Beekeeping Calendar for the Northeast

January

• When inspecting a colony in winter, it is not necessary to open it. Do a quick external inspection, visual and auditory, to check the cluster.
• You can open the hive if it is relatively warm and windless outside, but do not pull frames or break open the cluster if it is below 50ºF.
• Check if the colony is light on food stores (you can tell by gently hefting the hive)… If so, use dry sugar, fondant, or a candy board on a warm day.
• Order any replacement bees (packages, nucs, or queens) as soon as possible; producers generally run out fast.
• Check any stored equipment for pests such as wax moths.
• Take inventory. Fix, clean/sterilize, purchase, assemble, and paint equipment as needed.
• Ensure that the hive cover is properly secured.
• Remove ice blocking the hive entrance, to give the colonies better ventilation.
• Don’t forget to renew your membership in your local beekeeping club and get their meetings on your calendar.

February

• When inspecting a colony in the winter, it is not necessary to open it. See the January guidelines for evaluating its health.
• Colonies are at a higher risk of starvation as the winter progresses. Depending on a number of factors (winter weather, fall stores), the bees’ stores could be running low, since they do not ration their food.
• Finish fixing, cleaning/sterilizing, buying, assembling, or painting equipment as needed.
• As in January, ensure that the hive cover is properly secured, check for animal pests, remove ice blocking the entrance, and don’t worry about a few dead bees on the snow outside the hive.
• Consider teaching a unit in your local beekeeping club’s bee school.

March

• When inspecting a colony in the winter, it is not necessary to open it. See the January guidelines for evaluating its health.
• Most colonies that starve die in late winter or early spring. They need more food for brood rearing, but cannot yet forage. At this point, they should have at least 3-4 combs full of honey.
• The location/proximity of the bees to their food stores is key. If the cluster is far to one side of the food stores, you can carefully move it closer, keeping it together while you do so, or move frames of honey closer to it.
• You might consider feeding pollen substitute or supplement to support or further stimulate egg laying. If you do so, be sure to use clean pollen.
• If you plan to rear queens this year, lavishly feed the cell finisher colony chosen in the fall (carbohydrates and protein) for early spring buildup.
• (mite check) Mites are breeding in the colony. There is no need to monitor and treat just yet, but be aware that the mite population is starting to rise.
• Your equipment should be fixed, cleaned, bought, assembled, or painted by now.

Check a mite count with the varroa calculator.

April

• On the warmest days, you can quickly inspect a colony’s brood pattern and food stores, taking care not to chill the brood.
• If the bottom brood chamber is empty, move it to the top of the brood nest. Doing so before a day or two of warm temperatures will help brood survive the move.
• After installing a new package or nuc, allow two weeks for the colony to establish before an inspection.
• Feed package bees or nucs upon their arrival.
• (mite check) Begin monthly monitoring for Varroa mites.
• (mite check) If drones are being reared in significant numbers, you can use drone comb for early Varroa management, but be sure to return within 28 days at a minimum, to ensure that it doesn’t become a haven for mites!
• Carefully check every brood frame in each colony for an American foulbrood infection.
• Install any new packages or nucs that arrive.
• Remove insulation, winter wraps, mouse guards, etc. Entrance reducers can be left on; many beekeepers use them year-round.

Check a mite count with the varroa calculator.

May

• Colony inspections should now take place every two weeks and include evaluating the brood pattern, confirming the presence of the queen and/or eggs, evaluating colony growth and available room, monitoring for pests and diseases, and other metrics. Recordkeeping is key to making these inspections useful and actionable.
• The bees should be foraging for what they need, but they also need a lot at this time, so remain vigilant and prepared to feed sugar syrup or a pollen supplement if necessary.
• Provide supers if the brood chambers are full and the population/stores are growing with the first honey flows of spring.
• (mite check) Monitor Varroa mite levels.
• Monitor for Nosema. It is present all year, but regular monitoring will still help you understand your normal levels and when/if they peak, particularly if you are seeking to understand why a colony is struggling.
• Replace with fresh foundation or newly drawn comb two of your oldest frames in each hive body to reduce the accumulation of Nosema spores, American foulbrood spores, and pesticides.
• Swarm control: if you do not want your bees to swarm, provide them with plenty of room and check that the colony is not honey bound (meaning that there is honey in or around the brood nest effectively restricting the access of the queen from other areas where she would lay eggs).
• Keep an eye out for swarm cells. You may consider splitting the strongest colonies, particularly if you are looking to grow your operation or keep nucs in reserve.
• Consider adding a queen excluder to manage the honey supers more easily.

Check a mite count with the varroa calculator.

June

• Colony inspections should take place at least once a month and include evaluating the brood pattern, confirming the presence of the queen and/or eggs, evaluating colony growth and available room, monitoring for pests and diseases, and other metrics.
• Feed package bees or nucs upon their arrival.
• Provide supers if the brood chambers are full and the population/stores growing.
• (mite check) Monitor Varroa mite levels.
• Swarm control: see the guidelines for May.
• This is the best time (swarm season) to rear queens.
• Set up bait hives if you want to catch a swarm!
• Depending on the strength/size of your colonies and your management goals, you may consider extracting the spring honey. Extract immediately after removing the supers to prevent a small hive beetle infestation.
• National Pollinator Week is in June; check your local club or extension office for events.

Check a mite count with the varroa calculator.

July

• If you cannot inspect every one of your colonies, inspect those that are not showing as much activity on the outside.
• If there is a dearth of forage and if you have taken off spring honey, monitor honey stores.
• If the weather is dry and there is no good water source near to the hive, consider providing one. They may need it to cool the hive.
• (mite check) Monitor Varroa mite levels.
• If you want to split colonies this season, this month may be your last chance, unless there are unusually favorable conditions in August.
• The nectar flow may require you to put more supers on the hive. If you are producing varietal (monofloral) honey, remove the capped honey once the nectar flow is over.
• Depending on how you choose to treat, you may need to remove the supers to avoid chemical residue in the honey.
• As propolis collection increases, you may consider harvesting it.
• The Eastern Apicultural Society often has its annual meeting in July.

Check a mite count with the varroa calculator.

August

• Inspections should be especially thorough, particularly for pests and diseases. Your colonies should be able to take on the fall honey flow and then overwinter successfully.
• Check that the hive is not honey bound. Move the honey combs out of the brood nest and into a super if needed. The queen should have all the room she needs to lay, to have a strong young cohort of winter bees.
• August is the month when colonies begin preparation for winter. A full-sized colony should have at least 70-90 pounds of honey to eat by the beginning of October, or more than one full super (the hive would weigh about 135 pounds total).
• If you feed the bees sugar syrup, it should be a 2:1 ratio, thicker than the spring feed; the bees can evaporate the excess moisture from the hive faster from this thicker syrup.
• The bees will need at least two double-sided frames of pollen/bee bread by late winter/early spring. Supply bees with pollen or pollen substitute if they are short on protein.
• (mite check) Monitor for Varroa mites and treat if necessary.
• Swarm control: see the guidelines for May. It is probably too late to split colonies to ensure they are strong enough to overwinter.
• Combine weak and strong colonies or equalize them if you want to ensure strong populations going into winter, but only after you have checked for diseases in the weak colony.
• Prepare for the fall flow with at least one super and be prepared to add more if necessary.

Check a mite count with the varroa calculator.

September

• This is the last month when a beekeeper can expect to perform thorough colony inspections.
• You should have been keeping records the entire active season, but it is especially important now as your hive is readied for winter.
• A full-sized colony should have at least 70-90 pounds of honey to eat by the beginning of October, or more than one full deep.
• September is the last month it is recommended to feed pollen or pollen substitute for the remainder of autumn, as bees use the reduction in pollen flow as a cue to begin rearing winter bees.
• (mite check) Monitor for Varroa mites.
• Remove drone comb foundation for the remainder of the year.
• Monitor for Nosema. It is present all year round, but regular monitoring will help you understand your normal levels and when/if they peak, particularly if you are seeking to understand why a colony is struggling.
• Consider combining weak colonies with strong ones or culling them: if a colony can accurately be judged as doomed, it will probably be a waste of resources to try to overwinter it individually.
• Do not interrupt the brood pattern in September as it may disrupt the production of winter bees.

Check a mite count with the varroa calculator.

October

• The weather may be too cold for extended inspections. It will also be difficult to correct any problems this late in the season.
• The bees will need at least two double-sided frames of pollen/bee bread by late winter/early spring. It is better to feed protein earlier in the season, although you can do so in late winter/early spring if necessary.
• Do not feed pollen or pollen substitute for the remainder of autumn, as bees use the reduction in pollen flow as a cue to continue rearing winter bees.
• Treatments that are most effective when there is no brood present are good options now.
• (mite check) Always remove chemical Varroa mite treatments according to label directions, but make sure none remain in the hives before you winterize them.
• Carefully check every brood frame in each colony for American foulbrood infection.
• Winter preparation should continue: remove extra supers and queen excluders, secure the hive cover with a rock or straps, add a mouse guard (after confirming that a mouse has not yet moved in), and add an entrance reducer (if it is not already in place).
• You may insulate the hive, but be sure foremost to avoid moisture build-up in the hives. Cold is less of a problem for bees than condensation.
• Consider moving your hives to sunny winter yards. They can be crowded in these yards, since they will not be foraging.

Check a mite count with the varroa calculator.

November

• Since much of the heat escapes out of the top of the hive, some beekeepers add a super with an insulating, absorbent material (e.g., dry leaves, woodchips). Others wrap the hives in black tarpaper or similar materials.
• Be sure that any equipment you are storing during the winter that may harbor wax moths has been frozen and/or is stored carefully.
• Consider setting up a wind break around the hives.

December

• Order any replacement bees (packages, nucs, or queens) as soon as possible; producers generally run out fast.
• Clean your honey house, freezer, or other areas that are chaotic/full in the active season.
• Remove ice blocking the hive entrances, to give the colonies better ventilation. Don’t worry about snow around the entrance or hive body; it allows enough airflow and may help insulate the bees.
• Spend this time reflecting on what went well and what you might change next year.
• Catch up on Bee Culture and American Bee Journal – and renew your subscription!