Making

1
Making Managing Viable Bee Colonies--a primer
to sustainable beekeeping

• Central Maryland Beekeepers Association
• May 7, 2013
• Pat Jim Haskell

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Well discuss

• What nucs are and are not
• Some real data on why nucs are important in this
  area
• What some Northern VA Clubs are doing
• A month-to-month guide on integrating nucs,
  honey, queen production
• Managing nucs in certain dearth areas
• Some take-home lessons from the school of hard
  knocks

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Common Definitions

• A split is basically the process of separating
  the two hive bodies of a colony and providing a
  queen for the queenless portion
• A nuc is, biologically, a fully balanced colony
  in miniature.
• Can be anywhere between 2-10 frames
• An increase is simply adding to the number of
  colonies that you have
• Via splits, swarms, nucs, packages, etc

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Additional Definitions

• The queen that works well in our area
• The making of multiple nucs from unproductive
  colonies
• Maybe Al Gore Isnt Crazy!

• T-Bug
• Palmerization, or to Palmerize
• The M A G I C effect of changing bloom dates

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Nucs are not

• Defined by
• of frames
• of boxes
• Size of frames
• Configuration

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Nucs different than full-sized colonies in

• Size
• Bee population
• Nuc has only 10-25 of the population of a full
  sized colony
• Ease of frame manipulation
• Less difficult to locate queen
• Colony difficulties are concentrated
• intensive management
• Great mentoring tool!

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Nucs and their uses are often defined by WHEN
they are made

• Spring Nucs (specific?)
• Increases
• To sell
• Holding colonies
• Mating nucs
• Starter colonies
• Nucs for Overwintering (broad?)
• To be ready for early nectar flows (esp. in north
  east)
• To be ready for pollination needs (esp. in west)

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Why make nucs?

• To grow your beekeeping business
• Cheaper than purchasing packages or nucs
• To replace winter losses
• Can use a queen of your choice
• Keeping a backup queen
• Foolproof requeening
• To sell
• Management tool in swarm prevention
• As a mentor/teaching tool
• As a food and/or brood resource for your other
  colonies

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WHY were doing nucs

• Demand for bees queens adaptable (T-Bugs) to
  our area exceeds the supply
• Status quo is not sustainable
• Exit of two regional queen breeders
• Who bred resistant production queens
• Dissatisfaction with current sources
• Timeliness (the MAGIC effect?)
• No seasonal sense
• High winter losses
• High spring summer losses
• Queen survival Not just Nov thru March!

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Some Actual Data(in 5th year)
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Summary of BANV Survey Results(3 years, weighted
survival rates)

1. Locally produced nucs with resistant queens 87
2. Locally produced resistant queens 70
3. Bee raised queens (emergency, supercedure and
   swarm) 65
4. Beekeeper produced queens 60
5. Queens from GA 35
6. VA produced nucs with GA queens 25
7. Packages from GA 20

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Origin of Out of State Queen and Package Bees to
Virginia
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What some Northern Virginia Clubs are Doing
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Northern Virginia Beekeeping Teaching Consortium
LBA
BONS
BANV
NPBA
PWRBA
WOODSTOCK
GBA
D.C.
RABA
NNBC
PBA
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Community-Based Nuc and/or Queen Rearing Programs
(2011)
BONS
BANV
PWRBA
GBA
D.C.
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Community-Based Nuc and/or Queen Rearing Programs
(2012)
LBA
BONS
BANV
PWRBA
GBA
D.C.
NNBC
PBA
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IntegratingNucs, Honey, Queens
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May

• NUCS

• Full Size

• Most intense management month
• Use of spring nucs made from overwintered nucs
• Sell to new students
• Sell to other club members
• Use to expand your own operation
• Closely monitor remaining nucs
• Use brood food as a resource for
• Full sized colonies
• Mating nucs
• Can even make more splits

• Do nothing with your production colonies
• Just stay out of the way
• Start producing some cells, virgins, or queens
  for yourself or for your Club
• If it has a queen program
• If it doesnt, help start one

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June

• June 15 July 15
• Make your nucs for overwintering
• Use your own queens or those known to be
  resistant or hygienic
• Make strong nucs 2.5 frames of brood, (no
  eggs or young larvae) plus food frames a frame
  of mostly open, drawn comb

• Full Size

• NUCS

• Palmerize your unproductive colonies
• Make sure the unproductive colonies are free of
  brood diseases
• May get from 2-6 nucs out of each colony
• Pinch that unproductive queen

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July

• Full Size

• NUCS

• Extract honey from production colonies
• Wet supers back on if still in flow
• Otherwise store when dry
• Use uncapped honey nectar in nucs for
  overwintering
• Start feeding light syrup if in dearth
• Artificial pollen also if few stores
• Start fall requeening
• Your own May or June queens
• Outside resistant queens

• June 15 July 15
• Make your nucs for overwintering (cont)
• Reduced entrance, robber screen
• Nematodes in-hive SHB trap
• Start feeding sugar water pollen right away,
  especially during expected dearth
• Mite count after old brood has emerged, new brood
  not yet capped

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August

• Full Size

• Important feeding month in our area!
• Usually no rain an almost sure dearth
• Light syrup also a much needed water source
• Need to stimulate queen
• The bees that will raise the 1st winter bees
• Need her to out-lay any varroa
• Complete fall re-queening this month
• SHB controls?

• NUCS

• Add 2nd, 5-frame box, if havent already done so!
• honey/nectar frames, left over from honey
  harvest, are great
• Drawn comb OK
• Foundation as last resort
• Mite count
• Check adequacy of SHB controls

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September

• NUCS

• Full Size

• Continue feeding if needed
• Both carbs and protein
• Goal is 60-90? pounds of honey going into winter
• May get lucky and have a little goldenrod or
  aster flow that will help ease the Costco bill
• Last mite count

• Continue feeding nucs if needed
• Both carbs and protein
• Goal is to have top box full of honey by
  mid-October
• May get lucky and have a little goldenrod or
  aster flow that will help ease the Costco bill
• Last mite count

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October

• Full Size

• Continue feeding if needed
• Both carbs and protein

• NUCS

• Continue feeding nucs if needed
• Both carbs and protein
• Good time to add excess frames of honey from big
  colonies to top boxes of nucs
• Want top box full of honey by end of month

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November

• NUCS

• Full Size

• Position Ventilation checks
• 180 from prevailing winter winds
• Air movement top bottom
• Continue feeding, if needed, and if it doesnt
  get too cold
• if still inadequate stores, get fondant ready

• Position Ventilation checks
• 180 from prevailing winter winds
• Air movement top bottom
• Continue feeding, if needed, and if it doesnt
  get too cold
• If still inadequate stores, get fondant ready

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December

• Full Size

• NUCS

• Continue feeding, if needed, and if it doesnt
  get too cold
• If still inadequate stores, put on fondant

• Continue feeding, if needed, and if it doesnt
  get too cold
• If still inadequate stores, put on fondant

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January early Feb

• Full Size

• NUCS

• Continue to feed fondant (if necessary)

• Continue to feed fondant (if necessary)

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Mid February

• NUCS

• Full Size

• Start stimulation of colonies (weather dependent
  of course)
• Light (12) syrup to start
• Hold off on pollen (if stored pollen appears
  adequate) till first maple bloom

• Start stimulation of colonies (weather dependent
  of course)
• Light (12) syrup to start
• Hold off on pollen (if stored pollen appears
  adequate) till first maple bloom

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March

• NUCS

• Full Size

• Start reversals of colonies
• For nuc mgt. swarm control reasons
• Nucs will start to explode in mid to late March
• Start other swarm mgt. techniques if warranted
• Mite count

• Start reversals of colonies
• For swarm control
• Start other swarm mgt. techniques if warranted
• Mite count

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April

• NUCS

• Full Size

• Need intensive mgt. NOW!
• 1. Put them in your full-sized colonies
• Will surpass packages installed at the same time
• Will be ready to collect the April, May, June
  honey flow
• 2. Split them several times if necessary) to make
  Spring nucs
• Make weak nucs no more than 2 frames of brood
• 3. Nematodes for SHB control

• Start supering your honey producing colonies
• Via George Imrie s Pink Pages
• Supering finishing colonies is optional
• Start producing your own queens in late
  April/early May
• As soon as you see purple eyed drones
• Or as soon as you see drones outside the colony
• Nematodes for SHB

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May

• NUCS

• Full Size

• If it looks like were starting over again,
  thats right!

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Over wintering nuc management

• Well look briefly at
• Setting up the nuc
• What youre looking for going into winter
• Feeding
• Nuc placement options for the winter
• Wind protection

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Overwinteringinitial setup 1st box (A)

• In our area, June 15 thru July 30 is best time to
  establish nucs for overwintering
• Start with one box
• Add 2nd box as soon as population warrants

Honey (or honey/pollen mix)
(sealed brood)
Brood (no eggs or young larvae)
Brood (no eggs or young larvae)
Pollen (or honey/pollen mix)
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Overwinteringinitial setup 2nd box (B)

• Ideally, all 5 frames in 2nd box would be drawn
  comb
• A good population can draw out foundation in late
  summer/fall
• Need to feed 11 early, 21 later
• And pollen patties of course

Drawn comb
Drawn comb
Drawn comb
Drawn comb
Drawn comb
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Going Into WinterBottom Box (A)

• Ideal positioning! may vary a little depending
  on weather and/or beekeeper management
• Cluster will normally locate on middle three
  frames
• Cluster may move a frame toward the SE, (warm
  side) depending on nuc orientation
• On warm days, bees should basically cover all 5
  top bars on the lower box

Honey/pollen mix
Brood, pollen/honey mix
A few eggs, young brood, likely mama
Brood, pollen/honey mix
Honey/pollen mix
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Going Into WinterTop Box (B)

• At this time, remove all undrawn foundation
  replace with frames of honey
• All frames should be capped honey
• Some may be actual honey others may be sugar
  honey from your 21 or 11 feedings
• Watch winter stores!
• feed bee candy/fondant as needed (use shim or
  extra hive body)

Honey
Honey
Honey
Honey
Honey
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overwintering
Box B
Box A

• Initial setup

• Ready for winter

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Nucs for Overwintering Management Tips

• Use worker brood only when making the nucs
• Use the queens you made in May June for nucs
  and to requeen production colonies
• Small Hive Beetle management
• Robbing
• Feeding dont forget the pollen
• Fruitless foraging
• Ventilation
• Wind protection

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Winter protection

• Nuc entrances should face downwind in the winter
  fortunately, our winter winds are mostly from the
  N or NW
• Mite boards can be left in to cut off heavy
  drafts
• Note overwintered nucs need a lot of and the
  right kind of ventilation in the winter!
• Protection from strong winter winds can come from
  several sources

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Hillsides, hedges, fencescan aid in wind
protection
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TAKE HOME LESSONS

• We havent paid enough attention to where and
  when we get our QUEENS, NUCS PACKAGES
• Or about the genetics of the queen contained in
  those NUCS PACKAGES QUEEN CAGES we purchase
• We need to understand the elementary economics of
  buying and replacing bees and queens (requires
  simple math)
• We DO have to learn how to overwinter nucs, and
• We DO have to learn how to raise some T-bugs
  that have seasonal sense

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QUESTIONS?