Seasonal Management

Maintain your hive all year round by following our seasonal management recommendations.

Browse our monthly recommendations below or download the seasonal management guide.

January

• Super up.
• Extract honey.

February

• Harvest honey and treat for varroa (remember to alternate treatment types).
• Carry out disease inspections once honey is removed.
• Extract honey.
• Late summer queen rearing.
• Check for wasps.

March

• Test for varroa mite levels and treat if necessary.
• Extract honey.
• Re-queen hives.
• Check for wasp damage.
• Sell or store honey crop.
• Store honey supers.

April

• Remove any varroa treatment products applied in February.
• Apply varroa treatments if necessary.
• Prepare hives for wintering down:
  » Feed check
  » Disease check
  » Scrape surplus wax and propolis from hive parts
  » Check bottom boards and fit entrance reducers
  » Replace rotten hive parts or tape up any holes to
  minimise robbing by bees or wasps
  » Control weed growth and check hives are
  protected from stock
  » Apply mouse bait if necessary

May

• Test for varroa mite levels and treat if necessary.
• Remove any varroa treatment products applied in March.
• Feed sugar syrup if needed.
• Winter hives down.
• Bring in any empty supers still on hives.
• Sort combs before storage.
• Freeze combs for wax moth control.

June

• Render down wax.
• Make up new equipment for coming season.

July

• Remove any varroa treatment products applied in May.
• Make up new equipment for replacement or increase of hives.

August

• Prepare for new season’s work.
• Get queen-raising equipment if you are going to rear your own queens.
• Assemble feeding equipment and supplies of sugar.
• Check grass spraying or cutting gear.
• Assemble frames for new season and have wax or plastic foundation on hand.

September

• Apply a varroa treatment if mite levels are too high.
• Check all brood frames for American foulbrood.
• Feed if necessary.
• Spray or cut vegetation around the hives.
• Stimulate queen rearing hives or any hives you want to split.
• Hives can be split late in the month, or when ambient air temperatures are above 17 degrees.
• Unite any weak or queenless hives with stronger queenright hives, especially if you prefer not to increase hive numbers.
• Prepare for queen raising programme.

October

• Apply varroa treatment if hives are showing mite damage, or there are more than 40 mites per 300 bees after a sugar shake test.
• Remove entrance reducers.
• Feed if necessary.
• Check pollen stores and feed supplements if required.
• Check all brood frames for American foulbrood (remove all bees from the frames first).
• Conduct swarm check.
• Re-queen hives with mated queens or queen cells.
• Split hives.

November

• Remove any varroa strip treatment products applied in early September.
• Check that treatments have worked, especially if using organic treatments.
• Feed.
• Check pollen levels.
• Conduct disease checks.
• Carring out queen rearing.
• Conduct swarm checks.
• Super up hives.
• Re-queen hives if required.

December

• Make up nucleus hives.
• Conduct swam checks.
• Super up.
• Prepare honey house equipment.
• Harvest and extract early crops, especially if in the city.