Beekeeper calendar: work by months

The work of a beekeeper is very painstaking. Work on the apiary continues throughout the year. Not only for young beekeepers, but also for those who have a wealth of experience, it is useful to have a beekeeper’s calendar, with monthly plans for the whole year 2022. It will be an excellent reminder not only of the necessary work, but also of the little things, without which it is impossible to obtain the planned volume of production.

Beekeeper calendar for 2022

Every month in the apiary it is necessary to perform work characteristic of this period. The beekeeper’s calendar for 2022 contains tips, recommendations, reminders to avoid mistakes and highlight the most important aspects in apiary maintenance. Based on it, it is recommended to keep your own notes, which will help you analyze the results in the future and correct the shortcomings. The records that the beekeeper makes over the years allow invaluable experience to be gained. The entire calendar for 2022 is divided into four seasons and their corresponding months. Each month implies its own volume of necessary work for the beekeeper.

Work in the apiary in winter

According to the calendar for 2022, there are not so many worries with bee colonies during this period. The work of the beekeeper in the apiary in December consists mainly in preparing for the next season: melt the wax, buy foundation, necessary equipment, prepare frames, repair hives or make new ones. Later it is worth taking care of accelerating the melting of snow in the apiary. If all the requirements are met during preparation and the amount of food per bee colony is at least 18 kg, then wintering can be considered successful. In order to prevent the death of bee colonies (which often happens at the end of winter), you need to periodically listen to each colony in January-February. An experienced beekeeper determines its condition by the sound in the hive. An even quiet hum indicates normal wintering, a strong one indicates dryness in the hive or lack of food. Starving insects do not make a sound, and with a light blow to the house, a small noise is heard, reminiscent of the rustle of dry leaves. To save families, the beekeeper needs to feed with sugar syrup.

December

In accordance with the recommendations of the calendar for 2022, in December, the beekeeper should carry out a number of activities:

1. Provide conditions for ventilation of the hives.
2. To scare away rodents from nests, drip 15 drops of mint onto the arrival board.
3. Refresh the mixture of flour and alabaster to kill mice.
4. Take care of the frames, wax and wire.
5. Conduct an inventory of all property.
6. Listen to the bee colonies at least once.

January

In the middle of winter, snow cover can increase significantly, and frosts can intensify. In the absence of extremely warm temperatures, the bee colony is in the club, there is no brood yet. Necessary events for January 2022, which should be carried out by the beekeeper according to the calendar:

1. Constantly listen to the hives.
2. Clear the entrances from snow.
3. Continue the fight against rodents.
4. Track the status of the club with a sheet of white paper taken out through the notch.
5. If necessary, carry out top dressing.

Top dressing in winter is performed only as a last resort, if the frames are really empty. Warm syrup prepared by a beekeeper in a perforated bag or diluted honey can help with this problem.

February

In the last winter month, frosts are frequent, blizzards are possible. The days are getting longer, the sun is getting hotter. Insects are more sensitive to changes and changes in the weather. The bee colony is gradually waking up, increasing its food intake and, therefore, it will need more oxygen. At this time, the beekeeping calendar for 2022 recommends:

1. Listen to hives weekly.
2. Check ventilation in houses.
3. To clean the letki from deadness.
4. Continue the fight against rodents.
5. At the end of the month, feed the candy.

In the second half of February 2022, to speed up the melting of snow, beekeepers sprinkle snow near the hives with ash, earth or coal dust.

Spring work in the apiary

The purpose of the spring work on beekeeping is to prepare for the new season of 2022, to assess the strength of each family. In the spring, the temperature in the hives rises significantly and the bees become more restless and noisy. They can also behave in this way when there is a lack of liquid: in this case, beekeepers provide insects with water. After the bees make a flight, you need to conduct a full inspection of the bee colonies. It is best to do this when the weather is favorable. The subject of the survey is the state of the bee colony, the availability of food, the quality of queens, sowing, printed brood. Beekeepers at this stage can identify the causes of death of families, if any, clean the hives from debris and deadness. If necessary, you need to substitute frames with honey or sugar syrup in the feed. If there is mold in the hive, the beekeeper transplants the family into another house prepared in advance, and cleans and burns the freed one with a blowtorch.

March

In the first spring month, temperature drops, thaws, and snowstorms are frequent. Life in the hives is activated, brood is laid. According to the beekeeper’s calendar, in March 2022 it is necessary:

1. Remove snow from the front wall of the hive.
2. Revise families, conduct their audit.
3. Treat the bees with drugs when diseases are detected.
4. Substitute frames with food, after opening the combs and irrigating them with warm water.
5. Remove the remaining snow from the apiary.
6. Wax additional frames to expand nests.

April

The weather is unstable, during the day the air temperature is above zero, frosts occur at night. Families fly around, new bees appear, the first bribe begins from primroses and trees. In beekeeping, the spring events of the April 2022 calendar come down to the following events:

1. Perform a tick treatment.
2. Disinfect inventory, hives.
3. If necessary, transfer the bee colony to another house.
4. Make a feed.
5. Install drinkers.

May

During this period, it becomes warm, gardens bloom en masse, bribes begin. Beekeepers are building up the power of bee colonies. Insects actively draw off wax, collect pollen and nectar. The beekeeper calendar in May 2022 advises:

1. Remove extra frames.
2. If there is a threat of frost, warm the family.
3. Treat for moths, nosematosis and acarapidosis.
4. Provide measures against swarming.

Watching bees and working in the apiary in summer

In June, bee colonies grow rapidly and swarm. In the summer, the observation of bees is to ensure that the queen has a place to lay eggs, and the bees have the opportunity to build honeycombs and collect honey. A beekeeper should cull queens if the colony is lagging behind in development or weakened. It is necessary to pump out honey and put an additional case (magazine). With the help of printed brood, it is necessary to strengthen the layering of families.

If there is a good honey flow, then the beekeeper needs to put aside filled with honey and sealed frames, add cases and magazines in a timely manner. Pumping – only fully mature honey when more than 50% of the frame is sealed. A beekeeper in the summer should not miss the moment of reducing the bribe, periodically inspect the hives, pump out honey, remove stores and prevent the theft of bees. It is also necessary to remember about the treatment of varroatosis.

June

Summer time is the most active period of the functioning of the apiary. Flowering of honey plants, swarming, expansion of families begins. The main actions for beekeepers in June 2022, according to the calendar:

1. Take the beehives to the honey collection.
2. Apply different methods to interrupt swarming.
3. Treat the tick with herbal preparations so as not to harm the quality of honey.
4. Put shops on the hives.

Work in the apiary in July

In the middle of summer there is a massive flowering of honey crops. The peak of the bribe is a busy time. The beekeeper calendar for July 2022 recommends:

1. Prepare spare frames.
2. Install an additional body on the hive to stimulate the family to collect honey.
3. Open entrances as much as possible for bees.
4. Remove sealed, “ready” frames in time, substituting empty ones.
5. Change queens to young ones to improve subsequent wintering and avoid swarming.

August

In the last month of summer, night air temperatures decrease. The main honey plants have already faded. The number of bees is gradually decreasing, the bee colony is preparing for wintering. According to the calendar, the work of a beekeeper in the apiary after the main bribe in August 2022 includes:

1. Extraction of honey and drying of combs.
2. Nest assembly.
3. Carrying out autumn feeding.
4. Culling of low-quality frames and honeycombs.
5. Measures to prevent theft.
6. If necessary, the unification of weak families.

The main work with the bees after honey extraction is preparing for a successful wintering in 2022 and laying the foundation for next season’s harvest.

Work in the apiary in autumn

Despite the presence of a supporting bribe in the first weeks of autumn, the season for beekeepers is coming to an end. The main task at this time, according to the 2022 calendar, includes preparations for wintering. To this end, the beekeeper checks the brood, food supplies, reduces colonies. It is necessary to think about protecting the hives from rodents and shorten the entrances to keep warm and prevent theft.

September

The average daily temperature is set at 10 ⁰С. There are night frosts. Sometimes the warmth returns briefly. Young bees are born, who will live until spring. Before a long winter, they need a flyby to cleanse the intestines. As soon as the temperature drops below 7⁰ C, the bees gather in a club. The beekeeper’s calendar for September 2022 provides for the following events in the apiary:

1. Treatment with chemicals for varroatosis.
2. Cleaning and disinfection of empty hives.
3. Sushi cleaning.
4. collection of propolis.
5. Bookmark for winter storage of frames with perga and honey.
6. Processing of wax raw materials.

October

In mid-autumn, it gradually gets colder, cloudy weather and rains become frequent. At the end of the month, snow may fall, the soil may begin to freeze. The bees are in the club. But if the temperature rises, then it breaks up, and then they take off for a flyby. The later this happens, the more reliable wintering. According to the beekeeper’s calendar in October 2022, there will be:

1. Complete warehousing of frames, magazines and cases.
2. Exterminate mice in the winter hut.

November

The temperature drops below zero, at the end of the month frosts become stable. Snow falls. The beekeeper calendar for 2022 in December suggests:

1. Drying the winter hut, checking ventilation in it.
2. Transfer to the wintering hives.
3. If the houses remain on the street, then they should be insulated and covered with snow from three sides.
4. Track the behavior of bee colonies after wintering.

Beekeeper calendar according to the Cebro method

The method of Vladimir Cebro is characterized by:

• a threefold increase in the number of bee colonies by the time of the main harvest;
• annual renewal of queens;
• association for wintering of three families into one, strong;
• use of three-hull hives.

According to the Cebro calendar:

1. In January, the beekeeper observes and listens to the behavior of the bee colony, removes the pestilence, insulates the hives.
2. In February, you need to conduct a laboratory analysis for insect diseases.
3. In March – to carry out top dressing, treatment.
4. In April – remove all the dead, install drinkers, feeders. During this period, the beekeeper can unite families when the queen dies.
5. In May – form layers, plant young queens.
6. In June, beekeepers change queens and brood, attach layering.

From July to December, the beekeeper is engaged in normal activities. In August, according to the Cebro calendar, while preparing for wintering, it is worth uniting families, reducing their number by a factor of three.

Conclusion

The 2022 beekeeper calendar is a guide to action and help for beginners. Over the years, experience will accumulate, beekeeping itself will turn into an exciting activity, and professionalism will grow. This is possible only if the basic postulates and rules are observed, in combination with their own developments and secrets, which should be recorded in the beekeeper’s calendar for 2022 and subsequent years.