Beekeeping Calendar

In this period the colony comes down to its winter population, and the quality of this population matters more than its number. The bee that will see out the winter is either built or lost in this period.

Completing Winter Bee Production

The winter bee — long-lived, thick-fat-bodied, specialised for wintering — is produced in this period, and production stops at its end. This last generation determines whether the colony can come through the winter. The raw material of the winter bee is pollen; a colony left without pollen in this period produces weak winter bees and collapses in February.

The Queen Ceasing to Lay

As the day shortens and the cold sets in, the queen slows her laying and largely stops it by the end of the period. This is normal and necessary — the colony does not deal with the burden of warming brood in winter. Laying not stopping (especially in a temperate region) means a continuous breeding ground for varroa and can cause problems.

The Population Target

The colony entering winter should typically cover 6-10 frames of bees (varies by region). Below this, the colony cannot hold the cluster up with its own heat. For a colony below this threshold the only realistic option is combining — two weak colonies make one strong colony; left apart they become two dead colonies.

The Combining Decision: Now or Never

Putting a weak, queenless or diseased colony into winter almost always ends in loss. The combining decision must be made in this period — after the cold sets in it is too late. The newspaper method is the safest way to combine; before combining, the weak colony's queen is removed. A diseased colony is not combined but destroyed.

Expulsion of the Drones

In this period the drones are definitively thrown out — the colony does not bear the burden of feeding them in winter. A dead drone on the landing board is a sign of health. A colony still feeding drones is queenless or has a problem, and in this period this condition is lethal.

The inspections of this period are the last openings of the hive until spring. Every inspection is an audit, and the decision made cannot be undone — winter does not forgive mistakes.

Frequency and Timing

While preparation work continues an inspection every 10-14 days is appropriate, thinning out towards the end of the period. Inspection is done at the mildest hour of the day, around midday — opening a hive in the cold chills the cluster and open brood. As far as possible it is not opened below 14-15°C.

The Audit List

In this period there must be a clear answer to five questions for each hive:

• Are stores adequate? 15-20 kg. If not, how much short, is feeding complete?
• Are stores in the right place? In an arrangement the cluster can reach?
• Is the population adequate? If below 6 frames, has the combining decision been made?
• Is varroa clean? Was treatment done and its effect measured?
• Is the physical preparation complete? Volume, ventilation, mouse guard, tilt?

The Meaning of the Last Inspection

When you leave the last inspection of this period, everything about the hive must be settled. There is no such thing as "I'll take a look sometime in winter" — through winter the hive stays closed. This last inspection is like an aircraft's final check before take-off: nothing left undone can be corrected in the air.

The Principle of Little Intervention

Once preparation is complete the hive is left in peace. Unnecessary openings disrupt the cluster, lose heat, stress the colony. Towards the end of this period the best inspection is external observation: is there flight, is the dead-bee level normal, is the hive sound.

This is the period in which autumn feeding is completed. Feeding has a deadline, and that deadline is within this period; feeding that is late is no better than not feeding.

Why There Is a Deadline

To turn syrup into honey the bee must process it — evaporate the water, add enzymes, put it in the comb and cap it. This process requires warmth and active bees. Once the weather cools the colony cannot do it; the syrup given remains unprocessed, uncapped, sours and does harm. So feeding must be finished before persistent cold sets in.

The Arithmetic: How Much

• Target stores: 15-20 kg (according to the region's winter severity).
• Current stores: measured by scale or frame count.
• The difference is closed by feeding. Roughly 70-75% of the syrup given turns into stored honey; the rest is spent in processing. So for a 10 kg shortfall, about 13-14 kg of sugar is needed.

Consistency: 2:1

In this period 2:1 (two parts sugar, one part water) is used — with thick syrup there is less water to evaporate, so the bee spends less energy and stores it faster. Dilute (1:1) syrup is wrong in this period: it triggers unnecessary brood production and opens a new breeding ground for varroa.

Application Rules

• Give plenty, fast — the aim is to get it stored, the deadline is near.
• Use an in-hive feeder; open feeding means robbing.
• Feed in the evening, reduce the entrances, feed the whole apiary at the same time.
• Use white granulated sugar. Brown sugar, molasses, or starch-based syrup is not suitable for wintering — it leaves indigestible matter and causes dysentery.

Pollen / Protein

The winter bee's fat body is built with pollen. If natural pollen is weak, a protein patty can be given — but the patty decision should be made early; a patty given after winter bee production has ended is useless. The pollen situation should be assessed at the start of this period.

Honeydew Warning

If there is honeydew (pine, oak) in your region, the honey the colony collects may be unsuitable for wintering — high in minerals, hard to digest. In this case the honeydew honey is taken and clean stores are built with syrup instead.

This is the last window of the varroa battle and the period in which the first defence against winter pests such as mice is set up. No treatment missed in this period can be made up in winter.

Varroa: Last Chance

The chain of logic is certain: the winter bee is produced in this period; the value of the winter bee is in its fat body; varroa consumes that fat body by feeding on the larva and transmits viruses; a struck winter bee lives short. Conclusion: treatment must be finished before winter bee production. If this order is broken the colony looks strong in November, dwindles in January, is finished in February.

The Broodless-Period Opportunity

When the queen stops laying at the end of the period the colony goes broodless. This is the year's most effective treatment window: because there is no brood, all the mites are on the bees, none can hide in the cells. A single treatment done in this broodless window (e.g. oxalic acid under suitable conditions) is many times more effective than treatment in the brood period. Catching this opportunity is the surest way to enter winter clean.

Measurement and Verification

• Threshold: in this period even 1-2% is risky; the goal is to enter winter clean.
• Post-treatment check is essential: to say "I gave the medicine" is not enough, its effect must be measured. Products to which resistance has developed may not work.
• Temperature: every product has a temperature range in which it is effective; in the cooling weather one does not go outside the label.

Mice and Rodents: The Guard Is Fitted Now

With the cold, mice discover the hive as a shelter; a mouse that gets in wrecks the comb, disturbs the colony, ends the wintering. The mouse guard is fitted in this period, before the mice get in. Once a mouse has got in and built a nest, fitting a guard only traps it inside.

Nosema

Cooling, moistening air creates a suitable environment for nosema. Signs: brown faecal spots on the entrance and front wall, crawling bees. Nosema detected in this period allows a chance to intervene before wintering. Preventive measures: a dry, ventilated hive, clean water, quality winter stores (not honeydew).

Robbing

Because feeding continues and the natural source has ended, there is still a robbing risk. Narrow entrances, feed in the evening, no exposed syrup/honey. Entrance reduction also lowers winter heat loss — a double benefit.

In this period the natural source largely ends. The remaining few sources are still important for the colony's last pollen need and the last fresh stores entering winter.

The Withdrawal of the Source

The last wave of the autumn flow is also exhausted. Cooling weather and the shortening day push the plants to prepare for winter; flowering stops. The bee no longer expects serious income from outside; towards the end of this period the colony largely turns to its own stores.

The Last Sources of This Period

• Ivy (Hedera): In many regions the last serious source of the year. It gives both late nectar and valuable pollen. It matters for the last fresh stores and last pollen entering winter.
• Heather / ling: May last into late autumn in suitable regions.
• Late wild weeds: Scattered, low-density; at a maintenance level.
• Autumn honeydew: In some regions pine honeydew may continue — it brings honey but is not suitable as winter stores.

The Importance of the Last Pollen

The pollen gathered in this period goes to the fat body of the last generation of winter bees produced. So the pollen source of this period directly affects wintering success. Late pollen sources such as ivy are therefore valuable; the apiary's nearness to these sources raises the quality of the winter bee.

The Quality of the Winter Honey

The wintering bee cannot fly for months and cannot void its gut; so winter honey must be low in indigestible matter. Most flower honey is suitable; honeydew honey (high minerals) and some fast-crystallising honeys are not. If there is honey unsuitable for wintering in your region, it is taken and clean stores are built with syrup instead.

The Decision When the Source Ends

Seeing that the natural source has ended is the signal to begin feeding. In this period the beekeeper watches the flower and the scale: if the scale has begun to fall and there is no source left in nature, it is time to complete the winter stores.

This is, as a rule, not a harvest period. The remaining honey is the winter share and touching it puts the winter at risk. But in some special cases a limited or obligatory harvest may be in question.

The Inviolability of the Winter Share

The honey in the hive in this period belongs to the colony, not the beekeeper. The target stores (15-20 kg) are an inviolable zone. A harvest that dips below this line is attempted to be made good with feeding — but syrup does not fully replace honey and its cost often exceeds the value of the honey taken. So in this period harvest mostly does not pay for itself.

The Limited Harvest Exception

If the colony's stores are markedly above the target and the surplus is in the supers, the surplus can be taken. The measure is clear: the brood chamber and the winter ring are untouched, only the surplus in the supers is harvested. If in doubt it is left — the cost of wintering without stores is many times higher than the value of a few kilos of honey.

Obligatory Harvest: Honeydew Honey

If honeydew (pine, oak) is coming in your region the situation reverses and harvest becomes obligatory. If honeydew honey remains as winter stores, the colony that cannot fly gets dysentery, the hive is fouled, nosema is triggered. In this case honeydew honey is harvested → clean stores are built with 2:1 syrup instead → feeding is finished by the end of this period.

Comb Renewal

This period is suitable for sorting out old, dark combs. The old combs of colonies that will not enter winter and of removed supers are melted. Old comb is a store of disease spores and chemical residue; comb renewal is a healthy investment to make before entering winter. The beeswax obtained is collected separately.

Propolis

In this period the colony seals all openings with propolis in preparation for winter; propolis production is high. A propolis trap can be productive and its cost to the colony is low. But towards the end of the period it is also important to let the colony seal its own openings — this is part of the winter insulation.

This is the period in which the prepared winter equipment is fitted and the hive is physically prepared for winter. If preparation was not done in the previous periods, in this period both the weather and the time are pressing.

Mouse Guard — Fitted in Time

With the cold, mice discover the hive. The guard must be fitted before the mice get in; fitting it afterwards traps the mouse inside. The guard must be of an opening the bee can pass but the mouse cannot, and designed so that dead bees do not pile up and block the entrance.

Entrance Reducers

Reduction does two jobs: defence against robbing and reduction of winter heat loss. Narrower in a weak colony, wider in a strong one. But it is not fully closed — in winter an entrance is needed for ventilation and the cleansing flight.

Ventilation Arrangement

Because the killer of winter is damp, top ventilation is set up in this period: a small top hole, a spaced lid or moisture-absorbing material. The vapour the cluster produces is made to leave from the top. Because this arrangement cannot be opened and changed in winter, it must be set up correctly now.

Insulation

Insulation is decided by the region's severity. The general rule: insulate from the top, ventilate from the bottom. Wrapping the whole hive to trap damp inside often does more harm than good. The insulation material must be dry and must not hold damp.

Feeders

Feeding is intense in this period; the feeder is the most-used piece of equipment. A leaking feeder means robbing — test before use. When feeding is over the feeder is removed; an empty feeder left in the hive is dead volume that cannot be heated in winter.

Hive Body and Ground

This is the last period the body is touched. Cracks are repaired, the forward tilt is checked (so water drains), the hive should be raised off the ground (20-30 cm) so damp does not rise from the base. The hive lids are secured with weight or strap against wind and animals.

In this period the apiary site is prepared for winter conditions. The decisions made about location in this period cannot be changed in winter; so this is the period in which the apiary's winter planning is carried out.

Wind: Winter's First Enemy

What wears down the colony in winter is not absolute cold but the heat the wind constantly draws off. A hive exposed to wind forces the cluster to produce heat constantly, the stores run out fast.

• The prevailing wind direction is determined and the backs of the hives turned to it.
• A natural windbreak (shrub, wall, slope) is best; where there is none, an artificial screen is set up.
• The entrance should not face the wind.

Water Drainage and Ground

The most insidious problem of winter is water. A hive standing in a hollow sits in rainwater; damp rises from the base and finishes the colony.

• Hives should be raised off the ground — at least 20-30 cm.
• The ground should not hold water; if necessary drainage is opened.
• Hives should be placed tilted forward so condensation drains out.
• The flood line of streams and floods should be checked.

Sun: The Friend in Winter

In the summer period we sought shade; in winter preparation the reverse. A hive that catches the winter sun warms earlier, the bee takes a cleansing flight more easily, moisture is shed faster. The ideal location: a spot that catches the winter sun and is sheltered from wind. Under a deciduous tree is the classic choice — shade in summer, sun in winter.

Site Cleaning and Rodents

The weeds around the hive are cleaned, the area under the hive kept ventilated. Piles, waste and long weeds around the apiary feed the mouse population; these are cleared. The mouse guard is a defence line but the best defence is the mouse never coming to the apiary at all.

Settling the Winter Location

If the wintering site is to be changed it must be done in this period; the winter location must be settled before persistent cold sets in. Three things are sought in the winter location: shelter from wind, water drainage, winter sun. Moving a hive after the cold has struck puts the colony at serious risk.

Security

In winter the apiary is visited less; measures against theft, animal damage and toppling are taken in this period. Hive lids are secured, the fence and entrance checked.