COVID and beekeeping in 2021. There may still be some delays with shipping bees and equipment, but it shouldn’t be as extreme as it was in 2020 due to the air travel restrictions. Hopefully more live bees will be coming through from New Zealand for early spring for most companies as planned.
You may have found yourself going into overwintering and still struggling with Varroa mites this year. It is extremely important to treat your mites as it can weaken your hive or ultimately kill your hive.
Other great ideas. Beekeeping books like Beekeeping in Western Canada, beekeeping magazines (like Hive Lights or Bee Culture). Find a special journal to write their beekeeping field notes throughout the year.
Medicated Syrup with Fumigilan-B. If you need to treat your bees for Nosema, there is an easy way to do it with your syrup. Simply add the Fumigilan-B to the syrup mixture at your last feed. In our last Meet The Beekeeper, we showed you how to add it to a plastic bag, and place it on the inner cover hole (watch our video at 24:50).
Infused Raw or creamed honey can also be infused with different flavours from habanero to lemon. Infusing honey is relatively simple too. You just need a clean jar, put the flavor of choice in the bottom and let it sit for 5-7 days so it absorbs the flavor.
As a beekeeper, you need to learn the difference between swarm cells and supersedure cells. Every beekeeper’s goal is to have a surplus of honey they can harvest, so you need to manage your hive and understand when you should worry, and when it’s part of the hive’s survival.
Many new beekeepers don’t want more bees, but people need to understand that your honey bees go under a huge population explosion unlike anywhere else in the world in July. You need to ensure that you have a strategy in place so that they don’t swarm. If you don’t do something to manage your hive, they will swarm, and you will lose out on your honey crop.
It’s May now, and it’s very important you look at your hive and do a mite test. The Alberta apiculturist encourages you to test two to three times during spring and early summer. If you even find one mite in a test of 100 bees, you need to do a treatment.
If you have honey bees in your yard, think of what type of honey you want to have, as your bees will be sure to visit your garden for pollen and nectar supply. There are many ideas to choose from including flowers, herbs, shrubs and trees! The aster family is a very pollinator-friendly group of plants that do well across Canada. Also choosing a number of native plants to your area can attract more pollinators as they grow well in your region and are pollinator-friendly.
In Northern Alberta, we are still waiting for warmer temps to feed, but while you wait, it’s a good time to take online courses, assemble frames or replace any equipment you may need for the 2020 season. You can also paint your boxes or finish them in any way you want. For those of you who are feeling rusty or are new to beekeeping (congrats!), here are some tips on assembling your hive(s).
What should you do if your bees have died? First thing you should do is look at your hive and see if you can detect any moisture, disease or anything else that may have caused your colonies demise. Do your best to take any samples you need, photos and get a second opinion from a fellow beekeeper, mentor or us!
Beekeeping can be a fun and rewarding hobby or business, but to start out, you need the knowledge to do it well. We recommend that everyone takes a beekeeping course, and in some cities you are required to take one. Read our blog to learn the benefits of beekeeping courses.
