Arkansas Beekeeping Calendar
Updated
At a glance
Filled: at or over its phase's thresholdOutlined: under itGrey: phase not recorded
| March: the Arkansas calendar asks for a mite check. “You may inspect the hive on warm days to estimate food stores and see how much brood is present. Evaluate the brood pattern and decide if requeening may be in order. If you plan to medicate the hive for varroa mites or nosema, treatments should be timed according to label recommendations so they are finished before the honey flow begins (usually about 4 weeks).” |
| April: the Arkansas calendar asks for a mite check. “Spring is in full swing. Foraging activity and brood production should be in high gear. Crowded hives are likely to swarm. As brood increases, Varroa mite populations may begin to increase.” |
| August: the Arkansas calendar asks for a mite check. “Ensure that bees have access to clean water. Watch out for robbing activities, which may indicate a weak colony. In some locations, honey should be harvested before bitterweeds bloom and ruin the flavor of the entire crop. Bees may tend to be cranky and more prone to stinging during times of dearth, so be careful opening hives. Varroa mite levels will be reaching peak numbers.” |
| October: the Arkansas calendar asks for a mite check. “Colonies may require some feeding to ready them for winter. Fall feeding is done with 2:1 (sugar:water) syrup. Mite treatments should be removed at the appropriate time (consult product label). Mouse-guards can be installed. Watch for robbing activities.” |
Every month in the Arkansas calendar comes in two parts, labelled Bees and Beekeepers: the first describes what the colony is doing, the second lists what to do about it. Both halves of all twelve months are below, under their own headings.
- Publisher
- University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service
- Date
- Undated
- Organized
- Month by month
- Mite checks
- March, April, August and October Mite checks section
On this page
The Arkansas extension calendar is built on a single idea, and it states it up front: "This information is meant to be a general guide to some of the main activities of honey bees during each month of the year. Being mindful of the bees' activities can help beekeepers to schedule their activities as well."
So every month has two labelled halves. One is headed "Bees:" and describes the colony — where the queen is, whether drones are around, how fast the population is moving. The other is headed "Beekeepers:" and lists the jobs. The pairing is the useful part, because a task usually reads as a response to the paragraph above it, and both halves are kept below rather than merged into one list.
The page is careful about how firmly it should be read. "Many local factors - particularly the weather and temperature, abundance of floral resources, and the presence of hive pests - will influence the exact timing of beekeeping chores. This is merely a suggested checklist for beekeepers to consider throughout the year. Nectar flows can vary considerably each year and in each region of the state." No date is printed on the page, so the note below records it as undated rather than guessing.
The calendar
Bees
January
- With temperatures still low, the queen bee should be deep in the cluster, surrounded by workers. These workers will consume a considerable amount of honey to generate the heat needed to survive the winter.
- In years with very mild winters, the queen may begin to produce a small brood nest, even though pollen may not yet be available.
February
- The queen will be spending a lot of time in the cluster, but a few warm days will lure some workers outside to investigate. When the first spring flowers begin to bloom, they will return with pollen.
- Increased activity and brood-rearing will cause the bees to consume a substantial amount of stored honey this month.
March
- Days grow longer and warmer, and hive activity increases. As pollen-collection increases, the queen's egg-laying will increase.
- Drones will begin to appear in the hive. If conditions are good, early swarms are possible.
April
- (mite check) Spring is in full swing. Foraging activity and brood production should be in high gear. Crowded hives are likely to swarm. As brood increases, Varroa mite populations may begin to increase.
Check a mite count with the varroa calculator.
May
- In the hill areas of Arkansas, the spring honey flow will be near its peak toward the end of May. Bees will be foraging constantly and the queen can be laying in excess of 1500 eggs per day.
June
- The bee populations are high, and hive activity is bustling. If the weather is favorable, nectar and pollen will continue to be brought in vigorously.
July
- As the weather trends toward hotter and drier, the nectar flow typically ends in the hill areas. The queen's egg production may also slow somewhat.
August
- Colony growth rate slows as the nectar flow dries up in hill areas; bees will still forage for clean water. During times of summer dearth, bees can often consume more honey than they are storing.
September
- Cooler, wetter weather may produce a fall nectar flow, allowing bees to collect more winter stores. Drones may evicted from the hives as workers sense changes in temperature and food availability.
October
- The queen's egg-laying continues to decrease, and the colony population will also decline. No more drones will be produced, and those remaining will be expelled from the hive.
November
- As the weather turns cold, bee activity will be reduced outside the hive. The temperature will send bees into a loose cluster as necessary.
December
- The bees are in a tight cluster, alternating between generating heat with their wing muscles and resting and eating on the outside of the cluster. The queen is taking a much-needed break from egg production.
Beekeepers
January
- Check the food supply of the hive periodically by gently tilting the hive forward to judge whether the bees have sufficient honey stores. If not, they may require emergency feeding.
- In windy areas, place a brick or rock on top of your hives to keep the lid in place. Now is the time to order new equipment, build and repair hives, frames and other woodenware for the coming season.
February
- Check the bees' food supply, and provide emergency feeding if needed. Continue to read up on bees. Attend your local beekeeping association meetings. Finish your workshop chores so that all your hives are ready for spring.
March
- (mite check) You may inspect the hive on warm days to estimate food stores and see how much brood is present. Evaluate the brood pattern and decide if requeening may be in order. If you plan to medicate the hive for varroa mites or nosema, treatments should be timed according to label recommendations so they are finished before the honey flow begins (usually about 4 weeks).
- Reverse brood chambers to provide the queen adequate space to lay eggs. If hives were overwintered in a single hive body, consider adding another brood chamber to accommodate the spring population. Remove entrance reducers.
- Keep an eye out for queen cells, which you can use to divide a rapidly increasing colony. Pollen patties can help boost the population in advance of the nectar flow.
- Once adult drones are seen in colonies, it is safe to begin rearing queens.
Check a mite count with the varroa calculator.
April
- For strong, established colonies, feeding should cease as the main spring honey flow begins. Examine the hive every 8-10 days for queen cells and swarming activities.
May
- Some beekeepers will add a queen excluder to prevent brood in the honey supers. Be sure that the queen has sufficient comb for egg-laying. Super all hives as needed.
- Many beekeepers will add new supers below those that are capped, so that bees don't have to travel through to add honey to empty combs.
June
- Hives should be checked weekly to ensure the colonies are healthy and the queen is laying. Provide adequate room for both brood and honey. Monitor pest populations but avoid chemical treatments before the honey is harvested.
July
- Continue to regularly check hives for colony health and activity, monitor for pests, and ensure adequate room for honey stores. Ensure that bees have access to fresh water during dry periods. Honey may be harvested as soon as it is capped.
August
- (mite check) Ensure that bees have access to clean water. Watch out for robbing activities, which may indicate a weak colony. In some locations, honey should be harvested before bitterweeds bloom and ruin the flavor of the entire crop. Bees may tend to be cranky and more prone to stinging during times of dearth, so be careful opening hives. Varroa mite levels will be reaching peak numbers.
Check a mite count with the varroa calculator.
September
- Any remaining honey is harvested. Each colony will need about 50-60 pounds of honey for winter. After honey is removed, medications for colony pests can be applied. Some beekeepers will requeen colonies now, temporarily breaking the brood cycle and encouraging good egg-laying by young queens in the early spring.
October
- (mite check) Colonies may require some feeding to ready them for winter. Fall feeding is done with 2:1 (sugar:water) syrup. Mite treatments should be removed at the appropriate time (consult product label). Mouse-guards can be installed. Watch for robbing activities.
Check a mite count with the varroa calculator.
November
- Install entrance reducers. Finish winter feeding.
December
- Leave your bees alone. Periodically test winter stores by gently tilting the hive, but do not open the lid. Order new tools and supplies for spring and get all of your equipment in order.
The hill areas set the rhythm
Three of the Bees paragraphs locate the flow rather than the state, and all three use the same phrase. May: "In the hill areas of Arkansas, the spring honey flow will be near its peak toward the end of May." July: "As the weather trends toward hotter and drier, the nectar flow typically ends in the hill areas." August: "Colony growth rate slows as the nectar flow dries up in hill areas; bees will still forage for clean water."
That matters for anyone keeping bees elsewhere in Arkansas, because the summer half of the calendar is keyed to the end of a flow that the page places in one part of the state. September's Bees paragraph then reopens the possibility: "Cooler, wetter weather may produce a fall nectar flow, allowing bees to collect more winter stores."
Dearth, robbing and a harvest deadline
The August Beekeepers entry is entirely about a colony with nothing coming in. It asks for clean water, and for a watch on robbing, which "may indicate a weak colony". It sets a harvest deadline tied to a plant: "In some locations, honey should be harvested before bitterweeds bloom and ruin the flavor of the entire crop." And it warns about temper, with a reason attached: bees "may tend to be cranky and more prone to stinging during times of dearth, so be careful opening hives."
September is when the calendar expects the year's honey to be finished — "Any remaining honey is harvested" — and puts a figure on winter stores per colony. Requeening is offered there as an option with a rationale, "temporarily breaking the brood cycle and encouraging good egg-laying by young queens in the early spring."
Mite checks
In the calendar's month order, mites come up first in March, in the Beekeepers half, and the rule set there is about honey rather than about mites — treatments "should be timed according to label recommendations so they are finished before the honey flow begins". April's Bees paragraph is the first to tie them to brood: "As brood increases, Varroa mite populations may begin to increase." June repeats March's logic from the other end, asking you to monitor pests but to "avoid chemical treatments before the honey is harvested."
August states the year's peak in one line: "Varroa mite levels will be reaching peak numbers." October's entry is the tidy-up, with treatments to be "removed at the appropriate time (consult product label)".
No mite level or count is printed above. The varroa calculator takes a wash, roll or sticky-board figure and shows what the current Honey Bee Health Coalition guidance says about it.
Mite-check reminders for the Arkansas calendar
One short email in each month the Arkansas calendar asks for a mite check. Nothing else.