This month is much like May, except the hive will have more bees. The honey and pollen flows continue. The days are long enough that the bees can fly for 14 to 16 hours a day, and they will.
There is now plenty of drone brood, which is ideal for varroa reproduction. It’s too early to treat for varroa, but it’s good to look for these mites by uncapping and examining the capped drone brood cells. (See the KSU publication “The Varroa Mite: an external parasite of honey bees”.)
Read MoreIn May and June you and the bees are rewarded, or disappointed, by how well you prepared for the honey flow. You may also be busy keeping up with your bees. Serious beekeepers do not take long vacations in May.
Read MoreWe are happy to bring you part 2 of the OTS Field day, where we go in our KBA club hives and look for the queen cells we initiated in part 1.
Read MoreI am happy to share that even though we were not able to hold a field day, we did compile a video for you on OTS queen rearing so that you can follow along on how to do splits on your hives to prevent swarming, increase your bee population, reduce mites, and/or run for honey!
Read MoreBy April, the bees have made it over the hump. The problems they faced in March have not completely disappeared, but a healthy hive needs only a little nurturing now. Brood rearing should really increase through this month. If it does not, your hive has serious problems. As the warmer weather comes, look for many bees returning with pollen loads. The stronger hives will have a significant amount of drone brood in preparation for the mating season.
Read MoreMarch is a critical time for the bees. The bees will thrive or suffer depending on weather and your management. Tracheal mites, starvation, and nosema disease are the main enemies at this time.
Read MoreAll the information you need from John Benham’s presentation on Catching Swarms with Bait Hives in order to build your own boxes and get free bees!
Read MoreBeekeeping is addictive. Bee fever is contagious. I have known so many budding beekeepers who jump into this hobby with little planning or consideration because of the craft’s ability to capture its practitioners. There is a lot more to beekeeping than simply having a hive of bees from which you can harvest honey any time you want. One must have skill, knowledge, persistence, and a little luck to succeed at this craft.
Read MoreThe bees keep their winter cluster intact, except on the occasional sunny days in the 50’s and above when the bees can fly. The queen begins to lay eggs, and brood rearing begins in the largest, healthiest hives.
Read MoreThe December holiday party will be a fun event, get your edible honey product, honey dessert, and black jar entries ready!!!
Read MoreIt was really nice to be able to show everyone our club hives for the first time at the Louisville Nature Center. They are doing very well and we were able to pull some honey from them to show how to extract in beautifully capped frames.
Read MoreMike Hofelich has been working on removing hives in structures.
Read MoreWe met for a field day at Hope Community Farms in the Iroquois neighborhood and went over hive inspections.
Read MoreSwarms were installed on the KBA hives at the Louisville Nature Center.
Read MoreKBA leadership and the Louisville Nature Center collaborated on establishing KBA honeybee hives on their property.
Read MoreKBA President reviewed the Spring Beekeeping Checklist and went over how to make OTS Spring starts.
Read MoreThe KBA is a public volunteer-led beekeeping club serving
Louisville, Kentucky & Southern Indiana
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