Beekeeping Through the Seasons - A Year in the Apiary
Beekeeping is not a set-it-and-forget-it hobby. What your bees need in January is completely different from what they need in July. Chapter 11 of Backyard Farming: Keeping Honey Bees by Kim Pezza walks through the entire year, season by season, so you know what to expect and when.
If you only read one chapter of this book as a new beekeeper, this might be the one.
Winter: Survival Mode
Winter is the hardest season for bees and beekeepers. This is when most colony losses happen.
The number one mistake new beekeepers make is not leaving enough honey for the bees to eat through winter. Your colony needs between 60 and 80 pounds of honey to survive the cold months. That is a lot. When you are tempted to harvest just a little more in the fall, remember that number.
Bees do not hibernate. They form a tight cluster inside the hive and vibrate their wing muscles to generate heat. The queen stays in the center where it is warmest. The workers rotate from the cold outer edges to the warm interior and back. It is an impressive survival strategy, but it only works if they have enough food.
Drones get the short end of the deal. They are forced out of the hive before winter because they consume resources but do not contribute to heat generation or any other winter task. Harsh, but practical.
Winter Problems
Bad ventilation is a common issue. Moisture from the bee cluster rises, hits the cold inner cover, and forms ice. When that ice melts, water drips back down onto the bees. Wet bees in cold weather die fast.
The fix is a top hive entrance that allows moist air to escape. Some beekeepers also use moisture boards or insulated inner covers.
You should also check for parasites and diseases in the fall before winter starts. Treating a sick colony in the middle of January is not fun for you or the bees.
On warm winter days, you might see bees flying outside the hive. Do not panic. They are taking cleansing flights, which is their version of a bathroom break. They do not relieve themselves inside the hive, so they need the occasional warm day to fly out.
Spring: Unpredictable and Exciting
Spring is when things start happening again, but the weather can be all over the place. One week it is warm enough for bees to forage. The next week there is a cold snap that keeps them inside.
Splitting Hives
Spring is a great time to split your hives. Splitting means taking part of a strong colony and creating a new one from it. Think of it like dividing a plant.
There are several good reasons to split:
- Reduces colony size, which discourages swarming
- Helps with mite control by disrupting the mite reproduction cycle
- Increases your hive count without buying new bees
The new hive will need a queen. You can let the bees raise their own from existing eggs or larvae, or you can introduce a purchased queen.
Spring Feeding
Your bees might need supplemental food in early spring. The colony is growing, the queen is ramping up egg production, but flowers may not be blooming yet. A sugar syrup feeder can bridge the gap until natural pollen and nectar become accessible.
Summer: Peak Activity
Summer is when your bees are at their busiest. They are foraging hard, building comb, and making honey.
Water
One thing a lot of new beekeepers overlook is water. A colony needs between a quart and a gallon of water per day during hot weather. That is a significant amount.
Set up water sources near your hive. Shallow dishes or pans with rocks, marbles, or floating corks give the bees something to land on while they drink. Bees are not great swimmers, so they need a perch. Without a nearby water source, your bees will find one on their own, and that might be your neighbor’s pool or dog bowl.
Heat Management
Ventilation is critical in summer. Screen bottom boards help with airflow. If your hive is in full sun and you notice the beeswax starting to soften or melt, your bees need shade. A simple shade structure or strategic hive placement under a tree can make a big difference.
The bees themselves help with cooling. They fan their wings at the hive entrance to create airflow, and they spread water inside the hive for evaporative cooling.
Fall: Harvest and Prepare
Fall is honey harvest time, and it is also when you start preparing for winter. These two goals are in tension with each other, because every pound of honey you take is a pound your bees will not have for winter.
Harvest Smart
Take what you can, but always leave enough. That 60 to 80 pounds of honey for winter is not negotiable. If it has been a bad year for nectar flow, you might not be able to harvest at all. That is just how it goes sometimes.
Disease and Parasite Check
Fall is your last good window to inspect and treat for diseases and parasites before winter. Do not skip this. A colony going into winter with a varroa mite problem or a brewing infection is a colony that probably will not make it to spring.
Winter Prep
Here is your fall checklist:
- Reduce the hive entrance so it is easier for bees to defend and helps block cold drafts
- Ensure good ventilation to prevent moisture buildup
- Install mouse guards because mice will absolutely move into a warm hive if given the chance
- Check food stores and supplement with sugar syrup if needed
The queen slows down and eventually stops laying eggs in late fall. Drones are driven out of the hive. The colony is shrinking to its winter core.
Re-queening
Some beekeepers choose to re-queen in the fall if their queen is in her second season. The reasoning is that older queens have roughly a 50% chance of surviving winter. A young, strong queen going into winter gives the colony better odds.
Keep a Calendar
Kim Pezza recommends keeping a yearly beekeeping calendar, especially in your first few years. Write down when you did inspections, what you found, when you treated for mites, when the first flowers bloomed, when you harvested, and what the weather was like.
This log becomes incredibly valuable over time. Beekeeping is local and seasonal. What works in your specific area, with your specific weather patterns, is something you learn through observation and record-keeping. A calendar helps you spot patterns and avoid repeating mistakes.
The Cycle Continues
Beekeeping is a year-round commitment. There is no off-season, just seasons with different tasks. Winter is about keeping bees alive. Spring is about growth. Summer is about production. Fall is about harvesting and preparing for winter again.
Once you have been through the full cycle once, the second year feels way more manageable. You know what is coming. You know what to look for. And your bees, if you have taken care of them, will be ready for another year.
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