WEATHER CONDITIONS

• at least 60 °F, little wind

GENERAL MANAGEMENT

• Thoroughly inspect colonies with below average foraging activity or with few pollen foragers. Combine disease-free, weak colonies with stronger ones, or requeen if necessary. Abate AFB colonies.
• Check for adequate room:
  • Check to see if the colony is honey bound. Raise honey bound combs and other full combs of honey out of the brood nest and into a honey super. Never raise eggs or young larvae above the excluder as the bees may rear a queen.
  • Add additional supers if there is less than one full deep super of empty combs available for honey storage. Place empty supers UNDER any supers of capped honey. This is called ‘bottom supering’.
  • In Ithaca, we get a strong basswood flow in July every 3-4 years. It usually starts around July 4th and lasts about 3 weeks. We keep an eye on the basswood and an eye on the bees. If the flow is heavy, more supers are needed.
  • If you have a good honey crop at this time, you may want to remove it, especially if you are anticipating a basswood flow. This is important if you are marketing honey varieties. Also, spring and early summer honey is generally lighter than late summer and fall honey. Light honey and dark honey both bring higher prices in the proper markets, but it is easier to sell light honey to packers.
    • Put one super of empty combs (deep or medium) on all colonies from which you remove honey supers for extraction.
    • Return full compliment of supers to colonies as soon as possible to give bees room and to prepare them for mid-summer nectar flows.

IPM for HONEY BEE PESTS, PARASITES, PATHOGENS and PREDATORS

PESTS: Wax Moths and Small Hive Beetles

• Keep all of your unused combs in mothproof stacks or in a mothproof room or building. Tape cracks between supers or repair supers so they fit tightly together. Inspect regularly! Treat with Para-moth® or Fumigator® at first sign of wax moth.
• The best solution for wax moths is to keep as many supers of combs as possible on your colonies. Strong colonies provide the best protection for your combs
• To minimize damage from Small Hive Beetles.
  • Extract honey within one week of removing supers from the hive and return supers to hives immediately after extracting.
  • Keep your honey house and equipment scrupulously clean.

PARASITES: Parasitic Mites and Nosema

• Exchange drone comb traps.
• Freeze drone combs you removed.

PATHOGENS: AFB and Other Diseases

• Check entrances for foraging activity. Thoroughly inspect colonies with below average activity or with few pollen foragers. Abate AFB colonies.
• If you are unsure about a diagnosis, send a sample to the Bee Research Laboratory for analysis.

PREDATORS: Bears and Skunks

• Maintain bear fences. Check voltage and trim grass.
• Check for skunk damage and install skunk guards if needed.