June 2022 in the Bee Yard
Chris Hagwood
Well, the sweet life of spring in the bee yard is over for now. Easy going days with low humidity. Bees that almost welcome you to come look in the hive and see what they made. It’s coming to an end. Our spring flow is all but over, with only a trickle of nectar sources available. While a large colony with lots of resources might be able to add some honey to your supers, it’s not likely. A honey harvest is appropriate any time now. Be sure to leave plenty for the bees as they will need it for the next 3 to 4 months and will still likely need additional feeding by the beekeeper.
The bees have already realized that there isn’t enough nectar for everyone and they’ve begun to look for anything with sugar in it to make do. This is my primary motivation to harvest honey as soon as the flow is over, as I would prefer to know for sure that none of my honey contains non-floral sources of sugar such as hummingbird feeders, sugar soda residues, etc.
I’ve been removing full combs of nectar all spring, often leaving them in the bee truck or the garage for the afternoon until I find another colony that needs help. But those are now attracting lots of foraging scouts that will lead a robbing party if it’s available to them. That’s a sure sign that the dearth is upon us.
Unlike spring, with more than enough nectar to go around, our dearth is a challenge in several ways: First is food for new bees. While honey stores can and will be consumed, bees prefer new nectar they store near the brood nest to feed brood. Uncapping and rehydrating honey is a last resort for them. Save them the effort by providing 1:1 syrup if you’re building out the colony. Second is comb building. The shortage of nectar makes it difficult to stimulate the colony to build comb. You’re unlikely to get additional frames of comb built once the dearth sets in. This isn’t universal, but if you find they are simply refusing to build comb on the last 2 or 3 frames, it’s not you.
Depending on the stores of honey in the hive, starvation is a real threat to honeybees during the dearth. Many unassuming beekeepers have called in state inspectors to check for poisoning only to find that it was actually starvation that killed their bees. Keep a check for ample stores in the hive and feed when in doubt. Your bees need two or more frames heavy with wet nectar/honey at all times, and a full super of cured honey is ideal.
The worst part of the dearth is robbing. Forager bees that can’t find nectar will scout for weak colonies of bees to rob. Always probing, they will report back and lead a robbing party and empty a hive of all the stored honey in a matter of hours. The result is often a dead colony with telltale wax cappings littering the bottom board and scattered in front on the ground. There are many devices and home made gadgets to guard the entrance to hives. Find what you like and put it on the front for the rest of the year. Only the strongest colonies can guard a wide-open entrance on their own.
Lastly, the heat APPEARS to be a problem, but it’s more of a problem for the BEEKEEPER. With the arrival of heat, new beekeepers stress over the appearance of bearding bees. It’s important to remember that bees want the brood nest of the hive to remain at 94 degrees and 50% humidity at all times. That’s very uncomfortable for us, but it’s fine for them. So bearding for a bee colony is merely making room inside the hive to circulate air. House bees will move fresh air into and through the hive, exhausting excess heat and both drying honey and providing moisture for bee larvae. I simply provide a screened entrance reducer and solid bottoms so they can guard the hive while allowing them room to move plenty of air. You do not need to provide special ventilation in the bottom board or the covers, as the bees know how to do this on their own. Ventilated covers are probably not detrimental, but aren’t necessary., 
If your bees are only finding area swimming pools for a water source, last month was a good time to get them using one you provided. It may be too late to break them from using a swimming pool, but it’s never too late to provide clean water for the hive. You can even fill feeder jars with water and use them instead of syrup.
And of course, now that honey production is over and supers can be removed, it’s an excellent time to assess mite levels and take action. Use https://honeybeehealthcoalition.org/varroatool/ to assist you in decisions on when and how to treat.
To summarize:
- HARVEST honey from your full size colonies that produced a surplus.
- FEED bee colonies. Even those with surplus honey can use thin syrup to aid in brood rearing.
- REDUCE entrances to protect against robbing.
- Give your bees clean WATER so they have it to dilute honey and cool the hive.
- CHECK levels and treat for varroa mites if infestation levels have exceeded recommended thresholds.
