drawn, capped and drone brood is present. Mites prefer drone brood due to the slightly longer 24 day period it takes for drones to emerge. Removing drone frames prior to 24 days precludes a mite explosion as drones emerge from cells. When mite counts warrant treatment, I follow with a formic treatment in late June or early July followed by another treatment in late August or early September and finally one or two oxalic acid dribbles in October and late November if needed.

Harvesting Honey
Fully capped frames of honey can be taken any time of the beekeeping Summer/Fall season. I have taken honey from remaining Spring hives where the bees did not survive the Winter. If doing this, it is easiest if the honey frames are warmed and checked for any crystallization. Extracting frames that are partially crystallized can quickly plug up the filtration screens and make it very hard to strain the resultant honey. I have found it much easier to feed any unused overwintered frames back to the bees or use them in new hives or nuc splits. Bees from active hives will soon find frames that are set out some distance away from the apiary and will remove the surplus honey to existing honey supers. I have also had some luck with a partial super of near full frames placed over an inner cover that is on top of the upper most honey super allowing bees to clean out the excess frames of honey. During my first few years of beekeeping I only collected honey once in the Fall. This sometimes resulted in very tall hives as supers were added to give the bees more space.

Three deeps and four full honey supers with a fifth added before Fall honey harvest reached over six feet and resulted in future harvests occurring twice a season.

I have since decided it is easier to make a harvest in late July followed by another in September. Any Fall flow is left for the bees to backfill the brood chamber for their Winter honey supply. If new nucs or hives are made from splits, those new starts may not produce any excess honey for the beekeeper in their first Summer. Taking too much honey from the bees in their first season is also a reason for Winter loss as this may result in Winter starvation.

The amount of nectar the bees collect that can be turned into honey is directly related to weather conditions. Continual rain and thunderstorms during a peak nectar flow can significantly cut down on flying time and wash away available flower nectar. Dearth periods where there is no rain for weeks also effects nectar availability, as the plants are using available ground moisture to sustain leaves and growth rather than producing pollen and nectar for flowers and seeds. Weather that is hotter than normal or nights that are colder than normal also impact the amount of nectar that plants produce. As the beekeeper learns to keep a close eye on weather and forecasts, they can better determine optimal times for inspections and if there will be a larger or smaller honey harvest.

Another aspect to consider is when to start nucs for overwintering. I have found that nucleus hives of four or five frames are best started in May or June but no later than the beginning of July. Four frame nucs started in those months may need a second or even a third story four-frame super added to make space for the increasing number of bees. The earlier the start, the more frames that may need to be added. In the following Spring, five frame nucs can be sold and excess frames used to begin new hives or nucs or simply used to increase ones hive count.

Fall Weather Clues
As Fall weather temperatures get cooler and daylight time gets shorter, the bees will be out foraging less and Fall nectar flows are sometimes questionable. Hives that have had their last honey harvest may benefit from Fall feeding of 2:1 sugar syrup. Any extracted honey supers can be placed over the inner cover and under the outer cover such that only the bees in the hive can clean out the honey supers for storage and reuse the following year. There is less chance of bees storing additional nectar/honey in the extracted honey super if it is placed on a different hive than that from which it was taken.

As the temperatures start to drop below 40°F (4.5°C) at night, it is time to combine hives or restrict hives to smaller spaces. This will also be when the Fall flowers such as golden rod and wild purple asters have passed their peak. If there are several weak hives they can be combined using the newspaper method between supers and pinching the weaker queen. Although, I have had very heavily populated hives come through the Winter in three deeps, I like to confine bees to only one or two ten-frame deeps as Winter approaches. New hives or swarms caught earlier in the Summer are usually best if confined to one ten-frame deep while established hives with a large population of bees may be better if allowed to have two deeps.

As stated earlier, August and September are critical months to keep mite counts under control. A day or two after doing a mite treatment, another test for mites is highly recommended to see if that treatment had an effect. If mite counts are still higher than recommended (3 per 100 in Fall) another treatment may be needed. High mite counts during these months are a strong indicator that the hive may not survive the Winter. As temperatures start to dip below freezing at night, it’s time to winterize the hives. I use a combination of a coroplast sleeve over the sides of the hive as well as Vivaldi style spacers for ventilation over the inner cover.

Coroplast plastic sleeves over hives.

There are other numerous ways to insulate a hive, such as using tarpaper or hive blankets if Winter temperatures can get very cold or are somewhat variable in your area. And this brings us full circle to the beginning of the next year.

As you become more experienced as a beekeeper, noting the changes in nature can lead to more efficient beekeeping dependent on your environments weather conditions rather than on calendar dates. I have found that keeping good notes has helped me improve from year to year. If you are not in a note taking mood, I have included a checkoff page (Download PDF) that can be copied and used as you inspect your hives. This is a slightly modified checklist obtained from a local beekeeper and used with permission from Jim Ford, who works with a Boy Scout troop to obtain various merit badges including beekeeping. Using clues from how weather patterns effect nature in your local environment can lead to a better beekeeping experience.

As late Spring moves into Summer and the bee numbers in the hive begin to increase, it is not unusual to have a hive release a swarm. I have seen swarms in our area of SE Michigan begin in mid-May and continue as late as late August. The most frequent occurrence of swarms seems to occur from early June to late July. During my first few years of beekeeping, I would have insisted that these swarms were not coming from my hives. As I have become more aware of the causes for swarming I now believe that in those early years that at least some of the swarms I was catching did indeed come from my hives. But what would cause this natural tendency to swarm and how can it be minimized? The most probable cause for a hive to swarm is overcrowding. Although I knew some of my earlier year hives were strong and felt they had not swarmed, I have now changed my opinion on this point. Just because there still seem to be a lot of bees in the hive after a swarm is not a good indication that the hive did not swarm. An overcrowded hive after a swarm may look, to the new beekeeper, very similar to the pre-swarmed hive even though ⅓ to ½ of the hive may have departed. If a hive is not examined the day before and the day after a swarm it will be very hard to tell if the hive has swarmed. As the hive begins its late Spring and early Summer build-up it experiences a large population increase. By late June or early July, this huge increase may be the precursor to a swarm. If something is not done to preclude this there could be a loss of a significant honey crop later in the season. This is because it has been found that up to 75% of the hive foragers may leave with the swarm. This large decrease in the bees that have reached the forager stage leaves most of the new bees to still go through the nurse bee and internal hive job stages before becoming foragers. This makes sense, since the swarm needs foragers to supply the nectar needs and comb building of a new hive while the bees remaining in the original hive serve as nurse and house bees to support the care of newly emerging bees before becoming foragers. I once had the privilege/misfortune to watch a swarm emanate from a hive and it is an exhilarating and exciting sight to see and at the same time very disappointing. I was about to inspect my hives around 11:30 in the morning. As I was inspecting my most western hive, there seemed to be a lot of activity at the hive entrance of the next hive over. I initially chalked this up to orientation flights as these also exhibit a lot of activity in front of the hive for a short time. But suddenly there was a massive exodus of bees from that next hive as wave after wave of bees marched out the reduced hive entrance and circled around the calm air in a thirty to forty foot circle in front of my hives. After about ten to fifteen minutes the bees coalesced into about a five to six foot diameter circle and departed to the south about ten to twelve feet off the ground never to be seen again. I checked the hive and there were still many bees present. Had I not seen the swarm depart with my own eyes, I would have been none the wiser that this hive had swarmed. It was then I realized some of my earlier year swarms may have been from my own hives. The propensity to swarm is not to be viewed as a bad thing as it indicates the hive was strong to begin with. Hopefully, it will regain its strength as it rebuilds, although this can be a time consuming process. Before I get into some steps that can mitigate a swarm, there are a few other conditions that may be reasons for swarming.

A captured swarm from a backyard pine tree began my beekeeping adventure with no previous knowledge or equipment.

Reasons for Swarming
In addition to the crowding previously mentioned, swarming may also occur due to a heavy mite infestation. As the bee population increases, the potential for mite increase is also present due to the availability of many more capped brood cells in which to reproduce. If the mite population gets out of hand, the bees could decide to swarm to find a better location only taking the phoretic mites with them. Phoretic mites are those riding around on the bee’s backs or thoraxes. Mites in un-emerged cells will be left behind in the hive. Not initiating some type of mite mitigating protocol on one’s hives is the greatest reason for hive losses. Likewise, some method of mite treatment management should take place with a captured swarm to assist the success of that swam in becoming a productive hive.

As mentioned before, not enough space can be a reason for swarming. This is not only true for the crowded double deep hive, but can also happen in as small as a three frame nuc. Small three to five frame nucs need to be watched much more carefully and given added space sooner to preclude the possibility of all frames being filled with nectar and brood almost requiring the nuc to swarm if there is not enough room for more eggs and brood or honey storage space. Over time, brood frames become old and minimally smaller with the pupae cocoons of repeatedly raised new brood in those cells. Additionally, those continually reused cells may retain slight bits of the agrochemicals used in pesticides, which leads to near universal contamination of beeswax in the bee colony. Wax contaminated with these pesticides negatively affects the reproductive quality of queens, drones and the overall quality of worker bees. When the bee’s tolerance of the contaminants in the reused wax brood cells exceeds an unknown threshold the bees may decide to swarm. Therefore, it is a good idea to replace old brood foundation with new frames on a regular basis. I have read that every four to five years is a good time allowance for replacing brood frames but have also seen some respected beekeeper researchers let this reach to an eight to ten year replacement cycle.

Another reason for swarming is the internal hive climate. If the temperature is continually getting too hot or the bees do not have the capability to provide proper ventilation, this may also induce swarming. The bees spend a great deal of effort keeping the internal humidity and temperature at the ideal state around the queen, brood and nectar stores. If drainage or ventilation needs become too severe the bees could decide to swarm.

Yet another reason for the hive to swarm is that there is a problem with the current queen. She may simply have exhausted her ability to lay or fertilize eggs and the hive senses it is time to move on with a new queen.

One final reason for swarming is that it is a natural tendency for all living things to have a propensity for procreation. The simple desire to continue ones genetic stock in future generations can best be accomplished by Apis mellifera with swarming. This inherent drive is almost impossible to identify in order to preclude a swarm by even more experienced beekeepers.

A swarm in flight getting ready to depart the hive area.

Swarming Symptoms
There are a few things the beekeeper can look for in hive inspections that may indicate a precursor to a hive’s potential for swarming. That first, late Spring hive inspection becomes very important in determining a hive’s swarm probability. We all hope for a strong cluster to survive the Winter and become a thriving hive as the first nectar flow begins. If within a month of that first strong hive inspection and there are more than five to seven frames of brood in a double deep Langstroth hive, then it is most likely time to do something to manage that hive. I have found that adding another brood deep or honey super when all but the last frame or two are filled results in a less likely potential for swarming with first time overwintered hives.

The presence of open, unused queen cups along the bottom of frames is normally nothing to be concerned about. These are usually only present for an emergency response if needed. But if those cells become fully developed queen cells, or start to contain larva, the hive may already have decided to swarm.

Significantly reduced activity can be a sign of potential swarming as bees are not bringing much into the hive. This can be hard to ascertain by the new beekeeper and may be caused by lack of space for more nectar or pollen brought into the hive. I find I often need to remove a frame or two of older pollen filled frames as there is such a wealth of pollen sources here in SE Michigan. Often, more frames than needed become nearly saturated with pollen using up valuable space for more brood or nectar stores.

Another indication that a hive is getting ready to swarm is that the hive has had no weight gain in a week or so period. I have to admit that I do not monitor my hive’s weights until the early Winter weight check, if at all. But research has shown that if a hive does not gain much weight during a nectar flow week, it is almost a sure sign of swarm preparation to come. As I became more experienced as a beekeeper, I found that more careful monitoring of my hives could give a good indication of swarming potential. From there I have found that splitting a strong hive early on is the best way to avoid the swarming instinct. In a previous article, I went into the elements of how to split a hive so I will not repeat those steps here.

Mitigating a Swarm
There is a lot written about removing queen cups to preclude the swarming instinct. The thing to remember is that by removing queen cups you are not changing the bee’s instinct to swarm if it already exists. The bees can build new queen cups in a matter of days so removal must be a continual process every two to three days, not an objective most beekeepers prefer to try. The destruction of queen cells has never proven to be a successful method of swarm control. I have seen eggs laid in cells for worker bees that appear to be only ⅓ of their final size. The bees continue to build the cells even as the egg and larva begin to grow. The bees may use this same technique for new queen cells and if an unfound queen cell that was missed emerges the hive may swarm earlier in the normal development of the replacement queen. Destroying queen cells on a second try runs the risk of early swarming and no new queen left for the remaining hive to develop. This could also result in the initial swarm being even larger than if you had not interfered with the removal of queen cells.

The best way to curtail the possibility of swarms is to do a split as soon as a hive is perceived to have swarm characteristics or seems strong enough for a split. A split is actually akin to creating an artificial swarm and the best known way to minimize the possibility of swarming. If developed queen cells or queen cups containing larva are found, these are perfect frames to move to starter nucleus (nuc) hives. A year ago, I split all six of my hives that came through Winter in a strong state with plenty of bees in each. That is the first time that I did not see or catch any swarms during that following Summer. Even if the hobby beekeeper does not desire to increase their hive count with splits, there is plenty of interest among new beekeepers to purchase nuc hives. Or the beekeeper could marry the queenless part of a split to another weaker hive in the apiary.

The swarm gathers around the queen in or on a bucket.

Capturing a Swarm
The capture of a swarm may be as simple as shaking them into a hive from a hanging branch or have the complexity of extracting them from an enclosed building cavity. When a queen leaves a hive with a swarm she usually will land within 100 feet or so of the originating hive. Most of my early swarm catches have been within several 100 feet of my own hives. This might be an indication that they were coming from my hives. Although six large swarms within about two weeks coming from the only two hives I had one Summer seems a bit implausible.

Bees surround the queen to keep her warm, dry and safe until scouts find a new location for their new home. This could be any sort of building or tree hollow that the scouts agree upon. Although a swarm can be intimidating in appearance, they have engorged themselves on honey before leaving the hive and have no eggs, brood or stores to protect. As a result the swarm is relatively unlikely to sting and can be quite docile. The one reason bees tend to sting is if some are getting squeezed or feel threatened. The swarm may move off in a matter of hours or stay in the initial swarm location for several days depending on weather and how soon the scouts find a new home. So it is wise to capture a swarm as soon as possible to avoid their eminent departure.

The steps to capture a swarm are relatively easy. It is advisable to wear a bee suit and veil as the disturbance of the swarm may be enough to make them feel threatened. You will need some sort of container for transport, if it is not convenient to drop them directly into a new hive. A five gallon bucket will work well, particularly if it has a ventilation screen on the top or a cardboard box with ventilation screened holes in a few spots works equally as well. Once the container is under the bee swarm, a quick shake will drop nearly all into the container. I have seen a five gallon bucket fastened on the bottom of a ten foot pole that was used to reach a swarm a bit higher in a tree. Shaking the branch caused most bees to drop into the bucket. If they are on a non-shakable surface a bee brush may be necessary to gently sweep them into the container. Some beekeepers like to spread a bedsheet or tarp under the spot where the bees will drop to better contain those falling outside the container. If the queen fell into the container, most of the remaining bees will join her. If she has not gotten into the container, the bees will return to her and reform a new cluster around her location following her queen pheromones. You will need to give them a little time to resettle down after which the process can be attempted again. If able, leave the container sit until nightfall or dusk to give the remaining bees time to congregate in and around the container. After dark, the bees will have settled down and the ventilated container can be closed and taken to the new hive location. Within a day, they should be moved into their new hive. If you are not interested in capturing a swarm there are eager beekeepers that can likely be contacted through local clubs, government Ag or environmental agencies who will come to get the bees. Feral swarms are most desirable because they are genetically suited to the local area and tend to be less disease prone than those raised in the hundreds by commercial apiaries which are shipped as packages to beekeepers.

A ten frame deep on a barn mounted platform used as a swarm trap just prior to strap down.

A 40 liter swarm trap mounted on a barn stand just prior to strap down.

Swarm Traps
I have made it a practice to set out a swarm trap or two early in each season of beekeeping. I have attached two hive stands to the rear of a hip roof barn at about eight feet off the ground. A bit higher would be nice but that is the height of an inner beam that made a good attachment point. Nearly every Summer, I have had a swarm move into one of these traps. On occasion, I have simply set a single ten frame deep hive on a stand and occasionally a swarm moves into it. I think the empty drawn comb frames inside are a good draw for the swarm. My homemade swarm traps hold five deep frames with another five or six inch open space below the frames. Research has shown that 40 liters of space seems to be the ideal to draw in a swarm. The open space below, along with the five frames, works out to almost exactly 40 liters. In addition to the five drawn comb frames, I will add a plastic perforated baggy at the bottom with an inner paper towel that had some lemongrass essential oil drops added to it.

The plastic baggy is perforated in a dozen spots by poking a sewing needle through the baggy. Only a few drops are necessary and this seems to attract bees that are in a swarm state. My most unusual swarm catch occurred one Summer when I failed to remove an empty hive to storage. Sitting in the middle of my row of hives I had left it there for the other bees to clean out, a small bit of the remaining honey still inside. Every so often I checked it to see that no hive beetles or wax moths had moved in, but always failed to move it to storage. One day, I noticed bees carrying pollen into the hive which I thought a bit unusual for an empty hive. Come to find out, the bees coming and going, which I thought were just gathering the remaining honey, were actually a swarm that had moved in with a new queen that was laying a nice pattern of eggs and already had larva in surrounding comb. Nothing seemed to be missing from any of my other hives. That hive is now coming into its third year and still seems strong.

So, by managing your strong overwintered hives with splits and observance, you may be able to avoid losing much of your bee population to swarms. Use an increase in hive space and/or splits as a swarm management tool to increase your hive count and/or nuc resources for personal use or sell-able nucs. Your swarm experience could vary based on your conditions, environment or state of your overwintered hives.

Loren Tate and his top bar hive at the 2022 Fall MBA Conference (photo by Joan Mandell)

Before I delve into the basics, let me share a bit of background as to how I chose the topic for this issue. In the November issue of Bee Culture Magazine I wrote about the advantages of taking a class, joining a club or doing extensive reading before acquiring your first beehive (That article on Resources for the New Beekeeper can also be found on the Bee Culture website: https://www.beeculture.com/off-the-wahl-beekeeping-2/). I understand that the costs involved or the time commitment required for these activities may be an inhibiting factor for some individuals with young families or competing work schedules. But there is another possibility which requires only a day or two and a minimal cost. That is to attend an annual or semi-annual beekeeping conference, convention or meeting. Most state or country beekeeping associations hold annual or semi-annual get-togethers of this type lasting for one or two days. Simply type your state or country name into an internet search engine followed by “beekeepers” and more than likely several organization or association events related to beekeeping will show up. Searching Michigan Beekeeper’s Association (MBA) will take you directly to the 2022 Fall Conference Review. This coming year’s MBA Spring conference is scheduled for March 11, 2023.

Stephanie Slater and Chris Beck judging honey at the 2022 Fall MBA Conference (photo by Joan Mandell)

Shortly after I began writing for this column a year ago, I was asked to be a speaker at the MBA Spring conference. Although I had heard about such events, I had yet to attend such a conference and was uninitiated on what such an experience would entail. Given the latitude to determine my presentation topic made acceptance of the invitation a bit easier as I could use my previously prepared topic from two years earlier where I taught a small beginner class just before the COVID lock downs. That coupled with the fact that I had taught high school college prep mathematics for sixteen years made the option of public speaking a bit less daunting. With some trepidation I accepted the invitation. My topic was aimed at the new beekeeper or the individual thinking about starting out as a beekeeper, summarized and re-tailored a bit farther on for this article. Most beekeeping association conferences will have at least one track of speakers throughout the day and may have as many as three or four. Often these tracks are split toward the level of the beekeeper audience experience, be those just getting started, those with a few years of experience, or possibly directed topics such as queen rearing or commercial beekeeping challenges. In addition to the lecture tracks there is often a room set up where vendors can bring in their beekeeping wooden ware, bee related or other hive products for sale. At Fall conferences, it is not unusual to find a honey and/or wax judging contest.

I found all levels of experience and expertise to be present at last Spring’s MBA conference. I was expecting maybe thirty to forty participants for my “Getting Started and Sustaining Your Hives” topic and was surprised as a first time speaker to draw an audience of near one hundred interested newer beekeepers, representing about one-quarter of those in attendance.

Back to Basics to Consider
Before jumping into the art of beekeeping one needs to consider the time commitment and costs involved. When asked by the casual honey purchaser or interested party, “What does it take to be a beekeeper?”, my short answer is that it is animal husbandry, only with an insect. Just as your pet cat, dog, pony or aquarium fish have food, water and shelter needs along with watching out for pests and diseases, so do the bees. Far too many first time beekeepers think a box can be set out, the bees fend for themselves and a little honey can be collected in the late Summer or Fall. The concept that feral bees survived in the wild for thousands of years without human intervention is no longer the norm. Due to invasive pests such as varroa mites and hive beetles along with the myriad of agricultural chemical use that continues to challenge survival of any insects, the existence of feral colonies is becoming more and more non-existent in many parts of our chemically dependent world. Although a beehive does not require daily attention for water and food needs as other pets would, there are still periods in the Spring and Fall where more concentrated efforts are required for inspections or honey collection. It is highly recommended that the new beekeeper make a good inspection every two to three weeks through the late Spring, Summer and Fall to assess the state of their hives and catch any abnormalities before they become lethal to the hive. As experience is gained, fewer deep inspections, moving frames about, are required. During mid-Summer months, one can get a good idea how well the hive is doing by watching the bees coming and going at the entrance. Weather conditions will often dictate optimal hive inspection times. Time of day, frontal passage, temperature, rainfall, wind and humidity should all be taken into consideration when opening a hive. The bees work very hard to keep their micro-climate inside the hive at an optimal state and when the hive is opened and frames moved about these optimal conditions are upset. It may take days after a long or thorough hive inspection for the bees to return things to their optimal condition. If the only available inspection times are weekends due to a beekeeper’s work or travel schedule and those weekends are coincidentally rainy, windy or consistently have a frontal system moving through, optimal inspection times may be difficult to achieve. Several years ago, I assisted a new beekeeper whose work schedule only allowed for hive inspections on weekends. Unfortunately, a number of less than ideal weather conditions precluded thorough hive inspections on a number of subsequent weekends resulting in an unnoticed queen loss that could have been corrected sooner if it had been caught in earlier midweek better weather conditions. (I see a potential future article here on the effects of weather in beekeeping.)

Research Potential Costs

Hive components with a single deep and honey super.

Startup costs are another factor to be considered. A basic hive kit that includes a bottom board, entrance reducer, ten frame deep box (called a super) with ten frames and foundation, an inner cover and a telescoping outer cover would be the minimal hive requirement. Toss in a few more essentials such as a smoker, good hive tool, bee brush and bee suit and you may be set to order your first bee package or nucleus hive. Prices on all items can vary dependent on mail order from a bee catalogue or if there is a local supplier where a pickup can be made to avoid shipping fees. But then as the eternal optimist you need to consider that your hive will continue to expand and your bees will soon need more room, which will demand a second deep with the associated frames and foundations. As Summer progresses and your bees bring in more pollen and nectar, a honey super or two with even more frames will need to be added.

If you are placing hives where cattle or large predators co-exist, there may be a need for fencing, possibly electrified. The point is to do some research on expected costs before jumping into the beekeeping hobby. Early Spring and Summer feeding can aid greatly in getting that first hive off to a good start. Once the bees become active after that first Spring pollen collection, a pollen patty is a good idea for a boost and good early brood development. Adding a one to one sugar syrup mix will serve as a nectar substitute if your nectar flow lags after that first Spring pollen burst, as it does in my area, minimally adding to additional start-up costs. My maples pop in early March for a day or two with a month lag before the dandelions provide any sort of nectar flow. In the Southeast Michigan Beekeeper Association (SEMBA) class that my partner and I taught this past year, we recommended the purchase of two nucs (nucleus hives which usually come with a mated, laying queen and five frames, at least three with that queen’s brood) to start two hives. The purpose of nucs is that they provide about a month head start over a package purchase and two hives allow for a comparison.

A ten frame deep split in two sections with two story, four frame nucs above that. Successfully came through Winter with both entrances facing forward.

This past Summer, I was asked to assist two different first year beekeepers who had some concerns about their hives. Each new beekeeper had two hives and one beekeeper’s set was doing well. We even started a third nuc hive from his strongest hive during my visit. The other beekeeper had a legitimate concern as one hive did not have the same activity as the other. Come to find out the weaker hive had lost its queen and we were able to set an egg/larva/brood frame from the stronger hive in it. A later report indicated the weaker hive had produced a new queen and that both hives were doing well. Had there only been the one weaker hive, this discrepancy may not have been discovered in time to take remedial action, and no available second hive would have meant ordering and purchasing a new queen.

Location, Location, Location
As the saying goes, location can be a great determining factor as to the success of the beginning beekeeper. There are numerous considerations to make when siting a hive. Ideally, a spot for hives should be chosen that is a bit elevated off the ground and gets early morning sun with the bottom entrance facing east or south. Leave three or four feet behind the hives to make working in them easier as working in the front entrance bee path is more irritating to the bees. Any natural or constructed protection from north and west Winter winds is certainly a plus, particularly in unpredictable northern climates. Looking into any local ordinance requirements may preclude confrontation with governing officials. Letting neighbors in on your new beekeeping endeavor and offering to share a jar or two of your future honey crop can go a long way to appease neighbor’s concerns. Just a quick explanation to neighbors as to what to do if they encounter a bee can create better peace of mind. I find that honey bees are not prone to sting unless they feel threatened as you deep inspect a hive or pinch them in some way. Their normal action when out in the open, or even as you get closer to the hive, is to buzz around your head and even do a head bump or two before they sting. If you walk quickly away from the hive location they may follow you for a bit, but I find they will often abandon the chase as you get farther away from the hive. This seems to work particularly well if you walk under low tree branches. I have succeeded with this quick walk away action many times, but naturally there is always the exception. Once, several hundred feet away from my hives, days past any inspection activity, I encountered a bee that was obviously on a direct path back to the hive. Without provocation or preemptive notice the bee made a direct hit and sting on my forehead. Accepting the fact that you may get stung is another consideration when determining if beekeeping is for you. Of course the Africanized bees, now more prevalent in the southern U.S. states, require much less stimulation to get agitated and reach the attacking, stinging state.

Hives with a birdbath water source.

An additional consideration for hive placement is to have a nearby water source. Bees seem to love the chemical content of a neighbor’s swimming pool if nearby. My bees avoid my very hard well water or even distilled water if provided and prefer my neighbor’s pond or a nearby drainage ditch. Another consideration is the ease of access to the location of your hives. Hauling a thirty to forty pound honey super any short distance can easily put a strain on one’s back. After getting my truck stuck in a relative’s farm lane that had several drainage ditches, I gave up on the placement of several hives on that end of the lane property that had a natural overgrown, brushy protected spot otherwise ideal for a hive.

Mentors, Classes, Clubs and Books
My November article, as noted in the opening paragraph, covered classes, clubs and books. An equally optimal option is to find a person willing to be your mentor. An experienced beekeeper even with only a few more year’s experience can go a long way to get a new beekeeper off to a good start. The perfect place to meet these experienced beekeepers is to attend a convention or conference, join a club or take a class which brings us full circle back to the opening of this article. This year’s MBA conference will be held in Lansing on March 11, 2023. Find more information as it develops at: www.canr.msu.edu/events/michigan-beekeepers-association-conference. The new beekeeper’s success will only be enhanced by seeking out answers and having a willingness to learn. I find nearly all persons in this intriguing insect management endeavor to be pleasant, conversant people willing to share their experiences. If you have been hesitant to jump into the hobby of beekeeping, give the aforementioned ideas some thought and if your situation is amenable to the conditions stated above give beekeeping management a try. I do not think you will be disappointed.

There Are Many Options
It took me some time after my first swarm catch, which was my introduction to beekeeping, to find reliable sources of information for my beekeeping efforts as I had virtually no knowledge of how to manage a box full of potentially stinging insects. I initially started out by purchasing a book or two and watching YouTube videos. In my second year with bees, I became aware of a local beekeeping club. After about ten years’ experience and assisting several other area new beekeepers, I was asked to teach a beginner beekeeping class as part of a local, after school community enrichment program. Only then did I discover larger scale beginner classes offered by the Southeast Michigan Beekeepers Association (SEMBA). This past year I was invited to become a part of that instructor staff and have since assisted in mentoring beginning beekeepers within that organization. This article is devoted to the advantages of taking a class or joining a club that can provide answers for many of the ‘how to” questions of the newer beekeeper. There are also many books available on the subject and I will point out a few of my favorites near the end of this article.

Take a Beekeeping Class

Tollgate guest speaker Ana Heck.

SEMBA instructors have at least four to five years of beekeeping experience with most in the ten years plus range. With the assistance and support of the Michigan State University (MSU) entomology department, which devotes some of its time to honey bee research, these mentors are able to utilize space on two MSU off campus farm research facilities, Tollgate Farm and Bowers Farm, where beginning beekeepers can keep their first hives throughout the late Spring and Summer. Classes meet in person at each facility on Sunday afternoons, starting once a month in January until July and August when meetings occur twice a month and once a month thereafter until twelve sessions have been completed. Unfortunately, the 2020 and 2021 sessions could only meet virtually due to the COVID restrictions. This greatly diminished any “hands-on” experience that students would otherwise receive. But this past Spring and Summer, around fifty students took advantage of the hands-on benefits of the class with instructors and students split between the two locations. After their first few months of class participation, students are encouraged, but not required, to purchase a nucleus (nuc) hive and the necessary bee equipment from a seller of their choice. Most students purchase nucleus hives from the instructors and then set them up at one of the two farm locations. A few students simply take the class without purchasing a hive to learn before jumping in as an active beekeeper and observe others’ hives for their first year, which is also acceptable. A list of the topics covered in each of the two-hour classes this past year can be found on the internet at “2022 SEMBA Beginner Bee School” under class schedule. One of the unique benefits of the class is that class coordinators bring in well-known guest speakers that have done bee research or have written extensively about beekeeping. This past year’s guest speakers have included Dr. Meghan Milbrath, assistant professor in the department of entomology at MSU, Ana Heck, an apiculture extension educator from MSU and Dewey M. Caron, an emeritus professor of entomology and author of the book, Honey Bee Biology and Beekeeping. This book was used as the core class text for outside reading and was included as part the class tuition fee.

Additionally, many of Dr. Meghan Milbrath’s published articles were used as valuable resource information. Both Meghan (at Bowers) and Ana (at Tollgate) gave some hands-on assistance to students during their guest speaker visits at either location. Since the classes at both locations occur at the same time, a Zoom connection allowed the other half to watch their presentations during subsequent class sessions. An interesting aside is that at Meghan’s visit to the Bower site, while she assisted a student with their first hive inspection, they found evidence of European Foulbrood in the hive. This served as an excellent hands-on learning opportunity for all of the Bowers students to actually see and discuss how to handle this disease in real time. The hive was removed shortly thereafter and quarantined with appropriate treatment actions and a replacement provided to the student beekeeper.

The Adventures in Beekeeping
To provide a basis for this article, I interviewed nearly all of the staff of the 2022 SEMBA beginner beekeeping schools. In each interview I asked each staff member three simple questions (or so I thought):
1. What is the most unusual, unique, challenging or exciting thing that has happened to you as a beekeeper?
2. What do you see as the greatest benefit of joining a club or taking a class?
3. What one, most valuable, piece of advice would you give any beekeeper, new or experienced?

The Tollgate Instructors in the beeyard (from left to right): John Dechart, Cecilia Infante, Rich Wieske, Michelle Kinney and Mohammed Cherri

The response to question number two in my interviews was the most consistent and near unanimous. Most instructors cited the vast exchange of ideas, resources, expertise and information that is available in a class setting. Michelle Kinney, who handles all the administrative duties for the SEMBA bee school’s staff stated that, “Networking with others and learning all the different choices and options that are available to make beekeeping work for your own particular situation and environment is crucial to being successful.” She quoted the age-old axiom among beekeepers that, “If you ask ten different beekeepers a question you will get ten different responses or solutions as an answer.” Having a variety of choices is not necessarily a bad thing as each beekeeper will have different environmental constraints and desired outcomes and therefore must choose what works best for them. There are hive style and equipment choices along with many mite treatment options as well as the ability to recognize a myriad of different activities that go on in the hive. Becoming aware of the large number of options and differences will only aid in the new beekeepers’ potential for success. Rich Wieske, president of MBA and the SEMBA bee school director, with twenty-four years of beekeeping experience, went on to say that, “Having the support of other beekeepers as well as being able to ask questions and get relevant answers from those with prior experience is a needed asset in order to be successful.” Mohammed Cherri, a Tollgate instructor, stated that, “Beekeeping seems like an individual endeavor, but it takes a community of knowledge to learn needed skills and to be able to recognize the pitfalls.”

Instructor Preston Zale explaining mite treatments to the Bowers class. Mark Spencer is seated to the farthest right.

While the response to my second question was quite consistent and similar across the entire staff, the responses to my first question had a much greater variety as would be expected. Two of the instructors stated that their first harvest of honey was the most exciting event of their beekeeping careers to date. John Dechart, with a mere five years beekeeping experience among the Tollgate instructors stated such, after jokingly revealing “I have never made any mistakes, haha”. Mark Spencer, a Bowers instructor with eleven beekeeping years, stated his first honey harvest was a big event with about twenty family and friends present to sample his bees’ honey in the very first year of his beekeeping efforts. Lisa Stinson, also with the Bowers instructor staff, stated that her most unique aspect, “Is that I am amazed that I even am a beekeeper,” and that she really appreciated being able to spend time in her hives during the COVID shut-downs when nearly all other activities were curtailed. Preston Zale, the Bowers school coordinator and lead instructor with about ten years’ experience, told about the time he purchased some queens from a dealer in another state. The draw to go out of state was that they came with a thirty day warranty. Going out of state to pick them up involved a day trip and back. He soon learned in his early beekeeping venture that thirty days is not enough to determine any long-term outcome. The hives in which he placed those queens became quite aggressive and none of them made it through the following Winter, even though he took no honey from them, by which time the warranty had long expired. Meanwhile the Tollgate lead instructor, Cecilia Infante, stated that her biggest surprise was that after being stung a few times in her first efforts, her arthritis problems went away for nearly a year. I can also attest to that and although I prefer not to get stung, my own arthritis issues seem to go away for a period of time after receiving a sting.

Bowers students inspecting their hives, some a bit braver than others.

It seems the more one delves into the art of beekeeping, the greater number of medical benefits that can be found with use of hive by-products, as well as the honey. Rich Wieske said his most memorable experience was the first time he pulled a frame from a hive; he thought it was capped honey where it turned out to be capped brood and he hastily returned it to the hive. He also stated that when recently setting up a hive while getting a nuc ready to be moved in, watching bee foragers from another hive checking it out was quite interesting. Another interesting observation occurred while he watched a swarm move into a hive. I also once watched in amazement as a massive bee swarm army that dropped outside the hive, marched across the grass to go into the new hive. I can also say that watching a swarm exit a hive, circle in a thirty-to-fifty-foot area outside the hive, and after only ten to fifteen minutes coagulate into about a five foot diameter circle and fly off causes a flush of conflicting emotions. It was exhilarating and exciting to witness one of nature’s reproduction phenomena and at the same time, disappointing to realize probably half of that hive of mine just flew away as happened in my apiary several years ago. I have learned it is better to split a populous hive early, which seems to negate most of the swarming tendency. Another interesting response to my first question came from Mohammed Cherri, who explained his most unusual experience with bees as follows: doing a check of a hive, he found the queen with intentions to mark her. However, during handling, the queen appeared to be dead, or so he thought. Setting the dead queen aside he bought a new queen to replace her. But upon going to replace the aforementioned comatose queen, she was alive and well, moving around the hive as normal. The explanation being that for some reason, during handling, the queen had fainted and had since recovered. Although this is not a common occurrence, I have found other instances and referenced sources that discuss the phenomena of fainting queens along the same lines as fainting goats. Although fainting queens was an area I had never heard of before, and proved to be an interesting response to my first question, I think Kerry Wysocki, an experienced Bowers instructor, had the most interesting, if not somewhat amusing tale to tell. Kerry related that she had been asked to assist a fellow beekeeper do some hive inspections. The requesting individual had some recent health issues and was moving about in a wheelchair with his dedication to beekeeping unwavering. During a running commentary about the frames in the hives they were inspecting, they realized they had pulled a frame with an emerging queen. They had previously spotted another queen in the hive and knew one or the other would most likely get killed if they were both left in the hive together. Not being totally prepared to find a second emerging queen they had to quickly find a container in which to catch this second queen. A quick search occurred and all they could find was a zip-lock baggie. The second queen was placed in the zip-lock inflated bag to take home to be inserted in a nuc. So while Kerry drove them to the location with the nuc, her friend would open the bag every so often to let in a bit of cooler fresh air from the car’s air conditioning vent with the concern to not overheat or asphyxiate the new queen. Arriving at the home of her friend, a nuc with brood frames was quickly assembled, while she and the wheelchair bound beekeeper listened to his wife berate them on the hazards of becoming overly stressed while working the bees and possibly exacerbating his health condition. All ended well however, with brood and a new queen in a nuc which was then successfully overwintered. I can only imagine what type of explanation would have been given if they had been pulled over by a cop.

These memories and conversations are but a few of the socially driven lessons and experiences I have been witness to with others in a classroom/teaching type setting. They may seem a bit off the target of what the class offers, but more specifics can be learned about our particular school by going to “2022 SEMBA, Beginning Bee School” on an internet website search engine. With the recent uptick interest in beekeeping, there are many agencies available that offer classes in beekeeping.

Join a Club

Club president, Preston Zale, explaining hive elements to Seven Ponds Bee Club members out in the bee club demonstration yard.

According to the Michigan Beekeepers Association (MBA) there are about thirty-two bee clubs in the state of Michigan. I suspect there are like numbers in many of the more bee colony populated states and other countries. Club membership is the first organization where I began to learn much more in-depth knowledge about beekeeping. The cost of becoming a bee club or association member is in most cases a minimal amount per year and well worth the money spent. The MBA, SEMBA or any area club can provide an opportunity to exchange information with other beekeepers with various degrees of experience and knowledge and many organizations have websites that can be found by typing the name or acronym into a search engine. As Kerry Wysocki, current president of the Oakland Beekeepers club states, “It is a great way to exchange ideas and share experiences while learning about beekeeping.” And Seven Ponds board member at large, Lisa Stinson, states “When I got involved with the club my bees started surviving.” I am sure that my own joining of the local Seven Ponds Bee Club had a lot to do with my continuation in beekeeping. In the case of the Seven Ponds Bee Club, meetings are held once a month at a rural county nature center where three to four bee hives are maintained on site for teaching purposes.

When weather permits, club members can arrive early on meeting nights to go through hive inspections with the club hive maintainers, in our case club president, Preston Zale, or club vice president, Mark Spencer. Yearly membership dues are kept at a nominal $10.00 per year by way of holding a quick raffle prior to each meeting. Members donate bee related items, tickets are purchased and just before the meeting starts, a drawing is held to choose winners. The first drawn winning ticket gets to choose any of the evening’s donated items on the table with each subsequent drawn ticket winner choosing from what remains until all items are removed. Enough funding is attained through the raffles such that facility use costs are covered, the club can bring in guest speakers such as those mentioned above for the Tollgate and Bowers classes and the raffles or Summer picnic smoker challenge contest can field prizes as big as nuc hives, queen bees or hive tools such as refractometers or hot knives.

But best of all as Mohammed Cherri states, “Join a club or take a course, nothing beats local knowledge.” I believe that Dawn Gialanella, a SEMBA bee school student and at large board member of the Seven Ponds Bee Club summed it up the best when she stated that, “Bee clubs help you keep bees while bee schools teach you how to keep bees.”

Sage Advice from Experience

At a Sevens Ponds club meeting; board member at large, Dawn Gialanella sits at the raffle table as vice president Mark Spencer pulls the next ticket and president Preston Zale, looks on.

The interviewees had a variety of answers for my third question about providing advice. Several noted the need to stay ahead of varroa mite loads with John Dechart stating, “What you don’t spend in varroa treatment you’ll be spending in replacing your hives.” While Kerry Wysocki put it more bluntly stating, “Have a plan for varroa mites and execute that plan or your bees will die.” Michelle Kinney feels, “It is important to stay on top of bee news and the latest treatment options as the environment of beekeeping is continually changing.” Preston Zale suggests, “Always light your smoker and have it at the ready. When something needs to be done, do it regardless of the weather.” Along those same lines Lisa Stinson stated, “Go with your gut intuition when making decisions on what to do since waiting may only expand the problem.” Rich Wieske however lends a degree of caution saying, “When you get a new idea, try it on only one hive first; and get comfortable opening your hives for checks on a regular basis.” I feel Mark Spencer summed it up by saying, “Enjoy the experience, listen to your bees, it’s a lot of work, but remember why you did it.”

Gordon Wardell, who holds a PhD in entomology from MSU, and a founder of the MegaBee pollen supplement company gives a presentation to the Seven Ponds Bee Club.

Read Some Books, Subscribe to a Magazine (like Bee Culture!)
Lastly, I said I would say a few things about books. I would have to say my favorite book so far is the ABC and XYZ of Bee Culture by A. I. Root because of a bit of nostalgia. The 1929, third edition of this 800-page, hard cover book was owned by my grandfather who for a time kept bees on the family farm. Upon the passing several years ago of a 95-year-old aunt of mine, this book that I never even knew my grandfather had, was inherited by me as the only family member currently interested in beekeeping. I have read this book several times and it surprises me how much nearly one hundred-year-old techniques are still used today while the current edition (the 42nd edition) incorporates many recent changes to the management of bees. (Get it here: https://store.beeculture.com/42nd-edition-of-abc-xyz/)

Another book that has proved most useful and as mentioned before as being used as our class text, is Honey Bee Biology and Beekeeping by Dewey M. Caron. This book not only covers many aspects of how to be a successful beekeeper but gets into much of the underlying bee anatomy and why bees are as successful as they are in what they do. Both of the current editions of these books run in the $75.00 price range. If looking for something less expensive that still covers the basics quite well, I would suggest the paperback The New Starting Right with Bees by Kim Flottum and Kathy Summers (Get it here: https://store.beeculture.com/the-new-starting-right-with-bees/)or The Backyard Beekeeper by Kim Flottum (Get it here: https://store.beeculture.com/the-backyard-beekeeper-4th-edition/). Both can be found as used copies for as little as $5.00. To get off on the right foot in beekeeping Cecilia Infante recommends, “Spend your first year learning and reading from everyone before buying bees or any one item of beekeeping gear.” These books and many others would be a good place to start. Naturally there are also monthly beekeeping magazines to which one can subscribe. Of course, I am biased toward “Bee Culture The Magazine of American Beekeeping” which has been publishing my articles this past year. Whichever direction you choose to take with your beekeeping education, there are seemingly unlimited resources available. Choose learning as a partner condition with your beekeeping and I do not think you will be disappointed with the potential rewards of working with this fascinating insect.

My First Season

I have to admit that after a fellow beekeeper assisted me in catching my first swarm thirteen years ago, I had no idea what I was getting into. How hard could it be, right? Put some bees in a box and maybe get some honey in a year or two. I soon found this was a far too simplistic idea that I think too many first time beekeepers start with. After a bit of research on the internet, which had far fewer reliable sources thirteen years ago, I managed to cobble enough information together to get me through that first Summer and the following Winter. At the time, I knew nothing about mites but did treat once in late October with Check-Mite strips after reading on the internet about the potential mite problem. I went into Winter after that late June swarm catch with my newly caught charges occupying two, ten frame deeps, no insulation and no early Winter feeding; they were on their own. Researching a bit more from internet sources, I made my first candy board late that Winter and learned a few lessons with that process along the way. I placed the candy board on the hive in mid-February and that was enough to keep them alive into Spring when that hive and a second hive from an early purchased package did provide some honey in my second year. From that inauspicious beginning I increased my hive count each year with a few splits and additional package purchases also often losing a few each Winter. Over the following years, I made mistakes along the way and continued to learn and refine my techniques while getting at least one hive through each Winter with one to four hives through the next five or six Summers. After ten years of trial and error, I have come up with a winterization system that seems to work for me.

Hives under a blanket of snow.

Start Preparing in Summer

The first key component of preparing for Winter is to keep your mite counts under control during the previous Summer. If my mite count tests dictate a need for treatment, I like to treat with Formic-Pro in late June or early July and again in late August or early September. Here in SE Michigan a 1% count in Spring and 3% count in Fall are generally accepted as the point at which a treatment is recommended. There are a variety of treatment options on the market that other beekeepers favor, but I can only relate to what has worked the best for me. Using either the powdered sugar or alcohol wash test provides a fairly accurate mite count. Collecting a half cup of bees for either test method is approximately 300 bees, so divide the mites found as a result of either test by three to get a percentage. Anything over three mites in Spring would reach the 1% threshold while anything over nine mites in Fall would reach the 3% threshold. As the queen starts to be shut down in the Fall, the brood chamber begins to be back filled with nectar, which may become capped honey. Just as the queen begins to lay fewer eggs, which will become the overwintering bees, the mites will be increasing their reproduction rate to take advantage of those larval bees that are building up increased fat stores to get them through Winter. This can lead to a mite population explosion if some intervention is not taken by the beekeeper. No Summer treatment for mites or a heavy mite count in late Fall seems the most likely greatest reason for loss of hives over the Winter in our area.

Another treatment I use is the oxalic acid dribble as late in the Fall or early Winter as possible. While the formic treatment will penetrate under capped cells, the oxalic acid vapors or dribble will not and therefore will not reach those mites under capped cells. That is why the oxalic treatment is used as late as possible when very little capped brood is present. I will get to the specifics of an oxalic dribble near the end of this article. But before the time for the oxalic dribble occurs, feeding your bees in the Fall will also assist in a strong population more likely to get your hive through Winter. In the Fall, any of the feeding systems using two to one sugar syrup by weight or volume will help the new Fall emerging brood build up body fat. So, as soon as honey supers are no longer on the hives, I will add a liquid sugar syrup feeder to my hives. These are usually inside top feeders or inverted buckets over the inner cover hole surrounded by an empty super box. These stay refilled while Fall/early Winter temperatures stay above freezing. If there is a warm week, the bees can easily go through a gallon of sugar syrup if there is no Fall nectar flow going on.

Bucket feeder on a single deep hive.

When Temperatures Drop

I normally take each of the actions below at the same time, once temperatures are consistently forecast to drop below freezing at night. The first is a switch to a candy board or granulated sugar feed. In my first half dozen years of beekeeping I used candy boards. This is where about five pounds of sugar is dissolved in a cup of water and brought to a rolling boil where the dissolved solution will normally turn clear at the 260°F (127°C) to 270°F (132°C) range while stirring constantly. At this point, when allowed to cool to about 180°F (82°C) and poured into a form, it should solidify to a hard candy state. This hard candy board is set on the hive, candy side down, for the bees to use as a food source over Winter as needed. As an aside, I once assisted a new beekeeper one Spring. She had her son place the candy board on the hive that previous Fall, which he did with the candy side up. It was an honest mistake; the bees failed to come up through the center hole and never touched the sugar candy resulting in the loss of the hive.

Since those first years, I have come up with an easier method that also seems more beneficial to the bees. I staple a one-half inch square piece of hardware wire mesh, often called one-half inch hardware cloth, to a three inch deep super spacer and lay a piece of baking parchment paper on the wire mesh. Several knife slits in the paper give the bees a starting point to chew through to reach the four to five pounds of granulated sugar poured on top of the paper, if it is needed as an additional food source. In addition to providing a supplemental food source, the granulated sugar also absorbs moisture which would otherwise condense and fall back on the bees. Bees can tolerate the cold but cannot tolerate being wet and cold. The first year or two with this method I simply used newspaper. I found that the bees can easily chew through most of the newspaper and much of the sugar falls to the bottom board. With the baking parchment paper they tend to chew through one or two spots and work out from those spots wasting less of the sugar falling to the bottom of the hive. Any moisture hardened sugar can be collected in Spring and reused the following Winter.

Sugar feed on wire mesh and parchment paper over hive deep.

Coroplast insulation around hives on a very warm Winter day.

Another thing I have found to be useful is a one inch thick piece of foam insulation that just fits inside the outer cover. For several years, I removed this outer cover insulation piece in the Summer. But then, leaving it on year round, I found it decreased the Summer heat radiation through the metal roof of the outer cover which also decreased the amount of bearding on hot Summer days. So, now it is left on year round. I also add an insulation sleeve around the outside of my hives once the temperatures are forecast to be consistently below freezing at night. I use ¼ inch black plastic coroplast sheets measured a quarter inch longer than each side of my hive supers folded at 90° angle on the corners and using gorilla tape on both inside and outside of the first side taped to the fourth side corner. This is the same hollow core material used in campaign signs and can usually be ordered through a local print shop or graphics arts store. One could also use any of the bee blankets sold in bee catalogs or simple wrap a hive with stapled tar paper. Whichever material is chosen, the beekeeper needs to be sure there are bottom and top openings left for the bees to exit and enter on those occasional warm Winter cleansing flight days.

There is one more feature that I have found to be useful to enhance the chance of overwintering success. This is called a Vivaldi board. The commercially sold ones come as one piece, much like an inner cover, with the sides about two to three inches deep matching the size of the other supers on the hive. I simply leave the inner cover in place and over that, set a three inch spacer the same size as my supers. Each spacer has four or five, half inch holes drilled in each narrow end to allow for ventilation. Sitting on the inner cover inside the spacer is a folded piece of burlap which absorbs any moisture coming up out of the hive. I often find the burlap quite damp in the center, but have never seen water droplets that could drip back on the bees as was the case before I started using these homemade Vivaldi spacers with the burlap. The air circulation evaporates most of the moisture gathered by the burlap. I cover the inner cover hole with a taped piece of screen to keep the bees out of the Vivaldi board space. Just under the inner cover is where my wire mesh granulated sugar feeder sits. The outer cover with its insulation insert sits on top of the Vivaldi spacer. With the addition of a late Fall or early Winter oxalic acid dribble, I have had an 85% overwinter success rate these past three years, going nine for nine my first time three Winters ago when using all these techniques together. Each of the past two years I lost one or two hives while trying slightly modified approaches. I have learned to go with what works for me which brings up my last treatment technique explained below.

 The Oxalic Acid Dribble

Accepted practice states that an oxalic dribble can be done in temperatures as low as 40°F. I like it to be a bit warmer and not get below 40°F the following evening or two. The bees need that time to clean themselves of the moisture that is being dribbled on them. Based on past forecasts, I have done an oxalic dribble as late as November 19 or last year on November 8. Why do I wait so long? First off, bees were still bringing in pollen two weeks earlier after a rainy week. Secondly, I have had late start hives still taking in 2:1 sugar syrup. That indicates the queen has not been fully shut down and there may still be quite a bit of capped brood in the hives as warm Fall temps sometimes allow a much later slow down. I want to have as little unhatched brood as possible doing an oxalic dribble, as that is when it is most effective. One could do an oxalic vapor, but I have not invested in the more expensive vapor equipment and have had good luck with the dribble. Additionally, there are numerous hazard cautions to not breathe any oxalic vapors and the necessity to wear an effective gas mask if using the vapor method. I have done two types of dribble; the first is where in the a.m. I do a 1:1 sugar syrup dribble, followed about three hours later with the oxalic acid dribble. The theory is that the bees cleaning process after a first dribble consume the sugar syrup and by the time of the oxalic dribble, having engorged on sugar syrup, ingest less of the oxalic. They are simply cleaning it off and not eating as much of it, which can be detrimental. When I used this method all nine of my hives came through Winter just fine. The other method was doing the dribble alone without the prior 1:1 sugar syrup “practice.” I did lose two hives when I used that method alone. There could have been other factors of which I am not aware; however, I did try to match conditions of each application as best I could each different year. I have found it is better to err with a weaker solution rather than a stronger as it seems to be just as effective. I plan to lessen the oxalic grams by about 10% from that shown in the table (next page) provided by a reputable bee company. I have been surprised by the large amount of mite drop on screened bottom boards after using an oxalic acid dribble, which seems to prove its effectiveness.

Oxalic dribble in progress.

Even if you only need enough for one or two hives, use the five hive recipe and discard any surplus, as it is hard to accurately mix smaller quantities.

My Treatment Method

1.First, get your equipment lined up. Rather than pay $20.00 for an oxalic kit in a bee catalogue (gloves, syringe, 35 grams oxalic crystals, safety glasses, etc.), purchase a 50 ml syringe at most dollar stores or pharmacy chain stores for $1.00.

2.Also buy a package of appropriately labeled and legally approved oxalic acid crystals from any of the major beekeeping supply companies or another local beekeeping supply source. Since you will only use 35 grams per treatment for 8-10 hives or 8.75 grams for the five hives mixture, the 340 gram size will last a long time if tightly closed after opening.

3.A pair of rubber or nitrile gloves and safety glasses; the mixture is a mild acid so it can burn, do not get it in your eyes or on your skin. It exists in very mild form naturally in rhubarb and leafy greens.

4.A gallon glass jar for the mixture, do not use plastic as the acid will react with some plastics. Measure the ml of warm/hot distilled water into the glass container. (If you have hard tap water, the crystals do not dissolve as easily as in distilled water.) Dissolve the crystals and then the sugar as it works better in that order.

5.A kitchen scale to measure out your grams. There is extensive research that shows bees can tolerate a stronger mixture of oxalic crystals. Ref: http://scientificbeekeeping.com/oxalic-acid-treatment-table/ I have been happy with the results of what is considered a milder mixture and my mite counts have been much reduced going into Winter.

Application Steps

Lightly smoke your bees down between the frames.

Fill your syringe with the medicated syrup to the 50 ml mark or if using a 25 ml syringe fill and refill once.

Starting at one end of the frames, dribble five milliliters of the solution along a seam that contains bees. (I like to start at the far end and dribble toward me.)

Once you have dribbled five milliliters, you must go on to a new seam. (A seam is the space between two frames or the space between a frame and a sidewall.)

After each seam of bees gets five milliliters of solution, you are done.

In any case, you should not go over 50 ml per colony of ten frame deeps. If the hive has more than 10 seams, dribble where the most bees are. Alternately, you can give less than five milliliters per seam and do more than 10 seams, but you should not go over five milliliters in any one seam or 50 ml total per colony. My hives have two deeps, one directly over the other so the liquid dribbles down through both deeps.

Remember to apply the mixture directly onto the bees. Mixture that lands on the woodenware will be ignored by the bees and not moved throughout the colony.

As stated above, I found the technique used by a reputable beekeeper that practiced using a one to one (by volume) sugar to syrup mix in the a.m. and going back through with the oxalic mix dribble three to four hours later.

One last note: My research found that it is not recommended to store unused oxalic acid mixture for more than a day or two as it loses its potency over time. Discard any unused portion. Oxalic acid may be neutralized by adding bicarbonate of soda. This will produce bubbles of carbon dioxide that will dissipate without hazard in a normal environment. Once the acid has been neutralized, the addition of more bicarbonate of soda will not produce any more bubbles. The neutralized solution may then be disposed of by tipping it down the drain. It is worth noting that although oxalic acid is not classed as an RCRA hazardous waste, it is worth exercising some care when handling it. As noted before, oxalic acid occurs in a very mild form in rhubarb and leafy greens. Whether using Formic-Pro, oxalic acid dribble or any other chemical application, follow the manufacturer’s instructions or thoroughly research a reputable source before using any mite mitigating chemical. Your beekeeping experience could vary based on your environmental conditions, experience or state of your hives. But if you are looking for some additional winterization techniques, you might give some of these a try.