Worcester Beekeepers

Honey Show & Quiz Night – Get your entries ready for our Honey Show.

Friday 15th March 2024 at 7:30pm
All exhibits to be staged by 7:30pm on the evening.
Team Dynamics' site – Conference Room, Unit 22, West Stone, Berry Hill Industrial Estate, Droitwich, WR9 9AS
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News

Wishing all our members a successful year of beekeeping.

Remember to check that your bees have enough stores to get them through till Spring.

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The beekeeper's year

Monthly tasks
Jan

Check the entrances and roofs to your hives for any blockages caused by leaves. If you have fondant on your hives, make sure there is sufficient for the bees needs. Keep checking for varroa, and treat accordingly.

Feb

Keep checking food levels, and feed if necessary. Treat varroa accordingly. Check that you have sufficient supers, frames, foundation etc. and clean your spare equipment.

Mar

Continue checking food levels. Keep tabs on varroa levels, continue to do this throughout the season. Increasing levels of mites found will need treating – do not leave it till later. The queen will be laying in increasing numbers and the brood will grow in size. On a warm day, you can open the hive for a quick check. As the colony gets stronger you might need to add supers before April. This should help prevent overcrowding.

Apr

Choose a warm day to make your first full inspection. Checking the bees’ health, their food supply, see if you can spot the queen and that she’s ok. Clean out any dead bees from the winter period and generally tidy up the hive.

May

Check weekly for queen cells and signs of swarming. Add supers if needed.

Jun

Check weekly for queen cells and signs of swarming. Add supers if needed. Continue checking the health of your bees and treat if required. Also check they have enough food.

JUL

Keep feeding the bees, adding supers and inspecting for swarming. Extract honey if you are lucky enough to have some. Keep checking levels of varroa and treat accordingly.

Aug

Extract honey from supers, and put supers back that have had their honey extracted for the bees to clean. Leave enough honey to feed the bees through the winter. Check the colony is queen-right. Continue treating for varroa. Fit entrance restrictor to prevent hive being robbed by wasps or other bees.

Sep

Feed for the winter if needed. Keep looking for varroa and treat. If you have two or more small clusters consider combining into one. Check there is enough stores to carry the colony through the winter, add feed if necessary. This should be done before the bees form a winter cluster – they will not move far from the cluster to get food.

Oct

Do not make any more internal inspections this year but keep feeding the colony if they do not have enough stores. Typically a hive will need about 20 kilos of honey to get the it through the winter. A larger colony may need more. Ventilate the hive with small strips of wood. Take off the queen excluder for the winter.

Nov

Check the outside of the hive regularly. During the winter make new or repair equipment ready for the next year.

Dec

Do not make any internal inspections but keep feeding the colony if they do not have enough stores. Treat for varroa.

Autumn beekeeping article

Hive inspection record

This form will help you to keep accurate records of your hive.

Bee ID guide

A short guide to identifying honeybees, bumblebees, wasps/hornets and hoverflies.

Membership form

Become a member. Complete this form.

Sting Information

It is inevitable as a beekeeper or just being around bees that you will at sometime or another get stung!

Branch equipment

Please email Roy Round at villagebees@gmail.com to check availability or to reserve equipment.

Glossary

Glossary of bee keeping terms for reference.