Honey Bee Management

                                                                         by Jim Harris

For the Columbus, Georgia area, what is shown is the maximum of medication and management to give a hive.  Wild honeybees do not get any of this management, and still put up several gallons of honey.  To get more honey, maybe up twenty gallsons per hive, follow the procedures below.

                                                                  August:  This starts the honeybee year:

Complete extracting.

Leave at least a shallow super full of honey for bees to winter on.

Check for mites, treats if mites are found:

Reduce entrance with screen wire or 1/8 inch hardware cloth.

Treat for tracheal mites with patties (1lb Crisco, 3lb granulated sugar, mix thoroughly, makes about 12 patties)

                                                                 September:

Get new equipment for next year, foundation can not be shipped in cold weather.

If you did not medicate for varroa mites, recheck there may be more.

                                                                October:

Requeen all hives

Dust with terramycin:  3 times @ 5 day intervals for foulbrood.

Check all stored equipment for wax moths.

Check all hives for robbing.

                                                               November

Put new equipment, together, paint if needed.

Feed suger water, 2 parts sugar, 1 part water with fumadil-B, for Nosema.

                                                              December

Continue putting equipment together and painting.

Check to make sure moist air can get out of  the hive.

                                                              January

Keep checking the equipment to make sure it will be ready for the honey flow. (the outside temperature should be above 45 degrees farenheight before removing the brood)

Last 2 weeks check for mites.   Feed sugar water; 1 part sugar, 1 part water with Fumidil-B.

Dust with terramycin, 3 times @ 5 day intervals.

                                                            February

Make sure the queen has lots of room to lay eggs.  Put in several empty or new foundation frames, in the brood chamber.

                                                            March

(Make sure the Fumidil-B and the terramycin are completed before the 15th, which is 4 weeks before the honey flow.)

Add honey supers and queen excluders

Reverse brood chambers and clean bottom board.

Check for swarm cells.

Add grease patties.

Put out swarm traps.

Put 2 frames with foundation in each brood chamber.

                                                        April

Re-reverse brood chambers, after about 3 weeks.

Check for swarm cells.  (Swarm season is most of this month)

Add honey super if upper super is being worked

Honey flow starts around 15th of the month.

Put weak hives together.

                                                   May

Check every 2 weeks to see if upper super is being worked.

Put weak hives together.

                                                June

Honey flow is strong.

Do not add supers after 10 June.

                                              July

Honey flow ends around 10 July.

Get ready to remove and -or extract.

                                             Jim Harris

                                      3433 Pontiac Drive

                                      Columbus, Georgia 31907

                                       (706) 563-4186

**For the Small Hive Beetle:  CHECKMITE  do not use during honey flow.