Are thinking about taking up beekeeping as your new hobby? Before you dive in, you need to know that no matter how much research you do before you actually practice, beekeeping will take a bit more of your time than you might think. To be a good beekeeper, you must continually assess how your bees are doing, how healthy your bees are, and continually learn how to be better.
No two years will be the same when it comes to taking care of bees. That being said, there are definitely some months of the year that your bees will take more time, and others less so. This all depends on the season and temperature. Spring is the busiest time for bees and beekeepers. During this time, bees are the most active, therefore, beekeepers must continually check them to see they’re doing well, and if their honey needs extracting. In the summer, this is when much preparation must be had to make sure your bees will survive the incoming winter. During the colder months, your hives must stay shut, but should be checked every couple of weeks.
Beekeeping season
This is the most important time of the year as a beekeeper because this is the most eventful time of the year for your bees. At the start of spring, your queen bee will start laying more and more eggs so your colony will use up more and more of their food supply. Be sure to keep a close eye at your colonies to make sure they have enough food so they won’t die of starvation.
You may do your quick check during sunny days when bees are outside so you won’t disturb them as much. If you see that their food is running low, do an emergency feeding. While you’re at the hive, take the time to check if the bees coming in have collected pollen for the younger ones.
As the flowers start to bloom around your hive, this is the best time to put a mark on your queen. This is so you won’t lose her in your abundance of bees. Take this time to check whether you need to replace some frames on your hive and to remove brace combs.
At the last leg of spring, continue inspecting your colonies and watch out for signs of swarming. This is also when you’ll be adding a super and a queen excluder to your colony.
The slowest time of the year
Winter is the most chill time as a beekeeper, pardon the pun. While your hives must still be monitored to make sure that snow isn’t blocking the entrance and to see if your bees still have enough food. Unless you have to start emergency feeding your colony, there’s really not much to do other than the routine cleaning and repair of your equipment, and checking.
If you’re looking for things to do at this time, might we suggest reading up on what’s new in the beekeeping world, attending bee club meetings, and maybe try out a new hobby like making beeswax wraps and candles.
Common questions about beekeeping
Is beekeeping safe?
Beekeeping can actually be pretty dangerous especially if you or someone in your community has a bee sting allergy, or simply don’t like being around bees. This is simply because there is always a possibility for a sting.
As a precaution, here are some things you should know:
- You must choose a good location, away from where a lot of people converge (eg. schools, other houses)
- Let your community know that you will be keeping bees.
- Always be prepared.
What is a brace comb?
Brace combs is a type of comb bees make to support their honeycombs from falling. Brace combs can make it difficult for beekeepers to properly inspect the beehive. It’s best to remove them early before they get out of hand.
There are also some instances when you shouldn’t remove the brace comb. This is if you’re using a modified top bar hive. Taking out the brace comb may cause the honeycomb to fall down, ruining them, and at worse cases, even killing your bees.
What can I use as an emergency bee food?
You may have read about people feeding exhausted bees with sugar water. This is perfectly fine for that situation, but it won’t do if you’re trying to feed a whole hive full of bees for an extended period of time. You may instead use candy boards, candy fondant, or even good old’ honey.
Conclusion
Beekeeping is not just a small hobby you can do on the side, it’s better to think of it as a full on lifestyle because of how much time it will take. The busiest time of the year for beekeepers will be during spring and summer, while winter tends to be a bit calmer.
