I
start getting ready for next spring in mid to late July just after honey is
pulled and extracted.
I
prep for overwinter nuc production in May and order queens for late July or
early August shipment. This supplies replacement queens for hives with questionable
brood conditions with the balance going into summer nuc production or sold to
others
Mite
treatment is applied just after the honey crop is removed. I select the product
based on temperature, available time for treatment and nuc production plans
Apivar,
Apiguard and Apilife var are my current summer products of choice.
The
goal is to have 10 to 15 five frame hives that are three supers tall with a two
frame internal feeder – a total of 13 frames ready by late fall. I use a new
queen in these nucs.
After
mite treatment finishes, nucs are made and any hive with a failing queen gets
the queen replaced
After
this, management is limited to checking hives for brood conditions, combining weak
hives, moving frames out of overly strong hives, maximizing winter food and
pollen storage, woodenware condition review and correcting as needed. It is
also the time to continue mite testing and treat again if needed.
My
standard winter configuration is 3 to 4 medium supers regardless of equipment
style – 10 frame, 8 frame or 5 frame
The
goal for regular hives is to have the top super full of capped honey with the next
one down mostly capped honey with some brood being normal
Nucs
follow the same pattern except the internal feeder takes two frame spaces and
can be back filled with frames from a stronger hive or stored honey just before
cold weather
I
start feeding fondant in late January to the hives that are deemed to light
when lifting the back of the hive. Nucs are fed fondant when a day is available
to open the hive.
Queens
for spring nuc production or re-queening are ordered in January as soon as the
supplier will accept my order.
