Summer has arrived, and with that beekeepers will be transitioning through a series of beekeeping activities. During the early part of summer, beekeepers are busy splitting hives to increase colony numbers and to reduce swarm pressure, and all hives will return to apiaries after providing pollination to wild blueberries throughout the Maritimes. Throughout July and August, beekeepers will be supering hives to collect honey, and eventually will extract it.  Mid-summer is also when queen rearing will occur. Finally, beekeepers are continually monitoring for pests and diseases throughout the summer months and will work towards building strong and healthy colonies for Fall. Read this week’s blog for an overview of the various activities of beekeepers, and the bees, throughout the summer months.

Beekeeper’s Calendar Series: Summer

In the later half of June all colonies of honey bees will be returned from pollinating wild blueberry fields across the Maritimes. These bees have completed an important role in crop production, and it is time for them to return to their apiary to be cared for by the beekeeper. Pollination can put stress on honey bees, so it is crucial for beekeepers to monitor for pests and diseases when bees return and provide treatment when indicated¹.

During the early parts of summer bees are busy foraging for nectar and pollen. Colonies are continuing to grow throughout the month of June, and it is important that beekeepers keep up with the rate of growth by splitting colonies¹. Typically, the month of June is an ideal time for beekeepers to grow their number of colonies and operation size by splitting.

Nectar brought in by honey bees (ATTTA©2021)

Honey will be produced and extracted throughout the summer months. During a nectar flow, beekeepers need to be on top of supering their hives, as bees will need room to store the nectar they collect¹. Beekeepers also need to be mindful of any mite treatments that occurred prior placing honey supers.  Apivar® has a two-week withdrawal period prior to placing supers. Also, most treatments for Varroa mites cannot occur while supers are present, so beekeepers need to be proactive about monitoring and treating mites prior to the start of a nectar flow¹.

As honey is produced throughout the summer, beekeepers will begin extracting and packaging honey, or will pay an external operation to do extraction for them. There are many options available for extracting equipment and the choice of equipment will be dependent on the operation size¹. There is also an opportunity for beekeepers to collect wax during the extraction process, which can be used to make candles and other value-added products¹.

During the months of July and August is also when beekeepers may invest time into rearing queens within their operation. Depending on the interests of the beekeeper, they may facilitate a colony making their own queen, or they may rear multiple queens using grafting techniques¹. Queen rearing requires detailed planning, following a strict timeline, lots of bees, and specialized equipment¹. Beekeepers should have few years of experience prior to starting queen rearing within their operation.

From mid-July to early-August bees are likely to encounter a dearth period¹. Beekeepers should refrain from activities that promote robbing, such as avoiding hive inspections during a dearth¹. Beekeepers should also reduce the entrances of small and/or weak colonies, and feed colonies if necessary¹. This dearth period will continue until the bloom of golden rod and aster later in the summer. Much of the honey produced from golden rod and aster will remain in the hive and stored for Winter¹.  

Towards the end of summer, a beekeeper’s main focus should be on boosting colony strength, and continually monitoring for pests and diseases prior to the onset of Fall/Water. Many beekeeper’s strive to collect late nectar flows by placing supers, but they must be mindful of the sometimes-abrupt drop in temperature come Fall. There may only be a limited amount of time to get Fall-feed into the bees, so beekeepers need to quickly transition from Summer to Fall activities come mid-September.

To continue learning about a beekeeper’s calendar, read the final blog in the series coming this Fall.

References

1. Sammataro, D. and Avitabile, A., 2021. The beekeeper’s handbook fifth addition. Cornell University Press.